Spanish Mackerel Ceviche/Ceviche De Sierra

This ceviche is typical of Mazatlan, Sinaloa Mexico. It's called Ceviche de Sierra over there; Sierra is just another name for Spanish Mackerel. We prepare this fish by cooking it with the acidity of lime juice. Perfect for hot days!

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

1. 2 fresh Spanish mackerels; I purchased mine at an Asian market. They usually have good sea food.
2. A medium bag of carrots or approximately 12 carrots.
2. 1 bundle of cilantro
3. 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
4. 20 - 30 key limes
5. 1 red onion
6. 2 cucumbers
7. 2-3 serrano peppers
8. Salt and black pepper
9. Garlic salt
10. Tostadas or "duros" to eat the ceviche with. I got these at my local Mexican market

Step 2: Prepare the Fish

I got my fish cleaned at the market, but I prefer to filet it my self. You can get them filleted at the market if you ask the staff.
Once the fish is filleted, begin by scraping the meat off the skin and center bones using a spoon and fork. The final texture of the fish will be very much like ground beef.
Place all the fish meat in a container and ensure there are no bones in the meat. Season the fish with salt and black pepper.
Now, we are going to cook the fish using lime juice. We have to gather enough lime juice to cover all the fish uniformly. I use a lime squeezer and a sieve to catch any unwanted seeds.
Mix throughly for a few minutes and place container in the refrigerator. The fish will slowly turn opaque white. Mix it every 10 minutes for half an hour to make sure the lime juice gets all over the fish evenly.

Step 3: Prepare the Veggies

While the fish rests in the refrigerator, beginning prepping the vegetables. Wash all the veggies and peel the carrots and cucumbers.
The carrots will be grated using the finest side you have on your vegetable grater/shredder. I didn't use the teardrop looking sides, but the other rough side of the shredder (don't know the name of it)
Remove the seeds from the peeled cucumbers and cut into small cubes.
Finely chop the red onion as small as possible. I used half of a large red onion and placed it on a bowl by itself (We will cook the onion with lime as well). Chop the serranos as fine as possible and put them in the same bowl as the onion.
NOTE: if spice is not desired, then omit the serranos peppers or decrease the amount.
Add a layer of garlic salt on top of the chopped onions, also add the tablespoon of dried oregano. Next, add lime juice to cover the onions and mix throughly. Let it sit for a few minutes; in the mean time, check on the fish and mix it around.

Step 4: Combine All Ingredients

The last step is to put all the ingredients together. Make sure all the fish is cooked throughly, it should be white in color and NOT translucid. If it is not opaque-white, then mix it some more and allow it to cook for more time with the lime juice.
If the fish is ready to go, we must squeeze out most of the lime juice we used to cook the fish with. With your hands, grab a handful of fish and squeeze the juice out and place the fish in another container. Repeat until all fish meat is relatively dry.
To the sqeeze-dried fish meat add all the vegetables and mix all around. Chop up the cilantro and incorporate it in the mix. Taste it and adjust the seasoning by adding more lime, more salt, or more pepper to you preference. Serve it with tostadas, "duros", or saltine crackers. Keep a tapatio or any other hot sauce handy to spice it a little more if needed. Enjoy with a cold beer!
This preparation is good for up to 2-3 days. Otherwise the lime will turn bitter.