Grilled Stuffed Sheephead Burrito

Recipe by Eric Keener

We had a blast paddling out in our new Vibe Kayaks (the Shearwater 125 is basically a Rolls Royce on the water) and after covering some serious ground, decided on a spot to start spearfishing. While Zach was chasing a lingcod, I spotted a huge fish in a cave! A CA Sheephead! I try to only take about one of these fish per year, because they are good for the Northern California area since they eat purple urchin, which are currently a huge problem. I knew I wanted to enjoy this one to the fullest, so we made burritos and ceviche!

If you are pressed for time or simply want a rad meal that takes next to no time to make, this one is for you. It doesn’t require much work and certainly won’t challenge you as a cook, but sometimes we just want to relax and not sweat over a delicious meal. You can skip the pickled habanero entirely, if you really are pressed for time, but we recommend making it the day or two before. We also made some tropical ceviche to go with the burritos (recipe here) and are still stuffed several days after the meal!

Burrito Ingredients

• Sheephead Fillets, sliced into 1” strips

• Mexican (Taco) Seasoning

• Mexican Rice (off the shelve, in the box)

• Black Beans

• Sweet White Corn

• Red Cabbage, thin sliced

• Sour Cream

• Cilantro, chopped

• Pico de Gallo

• Spicy Nacho Doritos, crushed

• Avocado, sliced

• XL Tortillas

Pickled Habanero Ingredients

• 3 Habanero thin sliced

• 2 Shallots thin sliced

• Carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4” thick

• Red Wine Vinegar

• White Wine Vinegar

• 10 Pepper Corns

• 3 Juniper Berries

• 3 Bay Leaves

• Oregano

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Burrito Method

Get out your fish fillet strips and dust them with Mexican seasoning. While the rice is cooking, warm up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add some canola oil to the pan when it’s hot. Add the fish strips to pan and don’t move them for several minutes until the bottom has developed a nice brown crust. Flip once, and cook for 1/2 as long on the other side. Remove from pan and set aside but keep the pan on the heat. While fish is cooking, warm up your beans and corn.

Mix the pico de gallo and sour cream, sprinkling in a little mexican seasoning.

Layer all of the ingredients on the tortilla (for the picture, we added some of the ingredients on the top… because pretty), roll it up tight, folding the ends in, and place in the pan you used on the fish. It should take 1-2 minutes to get nice and brown on one side. Roll it over and brown the other side as well. Boom. Massive meal, massive flavor, in next to no time flat.

We recommend serving with the picked ingredients which can be made a few days in advance.

Pickled Habanero Method

Mix 1:1 parts vinegar and 1:1 parts water to vinegar, enough to cover all the ingredients in the container you will use to store them. Add all the ingredients to a small soup pan. Include habanero seeds if you want it really spicy. Heat up ingredients, once it starts to boil, reduce heat to medium low for 10 minutes. Take off stove, let cool, add to a clean container with lid and store in fridge until you’re ready to eat it - at least 24 hours.