Smoked Swordfish Salad Mazatlan Recipes

GRILLED SWORDFISH SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grill grate, and place about 4 inches from heat source.
• Lightly brush the swordfish steaks and mango slices with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Cook the swordfish steaks on preheated grill until lightly browned on both sides, turning once, 5 to 7 minutes per side. After turning, arrange mangos slices over the steaks, and cook 5 minutes more.
• Toss the spinach, tomatoes, and kumquats together in a bowl. Whisk together 1/3 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over the spinach mixture and toss to coat evenly. To serve, divide the salad among 4 serving plates, and top with swordfish and mangoes.

SMOKED FISH SALAD "MICHELE"

Steps:

• Bring some water to a boil and blanch the ginger until tender; drain and dry; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl combine oil, lemon juice, capers, salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss the spinach with most of the vinaigrette, reserving some for avocadoes. Peel avocado and slice into 3 by 1 inch pieces. Toss avocado with remaining dressing.
• Set dressed spinach in the middle of each dinner plate. Place avocado slices in a crown around spinach. Place the pieces of smoked fish, alternating the sable with the salmon, around avocado. Garnish spinach with julienned ginger.

GRILLED SWORDFISH WITH SMOKED TOMATO SALSA

Steps:

• Divide the swordfish into four pieces of equal size. Place it in a dish that will hold it in a single layer.
• Combine the juice of one lime with the cumin, one-fourth cup of olive oil and salt and Cayenne pepper to taste. Pour over the fish and turn it to coat all sides. Marinate about 45 minutes.
• Preheat grill or broiler. Brush the tomato and onion slices with the remaining olive oil and grill or broil them until they just begin to sear. Remove from grill, allow to cool slightly.
• Finely chop the tomatoes and onions and combine with the scallions, coriander and remaining lime juice in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Grill or broil the fish to the desired degree of doneness. It should take about eight minutes for medium.
• Check seasonings of salsa. Serve the fish with a topping of the salsa on each portion.

SMOKED FISH

Steps:

• Mix all brine ingredients thoroughly.
• Cut fish in 1-2" pieces, leaving skin on.
• If fish is fresh, soak for 1-1/2 hours; if it has been frozen, soak for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove fish from marinade and place on smoker-racks skin-side down.
• Allow to glaze at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.
• I usually set a fan to blow across the fish and help them get dry to the touch and look very glazed.
• Cold-smoke (at 120-140 degrees F) for 8-12 hours to obtain desired flavor.
• Then hot smoke (at 180-200 degrees F) for 1-2 hours or finish in a 300 degree F oven for 30-45 minutes to get desired texture.
• I do not like a mushy fish, so I cook it until it firms up, though it's hard to tell, though, until after it has cooled down.
• Cool to room temperature, freeze on cookie sheets, package, and store in freezer.
• Best with stronger flavored, oily fish such as salmon, tuna, or swordfish; in general, mild fish smoke poorly.
• Notes: I use a Brinkmann Smok’n Pit water-smoker.
• The water helps to keep the temperature low, and the steam in the smoke keeps meat more moist during long cooking.
• My smoker is intended for charcoal smoking, but for fish, I place soaked wood chips in a metal (not foil, foil will burn through, use real metal) sitting on top of a cheap hot plate (with a rheostat control, not just an on-off switch), which sits on a brick so the pan is up under the bottom of the smoker, where the charcoal pan normally sets.
• Adjust temperature by adjusting hot plate up or down (usually somewhere between low and medium), and throw another handful of wet wood chips into the pie plate every 30-40 minutes, when the smoke stops generating.
• Depending on my mood, and what kind of wood chips are available, I usually smoke fish with alder, cherry, oak, maple, orange or lemon wood (on the rare occasion I can find orange or lemon) Alder and cherry are usually the easiest to find, and they both work beautifully for fish.
• Do not use hickory or mesquite; they are just too strong and completely overwhelm fish!
• I usually double or triple this recipe; I have rigged my double-size smoker to take up to 4 racks to handle the larger amounts.
• Since this whole process takes a lot of time, the little extra effort is worth while, and the smoked fish freezes well, lasting a couple years with only a little deterioration in flavor or texture.
• SAFETY NOTE: Needless to say, DO THIS OUTDOORS!
• Cabon monoxide KILLS!