Dorado, Baja Camping Style

I hadn’t made this in a long time. Dorado (aka mahi mahi and dolphinfish) fell off my radar. Too bad, fresh dorado is fabulous. It has a sweet mild flavor similar to swordfish, firm texture with large moist flakes. Our local Bristol Farms was featuring wild-caught dorado from the Pacific waters off the coast of Baja California, Mexico that had just arrived.
Several years ago my then-husband and I took a road trip in our camper down the Baja peninsula of Mexico. I recall grilling the fresh-caught dorado and loving the preparation. (remember this, Gar?)
It is great for camping because it requires few ingredients:
  1. Bring canned pineapple slices in heavy syrup and white rice, olive oil, salt and pepper with you on your camping trip.
  2. Pick up fresh spring onion and Mexican lime and serrano chile pepper locally.
  3. Catch a dorado.
Dorado can rate good or bad on the sustainability chart depending how it is fished. Bristol Farms’ buyers are meticulous in purchasing only the highest quality seafood. Dorado that has been fished by longlining should be avoided due to accidental bycatch of sea turtles and seabirds.
Marinate dorado filets in the syrup from the canned pineapple for about 1 hour. Drain off the syrup then drizzle the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the fish, over high heat, turning once, until the flesh is just opaque.
Meanwhile toss spring onion and serrano with olive oil. Grill them, and pineapple rings straight from the can. Serve with fluffy white rice and Mexican limes. Happy camping!

Even if you don’t plan on camping in Baja anytime soon,
do try this on your backyard grill!
Muy Sabroso!

20 thoughts on “Dorado, Baja Camping Style”

  1. Looks wonderful. I love the combination of fish and pineapple, too. It's been a while since I've had mahi mahi. Delish!!

  2. Gosh it has been so long since I had anything cooked or grilled with pineapple, and now I long for it!

    This looks and sounds so good…maybe a cake in order too!

  3. I think I'd go camping a lot more often if this was on the menu… (Okay, I've never camped, sue me.)

    Thanks also for the tips of sustainability. I'll have to keep both eyes open (not that that data is available in the Philippines).

  4. Oh, how good! Isn't it extraordinary what you can do with a simple can of pineapple rings?

  5. Great idea Lori. We used to camp a lot when our son was younger. Couldn't agree more with you, we don't need to go camping to enjoy this fabulous creation of your.

  6. Excellent as always hon. This fish is very popular in the Caribbean. In Barbados it is the most popular fish.

  7. Hi Lori,

    I have had fresh caught Dorado in Mexico many times and it is so good. Your's looks excellent (along with those snails for Bastille Day!)…

    –Marc

  8. Oh wow! This is my favorite food. I am so glad to be here in your blog.
    Enjoy your weekend. 🙂

  9. I remember when Mahi Mahi was a must on restaurant menus, back in the last century! 😉

    Your recipe, simple, yet sophisticated in the selection of ingredients and the way you prepared them, makes my mouth water!

    Fresh caught fish simply is the best, my recent sojourn in Venice confirmed that.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.