How Do You Make Fried Fish Even Better?

08.06.08
By pickling it, of course.

The Spanish love to use escabeche for game birds—as in the escabeche of quail shown here—but I'm a sucker for pickling fried fish.

Summer in New York is a balancing act between the compulsive urge to eat as much of the season’s bounty as possible and the strong desire not to make my apartment any hotter by, say, heating something on the stove. One trick I use, especially when people are coming over, is to cook things ahead so the house can be cool during dinner, and this year’s cook-ahead dish of choice has turned out to be escabeche.

Escabeche is Spanish for “pickled, ” and the basic idea is to pour a hot vinegar marinade over cooked fish or meat and let things sit for a while. It’s a technique, like curing, that was developed to preserve food but turns out to be tasty enough to do for fun. The Spanish love to treat game birds this way—the September issue of Gourmet, for example, has a recipe for escabeche of quail from chef Raquel Carena—but I’m a sucker for pickling fried fish.

In “On Food and Cooking” Harold McGee quotes a recipe from Apicius from the 4th or 5th century that’s got the basic idea: “To make fried fish keep longer. The moment that they are fried and lifted from the pan, pour hot vinegar over them. ” Oily fish (mackerel, sardines, or the bluefish I never saw before moving East but now love) work best, since they have strong enough personalities to stand up to the sharp marinade. I dredge the fish in flour, salt, and pepper first, then fry them up, erring on the side of very slight undercooking, then put them on a rack or paper towel to drain. I pour most of the oil out of the pan, then add a big pile of sweet or red onions, sliced not too thinly, and some other aromatics—some garlic, maybe a chile or two, perhaps parsley or some other fish-friendly herb. When the vegetables have softened a little I pour in ½ cup or more of white wine, champagne, or sherry vinegar and maybe some lemon or lime juice. When that comes to a boil I transfer the fish to a shallow dish and pour the contents of the pan over the fish. Bingo, dinner’s finished, and will just keep getting better the longer it sits.

If I’m serving it within a few hours I just leave it on the counter, but the wrapped-up dish can rest happily in the fridge for a few days as long as you leave enough time to let the fish come to room temperature before bringing it to the table. Serve this stuff with a crusty white bread—you’ll want to sop up the marinade.

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