Name: Baja Fish Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 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; finely shredded cabbage; chopped tomato; lime wedge; finely chopped onions or scallion; chopped cilantro

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Recipe by Mary Leverington

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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.

Ready In:: 35mins
Serves:
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ingredients

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

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

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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY

@Mary Leverington

Contributor

@Mary Leverington

Contributor

"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."

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review by IFortuna

4/30/2013

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.

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review by sonomamama

3/3/2013

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!

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review by cookiemakinmama

3/11/2010

pretty good! the whole family enjoyed them.t he only thing that went wrong was that my fish was greasy but that was my fault....

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review by OneYetTwo

9/6/2009

These were delicious! I especially loved the cilantro-lime sour cream sauce. I also made salsa to go with them and shredded some romaine. The only problem I had was the beer batter was really thick so I just added more beer. Thanks for a great recipe!

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review by RayMakMama

7/2/2009

These were excellent! I used the fresh sea bass my husband caught that day. For the batter I used half flour and half tempura mix and seasoned it with the taco seasoning as another reviewer had done. We loved the lime juice and cilantro in the sauce. Everything was superb! I used flour tortillas and added a bit of shredded cheese, which I know does not make it an authentic Baja fish taco, however that's what we prefer. So good we had them 2 nights in a row.

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