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Baja Fish Tacos

Print Recipe
Course dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Fish

  • 1 lb fish like red fish, snapper, mahi mahi, cod, halibut
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup beer
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • corn or flour tortillas
  • 3-4 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying

For the Chipotle Crema

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 chipotles in adobo ( just use one if you want less heat but they add so much flavor)
  • 1 tbsp adobo sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • pinch of salt
  • squeeze of lime

Topping

  • finely chopped red or white onions
  • finely chopped cabbage
  • chopped cilantro
  • limes for serving

Instructions
 

For the Chipotle Crema

  • Add the following ingredients to a blender or food processor and combine well:  1 cup mayonnaise, 2 chipotles in adobo, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lime.  You might need to add a splash of water to get it to combine.   If you want more heat you can add more chipotles or some of the adobo sauce.   Keep in mind that you can substitute some of the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt.   

For the Fish

  • Pat dry and season the fish on both sides with salt.  Cut into strips that are approximately 1" x 3". To make the beer batter, add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl:  1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 teaspoon chili powder (optional).   Combine well and then add 1 cup of beer.  Whisk together until you have batter that is the consistency of thick paint, adding more beer if necessary (I added an additional 1/4 cup of beer to this batch.) Preheat 3-4 cups of oil in a saucepan until it reaches 350-360F (I used canola oil).  One at a time, dip the fish sticks into the batter and drop them gently into the oil.    Let them cook for 3-4 minutes or until the exterior is turning a darker brown.  I used a narrow pan and only cooked 3-4 pieces at a time so that the oil temp remained as close to 360F as possible. Carefully remove the fish sticks from the oil and drain them in some paper towels, continuing until all the fish sticks are cooked.  If making a big batch, place the fish sticks on a wire rack after draining , this will help prevent them from getting soggy.  You can optionally keep them in a 250-300F oven until you need them.
  • Warm up the tortillas on a hot griddle, my preferred way, or nuke them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.  Each tortilla gets fried fish, Chipotle Crema, the toppings and serve with limes.
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