Jamaican Escovitch Fish (It's very Keto)

What Is Escovitch Fish?

Jamaican Escovitch Fish is a dish where fish is crisply fried and topped with a spicy vinegar sauce. The sauce is created by flash pickling onions, peppers and carrots with the hot oil and vinegar after the fish is fried. Traditionally, escovitch fish is eaten with Bammy or fried dumplings. Escovitch Fish can be eaten with anything. On the island, people enjoy this with hard dough bread, my favorite, root vegetables, rice and peas, fried plantains or even all by itself. Enjoy it however you would like! Your plate, your rules!

This is perfect for Keto!

It is a Red Snapper seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, fried in coconut oil and smothered in flash pickled onions and Scotch Bonnet pepper. It's a perfect combination of healthy protein and good healthy fats. The onions, you don't have to eat it all. I used one small onion which is approximately 8 net carbs total. For me, that's not a big deal.

To enjoy this dish, I wanted to be as close to authentic as possible so I ate this wonderful homeland meal with Sola Sweet and Buttery Bread.

Let's Begin!

Ingredients

Red Snapper or whatever fish you'd like to use

2 tablespoons sea salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 medium onion

scotch bonnet pepper

2/3 cup distilled white vinegar

1 lime

Method

Clean the fish thoroughly.

Rinse fish in cool water and squeeze the lime juice all over the exterior and interior of the fish.

Mix the salt and pepper together.

Score the fish on both sides.

Season the interior part of the fish and inside of the scored areas.

Heat your frying pan and add the oil. When it gets hot, add your fish and allow to fry for about 5 - 6 minutes on each side.

When the fish has cooked and reached a nice crispy texture, remove from the pan and place in a deep dish.

Slice onions horizontally and slice the scotch bonnet.

Please wear gloves when doing this as I have had the wonderful pleasure of clearing my sinuses via my eyes with peppery hands. Good times!

Keep the pan on a medium heat and add scotch bonnet and onions to the oil.

Allow the onions to cook until translucent and do not fry to crispness. We want to keep the integrity of the onions so they will have some crunch to them.

Add vinegar to the pan and allow it to sizzle and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes.

Turn the heat off when the vinegar as evaporated to about half the liquid and begin to add the onions and vinegar on top of the fried fish in the deep dish.

Here's a quick video of the process.

Allow the fish to stand and soak in the vinegar sauce for a few minutes, then devour it!

Now that is beautiful!

Enjoy!