Crispy Fish Tacos

The Best Crispy Fish Tacos

There isn’t just one way to make Crispy Fish Tacos and you can choose from a variety of fish.  You don’t need to get all gourmet about it, though, and choose expensive fish.  Half the point is to save money and go with some delicious and cheap.  Unfortunately, Cod has been fairly expensive lately and many recipes use it in their tacos because it tastes great.  But, who can afford $7 to $10 dollars per pound?  Might as well buy Shrimp at those prices.  Tilapia, Pollack and Swai are good alternatives, if you’re cooking from scratch but I’m going to shock you and ask you to consider frozen fish Fillets.

Frozen Crispy Fish Tacos

That’s right, I said it, Frozen Crispy Fish Tacos are amazing and incredibly inexpensive.  I bought this bag of Gorton’s Crunchy Breaded Fish Fillets for only $3 bucks.  I’m not affiliated with them in any way so, for all I care, buy Van De Kamp’s or some other brand on sale.  The point is, these are ready to go and you can make some great fish tacos with these fillets.  Not only does it save time, the clean up is just one oven pan.  So consider these the next time you want to crank out some crispy fish tacos.

If you want to do it from scratch, however, be my guess.  I’ve got a fantastic Beer Batter recipe and/or a Southern Fish Fry recipe you can use, if you prefer.  the Beer Batter is also great for making Onion Rings and the Southern Fish Fry can be used for Shrimp as well.  Either way, you’re also going to need my Pico De Gallo recipe to make these Tacos as well.  So study up and let me know if you have any questions.

Crispy Fish Tacos Ingredients:

10 Fish Fillet’s, 3-4 oz portions
1 pkg Corn Tortillas
1 head Cabbage, chopped
2 Limes, cut into wedges
1 cup Pico De Gallo, CLICK HERE
1/2 cup Crema or Sour Cream

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial to make these Crispy Fish Tacos.

Beer Batter – Fish Fry, Onion Rings and Fried Mushrooms

Beer Batter

Simple Beer Batter

This is a Great way to make your Beer Batter.  And, considering that there’s only two ingredients, it doesn’t get much easier either.  Not to mention it tastes fantastic.  But the thing about this Beer Batter recipe is it can be used for a Fish Fry with Cod or Halibut as well as Onion Rings or Fried Mushrooms, it’s that good.  In the video below I demonstrate this recipe with a Cod Fillet.  I do this because fish can often be the most finicky to fry if you don’t know what you’re doing.  But with these simple steps you can fry like a pro.  Just make sure your oil is up to temp and you’ll be good to go!

If you’re looking for an Onion Ring Recipe I’ve got a Crispier alternative if you click RIGHT HERE!
Also a Southern Fish Fry if something like that is more up your alley, CLICK HERE!

Beer Batter Ingredients:

1 part Self Rising Flour
1 Part Beer (Lager not recommended)
Oil for Frying, 375 degrees

For more flavor, add a pinch of salt, onion powder, garlic powder and some paprika or cayenne.  Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make perfect Beer Batter.

Southern Fish Fry

Fish Fry

My Fish Fry Recipe!

I know it seems like I recently posted about a fish fry recipe but the point was to illustrate that you can either purchase a simple fish fry from a box, or you can wait for my perfected Southern Fish Fry recipe.  You see, it’s taken me almost 3 years to break down the truth and the simplicity of the succulent Cat Fish Fry recipes, cooked in the south.  Places like Schooner’s, Bay Town or Chicken Express have the best southern fish fry batter that leaves the filet’s crispy yet moist, and very sweet and buttery.  They’re fantastic.  Apparently, however, all of the restaurants in the south have known the secret for years but they’re just not so hip on sharing it.  To make matters worse, even the Chinese Buffets, in the south, know the secrets to frying great Cat Fish.  I’ve heard everything from a pre-fry brine or overnight buttermilk soak (which actually pulls out the fishy taste) to Italian dressing and mustard marinades.  It’s insane.  The problem was, though those marinades provide a pretty decent taste for the fish, it still wasn’t what I was looking for, and I tried them all.

Cat Fish Poor Boy

The Fish Fry Secret

Truthfully I about killed over when I figured out how easy this recipe really is.  Nothing to it, AT ALL!  The crazy thing is, I actually tried a version like this before but for some reason it didn’t turn out right.  So I dismissed this recipe and moved on, wasting another year picking apart other ideas.  Hilarious right?  Well, not to me.  Normally I can pick apart almost any recipe in seconds and tell you exactly what’s in it.  Anyone that has been following my recipes can attest to that by now.  I don’t read cook books unless I absolutely have to.  But some secrets aren’t in print, and some printed recipes just list “secret” in the title just to get you to read their content, and usually they aren’t any where near the vicinity of the correct ingredients for that particular recipe.  Anyway, short and sweet, I’ve GOT IT!  I’m very pleased and proud to announce that I do.  However, I’m embarrassed that it took me this long for this simple recipe.  But who’s really going to deny the craving for catfish Po’Boy that looks like this…?

Southern Fish Fry Ingredients:

1 Fish Filet (medium 10 to 12 oz)
1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
1/4 cup Yellow Corn Flour or Masa
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Black Pepper

EGG WASH
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk

Cut your filet into desired portions, then egg wash the fish and batter in the Corn Meal.  Let it rest for 5 minutes, then fry the filet portions at 375 degrees until golden brown.  Serve and enjoy this traditional Southern Fish Fry recipe today.