Escovitch Salmon

Escovitch Salmon is a vibrant, colourful, full of zesty flavour dish, made with seasoned pan fried salmon fillets marinated in a spicy pickled vegetable medley of Scotch bonnet peppers, vinegar, and aromatic spices. If you're bored with other salmon recipes, this Jamaican dish is a fresh way to spice up dinner.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Fish & Seafood, Jamaican & Caribbean, Main Dishes & Entrees

Cuisine: Jamaican

Keyword: Escovitch salmon, escovitch salmon recipe, escovitch salmon recipe jamaican, escovitch salmon recipe jamaican style, escovitch sauce, how to make escovitch salmon, what is escovitch salmon

Servings: servings

Author: Taneisha Morris

Equipment

Non-Stick Pan or Skillet
Fish Turner or Flipper
Rack and Sheet Pan
Splatter Screen

Ingredients

Salmon Steaks

3 Salmon Steaks or fillets
1-2 tsp Seasoning Salt or seafood seasoning/ all purpose seasoning
2 tsp Salt optional, as desired
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper sliced, optional
3 cloves Garlic crushed
5 whole Pimento Seeds allspice berries
1 1/4 cup Cooking Oil canola, sunflower, peanut or safflower oil

Escovitch Dressing

2 Yellow Onion medium, sliced
1 Carrot medium, julienned
1/2 Orange Bell Pepper julienned, or any colour
1/2 Red Bell Pepper julienned, or any colour
1/2 Chayote large, julienned
1/2 Scotch Bonnet Pepper seeds removed and sliced
6-7 Whole Pimento Seeds
1/4 cup White Vinegar
3 tsp Granulated White Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt more or less to taste
1 tsp Oil from pot used to fry fish

Instructions

Prep and Season Salmon

Prepare your salmon steaks (clean, scale, rinse); pat dry. Season with all purpose or seasoning salt, salt and black pepper. Marinate overnight or a few hours ahead for best results.
Using a large, non-stick skillet, heat cooking oil, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and pimento seeds on medium-high heat. Fry salmon for about 5 minutes on each side. Do not flip until it can freely move (a crisp exterior should have formed on the fish). Remove salmon from oil (reserve about 2 tbsp) and place on wire rack to drain excess oil; set aside.

Escovitch Dressing

Prep your vegetables and set aside. In the same skillet used to fry salmon, add scotch bonnet, chayote, carrot, bell peppers, onions, vinegar, pimento, reserved oil, sugar and salt. Saute over high heat then allow to simmer for about 3 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Transfer fish into a dish with a lid. Pour and spoon the escovitch dressing on top of the salmon then cover with a lid. Allow to marinate overnight, and serve the next day for best results.

Notes

Air Fryer Method - preheat airfryer to 400°F (200°C) and place seasoned fish in the air fryer basket for about 14-16 minutes turning at the halfway point. If using whole snapper or fish, cut the fish in half to fit in basket if too large.

Frying Fish - do not flip your fish until it can freely move in the pan; this will ensure it stays whole and intact.

Pimento Seeds - also known as whole allspice berries add deeper flavour than ground allspice, but they aren’t meant to be eaten. When ready to eat, leave them in the serving plate.

See additional notes section above, for more tips.

Nutrition