Pickled Fish

Pickled fish in this Mexican-inspired escabeche style is the make-ahead seafood dish for hot weather entertaining. Mild white fish fillets get a quick poach in boiling water, then sit overnight in a tangy citrus and vinegar bath that transforms the texture from delicate to firm and brings the flavor to a bright, almost tropical pickled finish.

The marinade is the soul of the dish. Vinegar provides the puckering acid, orange juice and zest add a sweet citrus fragrance that balances the sharpness, and the green chiles bring a mild, slightly grassy heat that works beautifully against the fish.

Don’t overcook the fish in the initial poach. The vinegar in the marinade continues to firm the flesh as it sits in the fridge, so the fillets need to come out of the water just barely opaque, before they fully flake. Overpoaching followed by overnight pickling gives you tough, dry fish.

Use a firm, mild white fish like cod, halibut, or tilapia. Oily fish like salmon or mackerel get muddied by the citrus marinade. The fish needs to be the canvas, not the whole painting.

Serve cold, garnished with thin orange slices, alongside crusty bread, crackers, or as a topping for tostadas.

Chef Tips

• Use a glass or ceramic dish for marinating, the vinegar reacts with metal and can turn the fish gray.
• Cut the fillets into uniform 2-inch pieces before poaching for even cooking and easy serving.
• Save the orange peel for the marinade by zesting before juicing, the oils in the peel are more aromatic than the juice.
• The fish will keep for up to three days in the marinade, the flavor deepens with each passing day.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of coriander seeds and a few peppercorns to the marinade for a more aromatic profile.
• Swap green chiles for jalapeños or serranos for more heat.
• Use lime juice in place of orange for a sharper, more Caribbean-style pickled fish.