No saco la merluza del horno hasta que mi madre diga que está lista.

Spanish often uses the present tense for actions in the near future or for what the speaker intends to do next, especially when the context already makes the future meaning clear.

So No saco la merluza del horno hasta que... is a very natural way to mean I’m not taking / I won’t take the hake out of the oven until...

You could also hear a future form like No sacaré la merluza..., but the present is very common and natural in everyday speech.

Del is the contraction of de + el.

• de = from / of
• el horno = the oven
• del horno = from the oven / out of the oven

In Spanish, de + el normally contracts to del.

Example:

• Vengo del supermercado. = I’m coming from the supermarket.

The only major exception is when El is part of a proper name:

• de El Escorial → not del Escorial

Because hasta que often takes the subjunctive when it refers to a future action that has not happened yet.

Here, the mother has not said it yet, so Spanish uses:

• hasta que mi madre diga...

If it were a repeated, habitual, or past situation where the action is seen as real or completed, you might use the indicative instead.

Compare:

• No saco la merluza del horno hasta que mi madre diga que está lista.
  Future / pending action → subjunctive

• No sacaba la merluza del horno hasta que mi madre decía que estaba lista.
  Past habitual situation → indicative

So the key idea is: not yet happened = subjunctive after hasta que.

Because que está lista is a content clause after decir: it reports what the mother says. In this kind of structure, Spanish normally uses the indicative if the speaker presents the information as a statement.

So:

• mi madre diga que está lista

means roughly:

• my mother says that it is ready

The subjunctive is triggered by hasta que, which affects diga, but it does not automatically spread into the next clause.

A subjunctive in the second clause would suggest a different meaning or a different trigger.

Lista refers to la merluza, not to mi madre.

It is feminine because merluza is a feminine noun, so the adjective has to agree with it:

• la merluza → feminine singular
• lista → feminine singular

So:

• la merluza está lista = the hake is ready

If the noun were masculine, you would use listo:

• el pescado está listo

Because estar is used for states or conditions, and being ready is treated as a state.

• estar listo/a = to be ready
• ser listo/a = usually to be clever / smart in Spain

So:

• La merluza está lista. = The hake is ready.
• La niña es lista. = The girl is clever.

This is a very important difference.

Yes, very normal.

Spanish often uses:

• No + present tense + hasta que + subjunctive

to express the idea of I’m not going to do X until Y happens.

Examples:

• No me voy hasta que termine. = I’m not leaving until it finishes / until I finish.
• No llamo hasta que llegue a casa. = I won’t call until I get home.

So the structure in your sentence is standard and natural.

Yes. It depends on whether the action after hasta que is seen as pending/future or as real/habitual/completed.

Use the subjunctive when the action has not happened yet:

• Espera hasta que llegue Ana.
  Ana hasn’t arrived yet.

Use the indicative when it is a habitual or past fact:

• Esperé hasta que llegó Ana.
  Ana did arrive.
• Siempre espera hasta que llega Ana.
  This happens regularly.

So in your sentence, diga is used because the mother’s saying it is still in the future.

Because Spanish usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending -o in saco already tells you the subject is I:

• saco = I take out / I’m taking out

So (yo) no saco la merluza... is possible, but yo is usually omitted unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Yo no saco la merluza; tú la sacas.
  I’m not taking the hake out; you are.

Merluza is hake, a specific kind of fish, very common in Spain.

So this is not just any fish:

• pescado = fish (general)
• merluza = hake (specific type)

In Spanish cooking, merluza is a very everyday word, so learners in Spain will see it often in food contexts.

Yes. Está lista is perfectly correct and natural, but in cooking you may also hear:

• ya está = it’s ready / it’s done
• está hecha = it’s done / cooked through
• ya se puede sacar = you can take it out now

So your sentence is fine, but depending on the speaker and situation, other expressions are also common in the kitchen.

Because mi madre is not the direct object here. It is the subject of the verb diga.

Structure:

• No saco la merluza del horno = main clause
• hasta que mi madre diga... = subordinate clause
• mi madre = the one doing the saying

The personal a is used before a direct object that is a person:

• Veo a mi madre. = I see my mother.

But here you are not saying I take out my mother or I say my mother. She is simply the subject of the second verb, so there is no a.