We recently took a trip to La Paz (which is my new favorite place in Mexico) and came home with a TON of Amberjack. The guys Clay went spearfishing with told us how much they like to smoke the Amberjack, so we gave it a try and it is DELICIOUS. I made this “tuna” salad and a fish dip with the smoked fish so far – I will share the smoked fish dip recipe in a separate blog post.
This was our first time in La Paz and I absolutely LOVED it – I’m actually a little hesitant to share too much about this place because I feel like it is kind of a hidden gem right now. It is definitely NOT touristy, which was what I loved most about it. I only encountered a handful of Americans within the gates of Costa Baja (where we rented a villa), most of the guests were from Mexico City, Monterrey and other cities in Mexico – so it is not at all “Anericanized”.
Clay went spearfishing with Patrick of BACo and had an epic time. Here is a picture of some of the Amberjacks they got.
The BACo guys have an awesome video about how to smoke Amberjack – linked here. We pretty much followed their method. I will include step by step directions in the recipe below.
At our villa in Costa Baja
The marina at Costa Baja
The beach club at Costa Baja
The smoked fish
Smoked Amberjack Salad
Ingredients
For the brine
We used this to brine about 4 pounds of fish
- 1 gallon water
- 10 ounces kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
For the smoking spritz
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
For the Amberjack Salad
- 12 ounces Amberjack
- ½ cup celery, small dice
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, you can adjust this based on desired level of moisture
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
For the brine
- Combine all ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil
- Remove from heat and let cool
For the spritz
- Mix all ingredients together in a spray bottle
To smoke the Amberjack
- Once brine has cooled, place the fish in the brine and let sit in refrigerator for about 3 hours
- Smoke at 250 – 275 degrees until internal temp of fish is 165 degrees, about 2 hours
- Spray fish with the spritz mixture about every 30 minutes while smoking
For the Amberjack salad
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and parsley
- Place chunks of the smoked Amberjack in a food processor and pulse about 5 times until it is in small pieces
- Add Amberjack and diced celery to mayonnaise mixture. Add more mayonnaise or lemon juice if salad seems too dry
- Season with salt + pepper to taste
