Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

It’s the Lenten season, which means I crave fish tacos. Normally, I make salmon fish tacos or blackened fish tacos, but lately I have been craving Baja style fish tacos that are beer-battered.

When it comes to beer-battered fish I like when the batter is light, fluffy, and crunchy and does not overpower the delicate fish.

I tested a of couple different batters and I wanted to share why this was the winning recipe. This batter includes egg making the batter extra light. I also let this batter sit to reach room temperature, which allowed the dark Mexican beer to do its magic.

Another great tip is to dust the fish lightly with additional flour so that the batter sticks to the fish before frying.

Mexican beer-battered cod, fried to perfection topped with chipotle cream sauce and garnished with red cabbage, thinly sliced jalapeños and radishes, pico de gallo, and avocado. Wrapped in a warm corn tortilla, this taco has the perfect level of heat and combination of textures.

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

Mexican beer-battered cod, fried to perfection topped with chipotle cream sauce and garnished with red cabbage, thinly sliced jalapeños and radishes, pico de gallo, and avocado. Wrapped in a warm corn tortilla, this taco has the perfect level of heat and combination of textures.

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Fish Tacos:

• 2 pounds skinned cod cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup dark Mexican beer
• 1 large egg
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Corn tortillas 

Chipotle Cream Sauce:

• 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Toppings:

• Shredded cabbage
• Radish slices
• Avocado slices
• Pico de gallo
• Lime wedges

Directions:

1. Generously salt cod and sprinkle flour over the strips and toss to coat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, chili powder, salt, pepper, and oregano.
3. In a medium bowl whisk beer and egg.
4. Pour wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir together until well mixed and set aside at room temperature.
5. In a large skillet, preheat oil to 350 degrees F.
6. Dip fish into batter and allow excess batter to drip off before adding to oil. Fry fish, flipping to ensure it's evenly browned, 4 to 5 minutes, then place on a paper towel-lined plate.
7. In a food processor or blender, combine crema, chipotle in adobo and sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice, water, and salt until smooth; transfer to a small bowl.
8. Serve tacos with chipotle cream sauce and garnish with toppings of your choice.

Photography: Jenna Sparks