Birria de Pescado

Name: Birria de Pescado
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, plus more as needed; 10 guajillo chiles; 5 Roma tomatoes; 4 tablespoons (60 ml) apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon (4 g) dried marjoram; 4 bay leaves; 1 tablespoon (10 g) whole black peppercorns; ¼ cup (40 g) diced onion; ½ whole cinnamon stick; 6 large cloves garlic; 6 whole cloves; 1 tablespoon (8 g) ground cumin; 1 tablespoon (4 g) dried ground thyme; 1 tablespoon (4 g) dried Mexican oregano leaves; 1 tablespoon (4 g) dried Mexican oregano leaves; 3 pounds (1.4 kg) whole red snapper, cleaned and deboned and cut into 4 pieces, head reserved; Salt and pepper, to taste; Salt and pepper, to taste; 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour; Diced avocado, for garnish

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Birrias

By Jesse Valenciana

Published 2025

About

This fish in birria sauce is spicy and tomatoey, but if you prefer less heat, you can decrease the number of chiles you use and/or deseed them. The fish and sauce can be served as a stew or used as a filling for tacos, topped with avocado and curtido.

Ingredients

¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, plus more as needed
10 guajillo chiles

Americas
Mexico
Stew
Fish course
Garnish
Pescatarian
Central America

Method

Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Remove the stems, devein, and deseed the guajillo chiles.
Add the tomatoes and guajillos to a medium stockpot, fill with enough water to cover the ingredients, and bring to a boil over high heat. Transfer the guajillos to one small bowl and the tomatoes to another. Reserve the water.