CRISPY FRIED FISH IN A TANGY, IPA-INFUSED BATTER, crunchy iceberg lettuce, homemade vinegar slaw, fresh cilantro, salty cotija cheese, and a creamy yogurt drizzle. Are you drooling yet? Truth be told, this recipe is actually about two years old. Originally published on YouTube as part of our Cooking With Mom series where we used beer in the kitchen to enhance some of our favorite pub menu items, and inspired by last week's blog post: 6 Easy Tips to Maintain Your Summer Body Without Giving Up Beer, we thought it would be a refreshing throwback. Plus what else screams summer than tacos, margis and a beer chaser?
What makes this recipe so fun and easy to execute is that there are opportunities for substitutions nearly every step of the way. The original idea was to provide low-carb options for comfort food, hence the lettuce wrapped version in the video, but by all means, feel free to swap in tortillas, full fat cheese, or whatever other manner of flavortown injection that strikes your fancy.
The Taco has a storied past, particularly as a great pairing option with beer (especially craft beer) so it's no surprise the food has reached cult-status, existing in some modified form in nearly every culture in the world, appearing on menus from traditional Mexican cuisine to modern fusion restaurants and virtually every happy hour menu from East to West. It's a category of food so revered and worshipped that it's the subject of countless memes, owns its own day of the week, and hell, has practically been pronounced a form of currency. Let's be honest, everyone loves a good taco.
So the question that begs to be answered is what is the BEST taco? That's a question with an answer as complicated as, what is the best beer? Or, what is the best music album ever? Well that is a sensitive topic that could be grounds for a good fight any household. The answer is: There isn't one. Its highly individual. Is this recipe going to lead you to the best taco you have ever eaten? Maybe. Maybe not. Guess what, though...you are going to have a lot of fun finding out, and you get to drink a beer in the process. Speaking of which...you thought this is where we were going to plug Tierra Madre didn't you?
Right turn alert!
Go grab a Boo Koo IPA or whatever your go-to is and roll up your sleeves. After all, you want to be drinking what you are cooking with, right? Watch the 2-min video at the end of the recipe for a visual how-to! Now, let's go.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time - 30 min (Plus marinating time)
Cooking time - 3 min
Try grilling your fish to make this recipe super healthy, but don't forget to brine it with some Mother Earth beer first! (when marinating, use a lighter beer with low bitterness or you risk the bitter flavors coming through in the food)
Ingredients:
Butter Lettuce
Or low carb alternative (sub corn or flour tortillas)
Fish
White fish of your choice, filleted and cut into cubes or strips
Flour Mix
2 cup Flour (or GF alternative)
2 tbsp Chili Powder
2 tbsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Salt
Instructions: Mix spices and flower together thoroughly
Batter
1 can Mother Earth Brewing Company Boo Koo IPA
1.5 cup Flour (or GF alternative)
7-8 Eggs (adjust for amount of fish you need to batter)
Instructions: Beat ingredients together. Sprinkle in additional flour as necessary. Should be thick enough to adhere to fish and not run off
Slaw
1 cup Red Cabbage
½ cup Shredded Carrots
¼ cup Red Onion
2 tbsp Red Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions: Julienne vegetables and mix with vinegar
Crema
1 cup 0% Nonfat Greek Yogurt (sub Mayo for more flavor)
5 fresh squeezed lemon Juice
Instructions: Stir lemon juice into yogurt. Should be runny enough to drizzle.
Cooking Instructions:
-Preheat fryer to high (~350 degrees F)
-Dredge fish chunks in three station order: flour, batter, flour.
-Deep fry for 3 minutes
-Remove from oil and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil
Serving Instructions:
Assemble tacos to your liking! Start with the fish, then top with slaw, chopped cilantro, cotija cheese, crema, and (optional) taco sauce.
NOTE: There are a number of options for the carb-free shell. Cabbage, butter/bibb lettuce, and iceberg are all great options because they are taco-shaped. Iceberg has the least nutritional value out of the three so we generally recommend butter lettuce.
PRO TIP: Make sure you are using oil with a high smoke point to avoid carcinogen production. Vegetable oil is great and inexpensive.
Got any suggestions after trying it? Comment below and share your tips.