Can anyone tell me what these fish are in the local pescaderia?

[mel150]

I don't so much want translation as a general idea of how good they are (or bad) for eating. I'm looking for a meaty fish, I'm real tired of flounder and dislike tilapia, but have had some good snapper here.

Cazon- we had this, seemed like maybe a shark fillet?
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Cochito -
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Corbina-​

Callo Escarlopa-​

Caracol- Snail?​

Hanta-​

Curbina-​

Collito de Arbol-

Thanks!! :razz:
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[playaperro]

The best fish to eat is called an entrajero however you spell it .

You can find them at gammas deep fried the whole fish head and all..

They call it pargo frito...here in the Tucson area

 

[mel150]

entrajero, huh? Excellent, I'll look for them at Gamma's, thanks. Have you ever cooked them yourself? Any way to cook them except deep fried?

 

[playaperro]

entrajero, huh? Excellent, I'll look for them at Gamma's, thanks. Have you ever cooked them yourself? Any way to cook them except deep fried?

Yes I have google pargo frito..pargo is snapper but they really use entrajero

 

[dmcauley]

Extranjero = snapper pargo=snapper
Corbina and curbina= The v is pronounced b in Sonora= Corvina
Callo escarlopa=scallop
Caracol=conch
Hanta????? Manta maybe?

 

[playaperro]

entrajero, huh? Excellent, I'll look for them at Gamma's, thanks. Have you ever cooked them yourself? Any way to cook them except deep fried?

Oh we go to the fish market not the malecon one and buy the fish and tell the owner to fillet the entrajero.. we cook it in foil we put fresh green
chiles and what ever we have in the frig veggies the more the better. put it in the grill wait about 15 min. or the foil pops up and your done. We do it to the white big clams too..He also cleans those and we cook them in the shells same veggies, foil...

 

[Stuart]

Extranjero - "stranger fish" - is actually gold-spotted bass. They regularly have them at Lee Lee market in Chandler, too. Pargo is an entirely different fish.

Cochito - Trigger fish

Corbina, Curbina, etc. - sea trout

Other stuff - scallops, snails, conch is correct. Hanta is most likely stingray or manta ray.

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[InkaRoads]

never heard of "entrajero", in the other hand "extranjero" is forigner as in illegal, documented or with a visa, where "stranger fish" will translate to "desconocido", "raro" or "estrano" of course with the tilde in top of the "n" and fish/pescado added to it in front.
And for those that forgot or do not know "pez" is a live fish and "pescado" is a dead fish

 

[Stuart]

I wasn't attempting translation, Inka - "stranger fish" is another name the locals use for extranjero or gold-spotted bass. Just like here in the US, the same fish can have different names locally. It's especially bad with with the word "cabrilla." Show a Mexican a bass-like fish and 9 times out of 10 they will tell you it's a cabrilla. In Baja, the locals call leopard grouper cabrilla. In Rocky Point, the locals call leopard grouper sardinero. Exact same fish, different names! :razz:

 

[mel150]

Thanks, all, very much appreciated!

 

[dmcauley]

Altho most snapper = pargo in spanish, red snapper is called hauchinango
I have heard gold spots referred to as calico also

 

[bahiatrader]

The names of fish are often provincial and ambiguous. When I came from the Gulf of Mexico to the Sea of Cortez I had to re-learn the names of several fish. Same fish, different name. I'm told the linguado, or Cortez halibut is a California flounder. I like 'em all if they're fresh. I have one rule when I buy fish anywhere. Smell the meat. If it has a "fishy" odor it has begun to decay. I've walked into pescaderias where the "fish" smell was so overwhelming I just turned around and walked out. There are always cleaner, better maintained shops. I believe decayed fish has led many people to dislike fish. I've converted a few without using a lot of spices or sauce to hide the flavor. Fresh fish is good food.

 

[Stuart]

Lenguado = flounder or halibut

Chicken fish = puffer (I'd avoid this, personally)

Rabbit fish = whitefish (excellent eating)

It's very easy to tell the difference between trigger fish and halibut looking at the fillets. Triggers, because of their shape, nearly always have a triangular-shaped fillet. Flounder or halibut fillets are generally long and narrow. Of course, nothing prevents a chef from cutting a trigger fillet into a long narrow shape. There is a distinct difference in texture and taste between the two when cooked. Trigger fish has a much tighter flesh and tastes more like crab. Real flounder practically melts in your mouth. When raw, trigger fillets tend to be more red/pink. Halibut fillets are more yellow in color than white. Both cook up perfectly white.

To Dan's point on pargo - again, local naming conventions. In Cabo, we catch large orange/brown dogtooth snappers, which are true "pargo" as I know them. There are a few other similar fish that fit the pargo category. In the northern Sea of Cortez, we catch (as you said) huachinango, or true red snappers. They are also commonly called "colorados" (meaning red) by the locals in Rocky Point. I have heard them refer to other snapper-type fish as pargo on occasion. We've also caught smaller vermillion snapper on occasion and I've heard them called pargo.

We've also caught pacific porgies - a short, tall silver fish with big eyes, dark bars running down the length of the body. I've commonly heard these called "mojarra".
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/prgy/prgysnow002.jpg

As I said previously, what a given fish is called often depends on who you show it to! :boat:

 

[bahiatrader]

We classify fish by their scientific names, i.e Genus, species, and sometimes sub species to prevent ambiguity. A dorado, mahi mahi or dolphin fish is a Coryphaena hippurus anywhere in the Western world. I don't get that concerned with it. "A rose by any other name..."
Incidentally, a small amount of garlic and ginger never hurt the flavor of any fish. One of my favorites is to smear fresh garlic or sprinkle a little garlic powder on fresh 1/2" fillets. Steam it over boiling water with ginger in it for ten minutes. You can serve it with tartar sauce or salsa, but it's pretty darned good by itself. A little squirt of limon is OK too.

 

[Shore_Fisher]

One of my favorite fish dishes is fish risotto, particularly in the winter, with some fresh crusty bread and butter. It is somewhat labor-intensive, as you have to man the stove more or less constantly throughout, but it is pretty quick to cook.

I always keep a good bunch of heads and bones after I fillet any fish I catch (Corvina are perfect for this). I boil these in water to cover for an hour or so with a couple of chopped onions and carrots, as well as a bunch of whatever herbs are handy and salt and pepper. The resulting stock, once well strained, is extremely rich, and can be frozen and used when you need it, for seafood soups, stews and particularly risotto.

For the risotto I fry up some finely chopped onion and garlic in a good amount of olive oil for a bit (Soft, but not browning) over a medium-high heat, then add a few handfuls of Arborio rice and fry that for a couple of minutes too, stirring all the time. You can also add some pine nuts and/or raisins at this stage, if you want.

Then I turn up the heat to max and add a good splash of white wine and cook until it is just absorbed, stirring all the time. Then I start adding the fish stock (heating to near-boiling in the microwave or on the stove beforehand) a cup at a time, stirring all the time and adding more stock as required to stop the rice sticking or drying out.

After about 15 minutes of this the rice should be nearly cooked (Still having some good bite to it). Make sure everybody eating is at the table with beer/wine at this point. I add a final cup or so of stock, turn down the heat to minimum, or off completely, and lay the fish of choice (Again corvina is good), chopped into ~1” squares, on top of the rice. Cover the pan, wait a few minutes, then the fish should be cooked.

Sprinkle a good amount of parmesan cheese and gently stir to mix in the cheese (Without breaking up the fish too much). Serve and eat immediately, or it will overcook. It should be somewhat runny rather than sticky.

A non-stick pan or wok is the best to use to avoid sticking/burning, and if you stop after adding the last cup of stock, you have a great side dish for other meals too.

 

[Stuart]

Of course you posted this just before lunch! Sounds great! <tummy grumble>

 

[joester]

Conch -

is Conch available at Lee Lee market?
would like to experiment with a fritter recipe.
thanks

 

[Stuart]

I think they have conch. Might be frozen; don't recall seeing it fresh. Look closely in the freezers in front of the fresh fish counter. That's where it's likely to be. If not, they may have it canned.

If it comes from the sea in any way, shape, or form, Lee-Lee's has it. I'm constantly amazed at some of the stuff I see there AND that people actually eat it!

 

[Mentiras y Traición]

I think they have conch. Might be frozen; don't recall seeing it fresh. Look closely in the freezers in front of the fresh fish counter. That's where it's likely to be. If not, they may have it canned.

If it comes from the sea in any way, shape, or form, Lee-Lee's has it. I'm constantly amazed at some of the stuff I see there AND that people actually eat it!

If you want to get creeped out about what people eat, read "Fast Food Nation." Guaranteed you will be a vegetarian for the next several months...at least!