Tonight for dinner I decided to make fish tacos for Cinco de Mayo.....in order to make them that meant that I had to overcome my fear of deep frying : (. For some reason, the thought of frying food has always freaked me out.....it might be the thought of the really hot oil splattering everywhere and splattering on me and burnig me, or burning the food, or not cooking it enough and having raw, soggy food, or the fear that the oil will just start on fire. But, tonight none of those awful things happened to me and the fish tacos were fabulous. My family and I really, really enjoyed them. While we were eating, I aksed everyone if they liked them and no one really said anything and finally my mom chimed in and said I think everyone is so quiet because these tacos are sooo good and everyone agreed! The fish was light, flaky, and moist on the inside and the batter on the outside was nice and crispy, the cream sauce was really good and so easy to put together, it had a nice lemony tang and freshness and was very creamy which went along great with the spicy jalapenos and salsa. This recipe is from Marcela Valladolid from the Food Network channel and everyone who rated this recipe gave it awesome reviews and it definitely did not disappoint. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!
Baja Style Fish Tacos (recipe courtesy Marcela Valladolid, Food Network)
Ingredients:
Beer Batter:
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 cup dark Mexican beer (but any beer would work)
Cream Sauce:
-1/3 cup mayonnaise
-2/3 cup Mexican crema or sour cream (I used sour cream)
-1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
-2 tablespoons water
-salt and pepper, to taste
Fish Tacos:
-oil, for frying
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
-2 pounds skinned halibut cut into 5 by 1/2-inch strips (I used cod because I couldn't find halibut)
-freshly ground black pepper
-corn tortillas (I toasted them on a pan on the stove so that they were pliable and wouldn't break)
-2 cups shredded cabbage
-2 cups tomatillo salsa (store bought or homemade) for garnish, optional (I used a red taco sauce)
-pickled jalapenos, for garnish, optional
Directions:
For the Beer Batter:
Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually add in the beer while whisking. Set aside and let the batter rest for 15 minutes before using.
For Cream Sauce:
Add the mayonnaise and crema or sour cream to a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon zest, lemon juice, amd water. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. (THis can be made 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated).
For the Fish:
In a large skillet, over medium heat, add enough oil to reach a depth of 1-inch. Heat the oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.
On a large plate, combine flour and salt. Season the fish pieces all over with salt and pepper and coat with the flour. Working in batches, dip the fillets in the beer batter and coat on both sides. Fry in the hot oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (I also heated my oven to 250 degrees F and kept the fried fish warm while I was making the other batches of fish.)
Here is the fish dredged in flour.
Mmmm....crispy and golden brown yummy little fried delights!
To make the tacos:
Top warmed tortillas with fish and top each with cream, shredded cabbage, salsa, and pickled jalapenos, if desired.
No comments:
Post a Comment