$$ · filleting, skinning, and trimming whole fish
Fillet a whole fish without wasting half of it
Following the bones and contours of whole fish with a narrow, flexible blade.
Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Flexible Fillet Knife
AI-generated illustration of the dish
Mexican snook fillets in mojo de ajo: a lot of garlic cooked slowly in oil and butter until it turns golden and sweet, then sharpened with lime. One of the standards of seafood restaurants from Veracruz to the Pacific coast, ready in about half an hour.
Serves 4Prep 15 minCook 20 min
Can't find Robalo?
- Loup de mer — Both are prized coastal white fish with mild, firm flesh — snook has a slightly stronger flavor and is found in warmer waters.
- Striped bass — Both are firm, white, large-flaked coastal fish that hold up to whole roasting and grilling — snook is sweeter and more tropical, striped bass richer and more mineral.
Ingredients & method
Ingredients
- 4 robalo (snook) fillets, about 180 g each, skin on or off
- 1 whole head of garlic (12 to 15 cloves), finely chopped or thinly sliced
- 80 ml olive or neutral oil
- 40 g butter
- 1 dried guajillo chile, seeded and cut into thin rings (optional, for mojo de ajo enchilado)
- Juice of 2 limes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro
- To serve: white rice, lime wedges, warm tortillas, a simple salad
Method
- 1Make the mojo first. Put the garlic and oil in a small pan over low heat and cook slowly, stirring often, for 8 to 12 minutes, until the garlic is soft and pale gold. Do not let it brown, or it turns bitter.
- 2Add the butter and the chile rings, if using, and cook 1 minute more. Take it off the heat, stir in half the lime juice and a pinch of salt, and set aside.
- 3Pat the fillets dry, season both sides with salt and pepper, and sprinkle them with the rest of the lime juice.
- 4Heat a wide frying pan over medium-high heat with a spoonful of oil taken from the top of the mojo.
- 5Lay the fillets in, skin side down if they have skin, and cook without moving them for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden underneath.
- 6Turn them carefully and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the flesh is opaque in the centre and flakes when pressed. Thick fillets need a little longer.
- 7Spoon the warm mojo de ajo, garlic and all, over the fish in the pan for the last 30 seconds. Scatter with parsley or cilantro and serve with rice and lime.
Cook this well
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Chef's tip
Snook is hard to buy in the US: Florida bans its commercial sale, so most robalo there is imported. Any firm, mild white fish takes this sauce: sea bass (lubina), red snapper (huachinango), grouper (mero) or halibut. The mojo keeps for a week in the fridge and is just as good on shrimp.
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