What a fun meal to enjoy on the patio — fish tacos. Unless the snow in your locale is blowing sideways, fish tacos are an outdoor “fun food” pretty much year-round.
Let’s Talk Fish
Many people use Cod and I have in the past as well. Sometimes it is hard to find or too expensive depending on the season. Lately, I have been using Tilapia from Sam’s Club — very economical in these times. I slice the fillets into finger size pieces — it works great! But, of course, use whatever fish your appetite demands.
Batter Your Fish
We like our fish for tacos battered and deep fried. Yes, perhaps not too heart-healthy but fish tacos once a month on the patio probably won’t cause too much damage. You’ll find our batter recipe below. It’s basic so if you want to add some garlic powder, onion powder, or any other seasonings that sound tasty to you go right ahead.
Fish Tacos Chipotle Sauce
Having spent almost three decades in Colorado, our palette skews toward the spicy side. The chipotle sauce recipe below is a must for us — fish tacos are just naked without it.
Recipes:
Fish Batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beer — whatever your pallet demands.
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 – 2 tsp Smoked Paprika Spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Do This:
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Remember to add any additional spices now. Maybe garlic and/or onion powder and some fresh ground pepper, but it’s not necessary.
- Now add the beer a bit at a time while you are mixing the batter to get a consistency like a thick pancake batter. Stop when you get the right thickness or add a bit more beer if necessary. Use a hand whisk to get a smoother consistency.
- Set aside for now.
Note 1: I am not a “fancy” beer drinker. I like creamy beer, maybe unfiltered wheat beer from a local microbrew. I like beer with a “hint” of sweet. And I like my beer strong. So I normally buy Steel Reserve. It’s creamy, slightly sweet, and 8.1% alcohol per volume. It checks all of my boxes since I drink whatever I don’t need for the batter recipe.
Note 2: If you have a lot of fish or want to make some onion rings to go with your fish tacos double the recipe.
Chipotle Sauce
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp lime juice from bottled juice of from one fresh lime
- 2-3 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, roughy chopped, plus 1-2 tsp adobo sauce. Use less depending on your interest/tolerance for spicy hot.
- 1-2 large garlic cloves roughly chopped
Do this:
- In a blender, or preferably using an immersion blender, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Set aside for now.
Other Ingredients
- Get the fish you want — cod, tilapia or other white, firm fillets
- 2-3 ripe avocados
- Corn tortillas — we like the white over the yellow but get what you like.
- Vegetable oil such as Canola
Make Your Fish Tacos Happen
Remove your fish from the wrapper or package and blot it dry with paper towels. Then slice your fish into finger sized strips.
Open one or two of the avocados and cut the halves into thick slices.
Frying the Fish
OK, let me say that I only use cast iron pans. That’s all I have. They are like a great pick-up truck that will do anything for you under the most extreme conditions and usually get you out of a hole if you make a mistake.
For frying the fish I use a cast iron dutch oven. It’s deep to protect you from spattering oil and it holds the heat well while frying. Pour about one to two inches of oil into the dutch oven and heat the oil with medium-high heat until the oil shimmers but not smoking. When the oil is ready it’s time to cook the fish.
Using a pair of tongs, grab a piece of fish and dunk it in the batter to completely coat the fish. Set it into the hot oil — no splashing! Generally I can fry three to four pieces of fish at one time. Keep an eye on your fish because it will cook fast and the batter will burn if you’re not careful. When you see the batter on the edge of the fish browning, turn the fish over with the tongs. When the fish is throughly browned and crispy on both sides, remove it from the oil and place it on a cookie sheet or cooling rack with paper towel to soak up any extra oil. You can have your oven on a low temp and keep the cooked fish warm in the oven to prevent it from cooling until you’re ready to build your tacos.
Drink the extra beer not used for the batter while you’re frying the fish.
Heating the Tortillas
I use a Lodge griddle that is designed to fit over two like-sized burners. It works perfect for toasting three corn tortillas at the same time. See what I’m talking about here: Lodge Double Play Reversible Grill / Griddle. But, use whatever pan you have or are accustomed to.
Here’s another handy tool that’s going to make your fish tacos easier to build and look good if you happen to be entertaining. Use it on one side and stuff two tacos. Flip it over if your stuffing three tacos. Check these taco holders out on Amazon.
Heat your corn tortillas so they are warm but still pliable. Press them down into your taco holders so you have an equal amount of tortilla on each side.
Let the stuffing begin!
Now, place two or three slices of avocado in the tortilla — press them down if need be. Then, place one or two strips of fried fish on top of the avocado. Finish it off with a generous coating of chipotle sauce. When all of your tacos are stuffed it’s time to eat!
Onion Rings
A nice compliment to your tacos is homemade onion rings. Slice a yellow or sweet onion into rigs about 1/4″ thick and separate the rings. Dunk them in the batter and coat just like the fish. Set them in the oil (add more oil if need be and let it come back up to the correct heat). Same as the fish — watch them so they don’t burn. Flip them over and brown the other side. Have another pan or sheet lined with paper towel and place the cooked onion rings there. Lightly salt the rings.
That’s it! Head out to the patio and enjoy your feast. And remember to grab another cold beer on your way out.
Please Leave a Comment: Fish Tacos
Please post a comment below to tell us how this recipe worked for you. What do you stuff your tacos with in addition to the fish? Do you use the taco holders? What topping did you use? Please share a photo of your fish tacos.
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