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📍 Tabasco

Pejelagarto asado (grilled gar)

· Lunch

A fish endemic to Tabasco, grilled over charcoal and served shredded with amashito chile.

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Pejelagarto asado (grilled gar): A fish endemic to Tabasco, grilled over charcoal and served shredded with amashito chile.
Photo: Alfonsobouchot · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 50 min🍽 4 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Gluten-free🌱 Dairy-free
Preparation
20 min
Cooking
30 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

The pejelagarto is a prehistoric fish from the rivers and lagoons of Tabasco. It is grilled whole over coals, and its flesh is used in tacos with amashito chile salsa.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Clean the pejelagarto and salt it inside.

  2. 2

    Grill it whole over the coals, turning it little by little.

  3. 3

    Remove the hard skin and pull off the flesh.

  4. 4

    Shred the grilled flesh.

  5. 5

    Prepare an amashito chile salsa with lime and onion.

  6. 6

    Serve the meat in tacos with the salsa.

Cooking tips

  • Ask for cleaned fish and check 63 °C before removing the skin and separating the bones.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Buy cleaned fish from a food supplier; its tough skin is difficult to prepare at home without suitable equipment. Use moderate heat and turn carefully to cook without burning the surface. Check the thickest flesh using the fish cooking reference. Let it cool enough to remove the skin, then inspect for bones before shredding. Prepare salsa separately and adjust chile for the people eating it.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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