Baja Fish Tacos

Mary Leverington's Note:

This recipe is dedicated to my niece Ruth who lives in San Diego. When I visit we always drive down to Ensenada for fish tacos. The fish are fried in batter there. I've taken a few liberties and added beer and taco seasoning to the batter. I prefer the catfish nuggets because they are nice and firm, have a great taste and are usually the cheapest fish at the local market.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb catfish nuggets or 1 lb other white fish, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup dark beer
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning mix (optional)
• vegetable oil, for deep fat frying
• 12 corn tortillas

Garnishes

• finely shredded cabbage
• chopped tomato
• lime wedge
• finely chopped onions or scallion
• chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour, beer, and taco seasoning mix.
2. Wash catfish nuggets and pat dry with paper toweling.
3. In a food processor or blender, process for a few seconds sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and additional taco seasoning mix to taste.
4. You don't want to totally liquify the cilantro.
5. Prepare garnishes as you heat about 1/2" of oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan to 360F.
6. Dip fish nuggets into batter and place in hot oil with a fork.
7. Turn once after about 1 minute and brown the other side for another minute.
8. Do this in batches.
9. Don't crowd the fish.
10. Drain on paper toweling and keep warm in a 200F oven until ready to serve.
11. Heat tortillas in foil in the oven or nuke them wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.

Reviews

[Freda2 Brown]

These are pretty good and a different way to eat fried fish. We all especially liked the cilantro/sour cream sauce! I've prepared this two ways: First just as it's written. I found that if you're not using a deep fryer, the battered fish pieces don't fry as well. All of that batter makes for a really messy skillet! We liked the taste so well though, until I tried something different the second time. Here, I battered, then slightly refloured, and chilled the pieces in the fridge prior to frying. The fish turned out so much better and things weren't as messy. Also, we've used both flour and corn tortillas and like the flour ones better by far for this recipe...personal preference. Sorry this is so long, but we did enjoy it and I will prepare it again. Thanks for submitting.

[I_Fortuna]

I would give this five stars if the recipe did not use "taco seasoning" It is so easy to make your own and you can adjust it to your taste. The spices would be chile powder, cumin, oregano, a bit of garlic salt, salt, and top the taco with fresh cilantro. Don't use fresh cilantro in your cooking it will lose its flavor if you cook it more than 5 minutes. If you are using frozen fish, cut it while it is frozen it is easier. It will thaw quickly after cutting. If your fish is greasy, your oil is not hot enough. I cook mine at about 400 to 425 degrees and drain the bites on paper towels. I use a long handle slotted spoon and I gently stir the bites once or twice as they fry. I use a deep fryer or a 4 quart saucepan. Make sure the oil is fresh and hot enough and add your pieces of battered fish. When the fish is floating and golden brown it is ready. We top our fish tacos with pico de gallo.

[sonomamama]

I used red snapper and only covered the bottom of the pan to fry the fillets. Still, the fish was too greasy even after placing on paper towels. However, everything else was fantastic. I served black bean and corn salsa salad as a side. The only other issue we had was that we couldn't stop eating!