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Tacos de machaca de pescado

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Taco type
Also known as: Fish machaca tacos, Machaca de mantarraya, Stingray machaca tacos

Tacos de machaca de pescado are tacos filled with dried or cooked fish that is shredded and fried with tomato, onion, garlic and chile, a preserving technique of Baja California's fishing communities that is often made with stingray.

Contents
  1. History
  2. Preparation
  3. Serving
  4. Recipe
  5. Reviews
  6. See also
  7. References

History

Machaca is best known as the dried, pounded beef of northern Mexico, but the same idea has long been applied to fish along the Baja California peninsula. According to the Baja California Sur news site Posta, machaca de mantarraya arose in fishing communities where men spent days at sea and needed food that would keep; drying the stingray solved the problem, and the dish passed down through generations until it became a regional reference served at family gatherings and saints' day festivals. Dried stingray for home cooking is still sold in local shops and markets.

A fish machaca recipe published by Los Sabores de México is taken from the 1964 cookbook Senators That Cook, and the site notes that it is one of the few recipes from that book still made with the same ingredients and method.

Preparation

Dried fish is soaked overnight, rinsed in hot water to draw out salt, drained and crumbled, with bones and sinew picked out. Separately, roasted and peeled tomatoes and poblano chiles are chopped and fried with onion, garlic and oregano into a thick sauce. The shredded fish is sautéed in oil, combined with the sauce and seasoned with dried chile. Stingray versions described by a Los Cabos resort guide season the shredded meat with diced tomato, green chile, onion and cilantro.

Fresh fish can be used too: poached and flaked white fish, shark or ray cooked down with the same sofrito gives a milder machaca that does not need soaking.

Serving

The machaca is eaten in flour or corn tortillas as tacos, rolled into burritos, or served alongside beans, and it is also scrambled with eggs for breakfast, much as beef machaca is.

Recipe

Makes About 16 tacos · Time: Overnight soak for dried fish; about 45 minutes cooking

Ingredients

  • 500 g dried salted fish or stingray (or 800 g fresh white fish or shark, poached and flaked)
  • 4 Roma tomatoes
  • 2 poblano chiles
  • 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
  • 1 or 2 dried chiles de árbol, crumbled (to taste)
  • Salt
  • 16 flour or corn tortillas
  • Refried beans and lime to serve

Steps

  1. If using dried fish, soak it in cold water overnight, changing the water once. Rinse in hot water, drain, and shred finely, removing any bones.
  2. Roast the tomatoes and poblanos on a comal or under the broiler until blistered. Peel, seed and chop the poblanos; chop the tomatoes.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the poblano, then the tomato and oregano, and cook until thick, about 10 minutes.
  4. In another skillet heat the remaining oil and sauté the shredded fish for a few minutes. Add the sauce and the dried chile and cook, stirring, until fairly dry. Taste for salt.
  5. Serve in warm tortillas with beans and lime.

Leftover machaca is excellent scrambled with eggs.

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Este platillo típico de Baja California Sur conquista a locales y turistas". Posta BCS. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "Baja California-Style Machaca Fish Recipe". Los Sabores de México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "Top 5 Regional Dishes to Try in Baja California". Garza Blanca Resort blog. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Baja California Sur cuisine Fish tacos Seafood tacos Taco types