Tacos in Nayarit
Nayarit, on Mexico's Pacific coast, is the home of pescado zarandeado, butterflied fish grilled in a hinged basket, and its seafood kitchen also supplies fried fish chicharrón tacos, shrimp dishes and Salsa Huichol, the bottled table sauce founded in the state capital, Tepic.
Pescado zarandeado
Pescado zarandeado is fish opened flat and held inside a zaranda, a hinged grill basket, so that it can be turned over the coals without breaking apart. Larousse calls it the most popular way to prepare fish in Nayarit and names the island of Mexcaltitán as its place of origin. Mexico News Daily traces the dish back some five centuries to the Totorame people of the coast. Traditionally the basket and the fuel were both mangrove wood; environmental rules now mean that most cooks use metal baskets over charcoal.
Snapper and sea bass are typical. Marinades range from the older achiote, garlic, lime and salt to modern mixtures with mustard, mayonnaise, soy or Worcestershire sauce. The fish is brought to the table whole and diners flake it off with a fork into corn tortillas, adding salsa, cucumber, tomato and onion, so that each person makes their own tacos. Time Out Mexico notes that the preparation spread from Nayarit along the Pacific coast, and Larousse records it as a specialty of Mazatlán in neighboring Sinaloa, cooked in the Nayarit manner.
Fried fish and shrimp
With nearly 300 km of shoreline, Nayarit eats a great deal of seafood. Chicharrón de pescado, strips of fish such as sea bass or tilapia dredged in flour or batter and deep-fried, is typically served in tacos with salsa and lime. Shrimp appears in ceviche, in shrimp pozole and in tlaxtihuilli, a masa-thickened shrimp and chile soup also attributed to the Totorame of Mexcaltitán.
Salsa Huichol
Salsa Huichol, a bottled hot sauce, was founded in Tepic in 1949 by Roberto López Flores, who began by filling reused beer bottles and delivering them to bars by bicycle. Its heat comes from cascabel and other chiles, and the company is now based in Xalisco.
Signature tacos
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See also
References
- "State By Plate: Nayarit and pescado zarandeado". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Pescado zarandeado". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Dónde comer tacos de otros estados de México en la CDMX". Time Out México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.