Cabracho and Red scorpionfish are the same fish. Different languages, different markets, one species — so a recipe calling for one works exactly as written with the other.
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.
One species, one fishmonger’s counter at a time.
| Country | Called |
|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Red scorpionfish |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Red scorpionfish |
| 🇫🇷France | Rascasse rouge |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Cabracho |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Rascasso |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Scorfano rosso |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Drachenkopf |
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