Iberia · Volume 08, The Sherry Triangle and the Kitchen Al-Andalus Left Behind
Cazón en Adobo (Bienmesabe)
Cádiz
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 2 hours 20
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Cazón, a smooth-hound shark or dogfish, is marinated in a paste of garlic, sweet paprika, cumin, oregano, white wine vinegar and a little olive oil, pounded in a mortar, then cut into bite-sized pieces, floured and fried. Marinating time genuinely varies across sources, from a minimum of two hours to a fuller eight, and this chapter, as stated in the Technique Ladder above, treats the eight hour version as the more traditional, slower home method.
As tradition built it
Serves 4. About 20 minutes active, plus at least 2 hours, ideally 8, marinating.
Ingredients
- 600 g cazón (dogfish), or a firm, sustainable UK substitute such as huss
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 100 ml white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for frying
- to taste salt
- 200 g flour, for dredging
Method
- Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces.
- Pound the garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, vinegar, oil and salt to a paste in a mortar, or blitz briefly.
- Coat the fish pieces in the marinade, cover, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally 8, turning once or twice.
- Drain the fish, dredge in flour, and shake off the excess.
- Deep fry in hot olive oil until golden, a few minutes depending on piece size, and drain on paper before serving.
What a modern chef changes
The marinade's chemistry taken seriously, and the fry treated with the same discipline as pescaíto frito's own rung.
Rung 3
Method
- Vacuum-seal the fish with the marinade rather than simply covering it in a bowl, for more even, faster penetration of the acid and spice through the flesh, effectively compressing the traditional eight-hour cure into a shorter, more consistent window.
- Toast the cumin whole and grind it fresh immediately before building the marinade, rather than using pre-ground cumin from a jar, for a rounder, less flat spice note through the finished fish.
- Fry at the same controlled, thermometer-checked temperature as the pescaíto frito rung, since the marinade's sugar content from the paprika makes this fish more prone to catching than a plain-floured piece, and an unmonitored oil temperature is the most common way this dish goes from deeply savoury to simply burnt.