Lime n Salt den Seaznin'
Being surrounded by oceans usually means a diet high in fish, and Barbados is no exception. While we are most famous for our national flying fish, Bajans feast on a variety of fish. A visit to the fish markets on any coasts boasts marlin, tuna, billfish, swordfish, kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), baracuda, shark, turppets, jacks, snappers......the list really is too long to mention all.
Seaznin is usually stuffed into fish but my children have an aversion to finding pockets of "stuff" in their fish so I just coat all sides and leave to rest for a while, ideally overnight.
Our family usually gets their fish from "Muscles" (shown above) or his sister Rhonda.
Fish vendor busy cleaning flying fish
However this post is not about the market and the fact that families usually have one particular vendor that they have done business with all their lives. This is about what we Bajans do with fish once we get it home to our kitchens. Now this is top secret stuff so I will only say it once. The first secret to great fish is lime and salting. Not just fish but all meats get a treatment in a pan of heavily salted water with lime juice to remove that raw flesh smell. This is left to sit for about 10 minutes but depending on how much fish you are using it may be more. However you don't want the water to become white, that's a sign that your meat is leeching protein. After removing the fish from this water, the next important step is the seaznin'.
Seaznin: Bajan parlance for seasonings, is a blend of chopped onions, pepper, chive, thyme, garlic, scallion, and marjoram mixed with salt, clove and whatever dry condiments is preferred.
After coating with a mixture of breadcrumbs and flour with a touch of baking soda, fry up and enjoy that delicousness! These bad boys were paired with some super buttery breadfruit cou-cou and pickled cucumber.
Oh there are so many things Bajan to share, but another time. Hope you have as great a dinner as I do.
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