Fish Taco's

jeffywestcoast

Well-Known Member
i made a trip to Victoria the other day and ran into the colwood crawl on the way home so i wasnt going to make it home for dinner , so we stopped in Cowbay for dinner at the Rock Cod Cafe .. I had the fish taco's .. They were amazing .. Just wondering if any SFBC members have any good fish taco recipes.. Thanks in advance ...image.jpeg
 
So many different recipes for fish taco's online.. Can make them either way battered or fried , these were both sauces , the one on the right was mango habanero .. And i needed a big margarita too put out that fire let me tell ya....
 
I like to keep it simple and pan sear the fish a good salting and touch of pepper on the fish ... touch of butter and oil in pan sear , remove fish ,squeeze lemon in the pan
pour pan juice over fish and break up the meat , let the sauces and toppings do the flavouring in the taco ..cajun rub also great

in a blender = cilantro ,olive oil ,onion, garlic , lime , vinegar, salt ,pepp ...
put that sucker in a squeeze bottle ... one clove garlic

panko prawns are the biggest hit for crunch so good ...loll i feel like taco's now
 
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I'm not a fan of batter or deep frying, it's messy with cleanup issues, not the healthiest way to eat either. And worst of all the batter is often too thick and smothers the delicate fish flavours in oily doughy blah. With small chunks of fish used for tacos, you get even higher batter to fish ratio. Tempura batter is the best route if you must deep fry, it produces the thinnest coating. For heaven's sake, don't let your well meaning friend inflict their 'famous' Aunt Jemima beer batter on your fish. Premade pancake batter mix is sugary, all wrong for fish. The beer will NOT make it better.

If you want to skip the deep fried route but still like some crunchy texture on the surface, panko does a good job on all breaded seafood. Use the 3-step flour/egg wash/panko system and refrigerate before cooking. Your breading will be durable in the pan, no one likes bare spots and the good stuff left behind.

My own preference for fish tacos is to just dredge small strips of fish in flour that has been liberally seasoned with chili powder. Be generous, there's very little heat in the powder and it takes a couple of teaspoons to add discernable flavour to the coating. A quick shallow fry will produce fish that is moist inside with a thin, slightly crunchy outer shell.

Sauces... keep it simple. A few drops of salsa picante, a squeeze of lime, a few cilantro leaves and maybe some thin sliced red onion. I make red cabbage/honey slaw to go on the side, some people will put it in the taco.
 
excellent , thanks for the reply's , definitely some great tips.., i love the slaw in the taco too, was my first time trying the battered fish in taco's and they were done well and not over battered..., i want to give the panko coating a try otherwise panfried would be my choice too
 
Here is my wife's recipe. Always a family favorite.

Fish Tacos

1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless white fish fillets - choose a firm white fish like cod or halibut

15 corn tortillas

Place fish in a heavy-duty large plastic ziploc bag. Combine bottle of beer and 1 tbsp Mexican seasoning in a bowl. Pour into ziploc with fish; seal and chill 2-3 hours.

Mexican Seasoning

1/4 cup dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cloves


BAJA SAUCE – make and set aside

½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Mexican seasoning
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Batter
1 1/2 cups cups beer (or substitute seltzer water)
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Dip each piece of fish into the batter. When you pull the fish out of the batter, let the excess batter run back into the bowl.

After dipping in the batter, gently roll each piece in panko crumbs to coat. Leaving too much batter on the fish will lead to clumping, so make sure your fish is only lightly coated with batter before breading.

1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs approximately needed.

Place the breaded fish onto the empty plate.

When your fish is breaded, heat 1/2 inch of cooking oil (I used grape seed oil and it was great) in a skillet over medium high. Fry the breaded fish pieces in batches of 6. If the oil is at the correct temperature, it should bubble and sizzle evenly—no splatters or popping.


Serve in tortillas with avocado, picco de gallo, shredded cabbage, etc and top with Baja sauce
 
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That looks good, Charlie, except I'm a bit confused....what makes up the batter? What do you do with the rest of the Mexican seasoning?
 
I like to keep it simple and pan sear the fish a good salting and touch of pepper on the fish ... touch of butter and oil in pan sear , remove fish ,squeeze lemon in the pan
pour pan juice over fish and break up the meat , let the sauces and toppings do the flavouring in the taco ..cajun rub also great

in a blender = cilantro ,olive oil ,onion, garlic , lime , vinegar, salt ,pepp ...
put that sucker in a squeeze bottle ... one clove garlic

panko prawns are the biggest hit for crunch so good ...loll i feel like taco's now

Yes! I prefer this way too. I used to batter and deep fry but after trying this method a few times this summer, I am not longer going to deep fry.

I use lingcod for this technique and a cast iron skillet. i have tried different spices on the fish and it all tastes great.
Other than the cod i just add some coleslaw and fresh squeezed lime with the below sauce. If time is a problem, chopped iceberg lettuce can be used instead of coleslaw

I have tried a few variations of sauce and the easiest i have found is;
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo
- bunch of cilantro chopped up (amount depends whether you like cilantro)
- 1 lime squeezed in fresh
- if you like some smoky flavour, i like adding a few drops of chipotle sauce or cut up chipotle peppers

plenty of hot sauce on top!
 
Yes! I prefer this way too. I used to batter and deep fry but after trying this method a few times this summer, I am not longer going to deep fry.

I use lingcod for this technique and a cast iron skillet. i have tried different spices on the fish and it all tastes great.
Other than the cod i just add some coleslaw and fresh squeezed lime with the below sauce. If time is a problem, chopped iceberg lettuce can be used instead of coleslaw

I have tried a few variations of sauce and the easiest i have found is;
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo
- bunch of cilantro chopped up (amount depends whether you like cilantro)
- 1 lime squeezed in fresh
- if you like some smoky flavour, i like adding a few drops of chipotle sauce or cut up chipotle peppers

plenty of hot sauce on top!
Thanks looks great , will give it a go !
 
I like to keep it simple and pan sear the fish a good salting and touch of pepper on the fish ... touch of butter and oil in pan sear , remove fish ,squeeze lemon in the pan
pour pan juice over fish and break up the meat , let the sauces and toppings do the flavouring in the taco ..cajun rub also great

in a blender = cilantro ,olive oil ,onion, garlic , lime , vinegar, salt ,pepp ...
put that sucker in a squeeze bottle ... one clove garlic

panko prawns are the biggest hit for crunch so good ...loll i feel like taco's now

This is how I like my fish tacos. Sometimes I like grilling the fillets on the bbq then cut them up into taco sized chunks.
 
This is my fast - lazy man's recipe; Cube the hali into small pieces, pan sear with finely chopped onions, season with salt/pepper and Club House Taco seasoning. I make my own tortillas before doing the fish since it only take 2/3 minutes to sear the small cubes of fish. Quacamole on the tortilla then the cubed fish and top with baja salad mix and finish with chipotle aioli sauce. The homemade tortillas are much better than the store bought product. Most good restaurants make their own. Not that hard to do. Had to order the tortilla press fron Amazon.ca. Couldn't find one locally.
Stosh
 
When I have more time, I often make my own sauce, using a mango, cilantro, lime, ginger, garlic, vinegar, salt pepper, chilpolte tabasco.
Stosh
 
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