Escovitch Fish
Whole fried fish, fried first until deeply crisp, then topped while still warm with a hot vinegar-pickled relish of carrot, onion, and scotch bonnet so the liquid seeps into the flesh as both cool together. Its name traces through Spanish escabeche back to Persian and Arabic vinegar-preservation roots, carried to Jamaica during Spanish rule and by Sephardic Jewish refugees who brought the technique to the New World, a real culinary-technique lineage rather than any single-nation origin claim.
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Fish, Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 2 whole red snapper, scored, or 4 firm fish steaks
- 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging, optional
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 chayote or bell pepper, julienned
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, sliced
- 1 tsp whole pimento (allspice) berries
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Steps
- Season the fish with salt, pepper, and garlic, and let sit 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the oil to 350F and fry the fish until deeply golden and crispy, 5-7 minutes per side, then drain.
- In a separate pan, combine the vinegar, sugar, pimento berries, and salt, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the carrots, onion, chayote or bell pepper, and scotch bonnet, and simmer 3-5 minutes until just softened but still crisp.
- Pour the hot pickled vegetable mixture generously over the fried fish.
- Let rest at least 1 hour, ideally overnight refrigerated, before serving for the best flavor.