Cabracho and Lotte are different fish, but they're close enough in the kitchen to stand in for one another.
Scorpaenidae
Cabracho
Cabracho is the red scorpionfish of the Atlantic and Mediterranean — a spiny, big-headed, unlovely fish that is one of the most prized ingredients in Spanish and French cooking precisely because of what it does to a broth. Its bones and head give more gelatin and flavour than almost anything else in the market, which is why it is the backbone of Marseille's bouillabaisse (as rascasse) and the whole point of the Basque pastel de cabracho, a cold set terrine served with mayonnaise that is the dish most Spanish cooks meet it in. The flesh itself is white, firm and sweet, but there is not much of it and the spines are venomous, so it is usually bought whole and cleaned by the fishmonger. Do not confuse it with the Pacific rockfish sold in the United States: those are Sebastes, a related but distinct genus, sold as fillets rather than cooked whole for stock.
Full guide →Lophiidae
Lotte
Monkfish is an extraordinarily ugly deep-sea fish that is almost entirely sold as its tail — the only edible part widely available at market. Its flesh is dense, meaty, and almost lobster-like in texture, holding up exceptionally well to roasting, grilling, and inclusion in stews and soups. In France it is called lotte and is a bistro staple. In Spain rape is used in a famous garlic sauce.
Full guide →Both are ugly, big-headed fish with firm sweet flesh that hold up in stews and soups — monkfish gives more meat per fish, cabracho gives far more flavour to the liquid.
| Country | Cabracho | Lotte |
|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Red scorpionfish | Monkfish |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Red scorpionfish | Monkfish |
| 🇫🇷France | Rascasse rouge | Lotte |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Cabracho | Rape |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | — | Rape |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Rascasso | Tamboril |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | — | Peixe-sapo |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Scorfano rosso | Coda di rospo |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Drachenkopf | Seeteufel |
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