What is Cabracho called in France?

In France, Cabracho is known as Rascasse rouge.

What is Cabracho called in Italy?

In Italy, Cabracho is known as Scorfano rosso.

What is Cabracho called in Portugal?

In Portugal, Cabracho is known as Rascasso.

What is Cabracho called in the United States?

In the United States, Cabracho is known as Red scorpionfish.

What is Cabracho called in the United Kingdom?

In the United Kingdom, Cabracho is known as Red scorpionfish.

What is Cabracho called in Germany?

In Germany, Cabracho is known as Drachenkopf.

What family does Cabracho belong to?

Cabracho belongs to Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish family.

Cabracho

Fish · Scorpaenidae

Cabracho in English is Red scorpionfish. It belongs to the Scorpaenidae family; the names below show how the same fish is sold across international markets.

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Also called

🇺🇸🇬🇧Red scorpionfish🇫🇷Rascasse rouge🇵🇹Rascasso🇮🇹Scorfano rosso🇩🇪Drachenkopf

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.

Names by country

Country	Name	Notes
🇺🇸United States	Red scorpionfish	Rarely sold in the US; a different genus from the Pacific rockfish sold there
🇬🇧United Kingdom	Red scorpionfish
🇫🇷France	Rascasse rouge	The classic bouillabaisse fish — Marseille cooks treat it as non-negotiable
🇪🇸Spain	Cabrachoprimary	Also cabra or escórpora in Catalonia; the fish behind pastel de cabracho
🇵🇹Portugal	Rascasso
🇮🇹Italy	Scorfano rosso	Used for zuppa di pesce and acqua pazza
🇩🇪Germany	Drachenkopf

Culinary substitutes

Rockfish

Both are Scorpaeniformes with spiny heads and sweet firm white flesh, and English calls both of them scorpionfish or rockfish depending on the coast — but cabracho is a Mediterranean fish bought whole for the broth its head makes, while Pacific rockfish is sold as mild fillets.

Lotte

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.

Often confused with

Cabracho vs Red scorpionfishsame fish Cabracho vs Rockfish Cabracho vs Lotte

Handling fish at home

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