Making Ceviche for the First Time

A bit of fresh lime and orange juice, a little jalapeño, a pinch of cumin, a little cilantro. Add a bit of diced avocado just before service and taste for salt at that time.

Shrimp, scallops, tomato, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, cucumber, lime juice, lots of salt and pepper. Eat with cracked pepper & olive oil Triscuits and Cholula hot sauce.

Firm white is what you want as far as fish.
Grouper or redfish.
Shrimp or crab add more flavor.
And I agree with putting shaved scallops in it.

Citrus is your key ingredient.
A mix of key lime and Meyer lemon (along with zest) cook and bring out a freshness to the dish.

Seasoning should be light. You want the seafood to be the star.
But play with:
Kosher salt (which helps "sweat")
White pepper
Cumin
Coriander
Ancho powder
Etc.

Play with fresh herbs and veggies but small dice. No one wants to fight a 2 inch large cubed onion or bell.

Green onion
Red pepper
Parsley ( I personally love it)
Leek
Cilantro

I love the idea of adding a shot of orange or grapefruit juice for the sugar content and some complexity.

Slice, mix, stir, and let it marinate for 45-90 minutes.
Check firmness of seafood.. if all the clear seafood is now literally firm and white you are good to go.

As far as the chip or cracker..
Take a flour tortilla. Cut into quarters. butter , salt and pan fry.
Let dry on paper towels and enjoy.

I know my explanations are vague.. but i can't walk you through it all in text

Seems like sound advice, Vilma.

Question: Obviously, uber-fresh seafood is best, but does ceviche work well with frozen seafood? I’m trying one. Real real soon.

It can be done with frozen. But it needs to be thawed and pat dry.

Frozen shrimp would be my suggestion if frozen.

But for fish. Fresh.
It's the spirit of ceviche.

Think of going out on a boat 1.5 hours offshore. You catch a beautiful red. Clean and marinate while on the boat.

When you get close to shore , that dish is light, refreshing and hits the damn spot

i've always had ceviche with fresh white fish. is there an argument for or against using fresh salmon? love salmon sushi/sashimi and i could imagine ceviche being tasty as well.

We use Cantina Laredo's recipe and love it:

Seafood Mix
2 Large Fillets of Fish
2 lbs of Shrimp (Optional)
4-5 Squeezed Fresh Limes
Kosher Salt (2 pinches)
2 Tbsp Cholula Hot Sauce

Vegetables
3 tbsp Capers, drained
2 tbsp sliced Green Olives
3/4 Red Onion, julienne sliced (wife prefers diced)
1 Red Bell Pepper, julienne sliced (wife prefers diced)
½ Bunch Cilantro, finely chopped
3-4 Large Vine Ripe Tomatoes, diced, seeds removed
3 Jalapenos, finely chopped (only use half-3/4 the seeds)
1 tsp Mexican Dry Oregano
2 tsp Salt

Garnish
Whole Avocado or 5!
Rest of bunch of Cilantro
Lime Wedges
Tortilla Chips


Cut fish and shrimp into 1/2' to 3/4" chunks. Place in plastic container with lid and add lime juice from the 4-5 limes, Kosher Salt, & Choula Hot Sauce from above. Shake and refrigerate for 12 hours.

(To keep the veggies fresh and crisp, mix approximately an hour before you serve) In separate container, mix all items under Vegetables section (add ¾ tbsp salad oil if you desire the veggies a little broken down…I don’t, as I like them crunchy). Place in fridge until ready to use.

After 12 hours, remove seafood mix from refrigerator. Drain juice; Fold into the vegetable mix, squeeze another fresh lime in mixture and place on serving dish. Garnish with avocado, additional cilantro and lime wedges.

I made it not that long ago with fresh tuna. Was insanely delicious and simple.

Here’s the link to my thread: LINK

Imo ceviche marinade overtakes the flavoring of any mild white fish you use. Shrimp hold up better bc you can actually still taste shrimp. I don’t like what it does to the consistency of the shrimp though.

That said, I have a bunch of grouper in the freezer and made ceviche last weekend. Pretty standard recipe like the ones mentioned here



I think people really like cerviche bc the marinade is packed with flavor and pairs well with salted chips