Allspice Porch · Main dishes

Crispy Fried Snapper with Pickled Pepper Escovitch

Name: Crispy Fried Snapper with Pickled Pepper Escovitch
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 whole Whole red snapper; 80 g All-purpose flour; 400 ml Neutral oil; 1.5 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 1 whole Onion; 2 whole Carrot; 2 whole Bell pepper; 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper; 6 g Fresh thyme; 0.5 tsp Ground allspice; 150 ml White vinegar; 1 tsp Granulated sugar; 1 whole Lime; 2 clove Garlic; 2 whole Green onions

Whole red snapper fried until the skin is crisp, then covered with a hot vinegar pickle of onion, carrot, bell pepper and scotch bonnet. The pickle is poured on while the fish is still hot.

50 minutes · Medium · 4 servings

Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested

Ingredients

Whole red snapper2 whole
All-purpose flour80 g
Neutral oil400 ml
Salt1.5 tsp
Black pepper0.5 tsp
Onion1 whole
Carrot2 whole
Bell pepper2 whole
Scotch bonnet pepper1 whole
Fresh thyme6 g
Ground allspice0.5 tsp
White vinegar150 ml
Granulated sugar1 tsp
Lime1 whole
Garlic2 clove
Green onions2 whole

Quantities describe recipe usage, not package sizes.

Allergen notes

Fish (snapper) and wheat (flour).

Method

Prepare the fish

Ask for the snapper scaled and gutted, or check the cavity yourself and rinse only the cavity under cold water. Pat the fish very dry. Cut two or three diagonal slashes on each side, down to the bone. Season inside and out with 1 tsp of the salt, the black pepper and the juice of half the lime. Dust with the flour and shake off the excess. Wash your hands and the board.

Fry until 70°C

Pour the oil into a wide skillet to a depth of about 1 cm and heat it over medium until a pinch of flour sizzles at once. Lay in one fish, or both if the pan is truly wide and they do not overlap. Fry for 5–7 minutes per side, spooning oil over the top, until the skin is crisp and browned. Health Canada’s safe internal temperature for fish is 70°C (158°F): check the thickest part beside the bone. Cook longer if it is below that. Lift the fish onto a warm platter. Use the same oil only if it still smells clean; otherwise spoon off any dark bits.

Make the pickle

Slice the onion, carrot and bell peppers into thin strips. Stem and slice the scotch bonnet into rings, wearing gloves, and remove the seeds if you want less heat. Slice the garlic. Put the vinegar, sugar, allspice, thyme sprigs, garlic, vegetables, scotch bonnet and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes, until the carrot is bright and still crisp.

Pour it over and serve

Spoon the hot vegetables and their vinegar over the fried fish while it is still crackling. Scatter with sliced green onions and the remaining lime, cut into wedges. Serve straight away. Eat around the thyme stems, bones and scotch bonnet rings.

Dry fish fries crisp. Wet fish steams and falls apart. The pickle has to be boiling hot when it hits the platter, or it sits on the crust instead of sinking into the slashes. Check 70°C at the bone, not at the thin tail.

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