Recipe: Spicy Grilled Fish Tacos (pics)

[PatioDaddio]

Spicy Grilled Fish Tacos

To be completely honest, I had never even heard of fish tacos until I met
my SoCal-born-and-raised wife. Even then, I thought that those two
words belong nowhere even remotely close together. The idea seemed
positively disgusting. This is what happens when you're raised in the
Midwest, where tacos come only from a drive-thru at a place with a big
fake bell on the roof.



Now that I am older, hopefully wiser (certainly grayer), and with broader
culinary horizons, I am a true believer. Fish tacos are some seriously good
eats.

At the risk of being ridiculed by those in the know, I will call these
"somewhat authentic". Or, you might think of them as "Authentic Gringo
Fish Tacos". I was going to use that for the post/recipe title, but I had
second thoughts.

Shoot, call me and the recipe whatever you want. Let's get cookin'!

Ingredients
6 Talapia fillets
12 Corn tortillas
1 cup Southwest Slaw
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped medium-fine
2 Tbsp Hot sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot)
Canola oil

Marinade
1/3 cup Canola oil
Juice of two limes
1 tsp Garlic salt
2 Tbsp Adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)

Avocado Cream
1 large Hass avacado, peeled, seeded and diced (I recommend Calavo, of
course)
1 cup Sour cream
Juice of one lime
2 tsp Your favorite hot sauce
1 tsp Garlic salt

Important: Make sure the fish is fresh! It should be firm, with good color,
and a clean briny (not fishy) smell.



Method
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to
combine.

Put the fish in a gallon zip-top bag and add the marindade.

Slosh the fish and the marinade gently in the bag to ensure that all of the
fish is coated.

Seal the bag (removing the excess air) and set aside to marinate for 30
minutes.



Mash the avocado on a cutting board with the side of your knife.

Combine all of the avocado cream ingredients in an medium mixing bowl and
whisk to combine, then cover and refrigerate.

Tip: The marinade and/or avocado cream can be made up to a day in
advance.

Start your grill and prepare for direct cooking over a hot fire (450-500º).

Remove the fish from the marinade and drain well.

Pat each filet dry with a paper towel.

Smear each side of each filet with a teaspoon of hot sauce, applying it as
evenly as you can.

Put the fish on the grill and cook for three minutes.



Flip the fish over and cook for another minute.



Move the fish to a warm platter, drizzle the fish with lime juice, and cover
the platter with plastic wrap.

Quickly warm each tortilla on the grill.

To serve, offset two tortillas by half, smear the inside with avocado cream,
add some fish chunks (separated with forks), then top with about two
tablespoons of slaw and some cilantro.

Or, serve it family-style so that everyone can build their own.

Enjoy!

-----

John

[Bob Wiley]

My wife's favorite. Somehow the girls do make us better people.

Great photos

[LT72884]

Looks awesome. Will it work with chicken? I have a very interesting time with fish. How fishy did it taste? Looks really really good.

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by LT72884

Looks awesome. Will it work with chicken? I have a very interesting time with fish. How fishy did it taste? Looks really really good.

Yes, grilled chicken is authorized. However, then they wouldn't be "fish" tacos, they would necessarily be "chicken" tacos.

In all seriousness, I'd venture to say that I could blindfold you and you probably wouldn't be able to tell me it was fish.

John

[UDS]

Went from not hungry, to starving in this post. They look amazing and will be trying soon

[Blackened]

Wow, those look great! Definitely making these next weekend.. Thanx!

[LT72884]

Originally Posted by PatioDaddio

In all seriousness, I'd venture to say that I could blindfold you and you probably wouldn't be able to tell me it was fish.

John

thats what i like to hear. looks as if im gonna try it out this week.

thanx for the recipe.

[Shiz-Nit]

Dude fish tacos are my favorite, we make them all the time, we like the low country Mexican style with lots of fresh lime and cilantro.
Yours indeed look good.

[Bacchus]

Looks Delish. I love alot of fresh cilantro on southwest dishes like that.
Great Job!

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by Shiz-Nit

Dude fish tacos are my favorite, we make them all the time, we like the low country Mexican style with lots of fresh lime and cilantro.
Yours indeed look good.

Viva la gringo!

John

[grillfella]

Nice job Dadio will try this

[NorthwestBBQ]

Awesome pic, John.

[SmokeJumper]

Beautiful fish tacos. One of my favorites of all time. Where's the negra modelo?

[PatioDaddio]

Originally Posted by SmokeJumper

Beautiful fish tacos. One of my favorites of all time. Where's the negra modelo?

Thanks. It's way in the background.

John

[Boshizzle]

This recipe looks really good. Thanks for sharing!

In San Diego, there is a place selling fish tacos on every corner and every where between the corners. They are all over the place. But, the ones I like are sold at a little place in the Gas Lamp district. There, the grilled fish and the slaw are very fresh and tasty. They also let you choose the type of fish you want on your taco. This recipe reminds me of those.