Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

Using a sour, Gose-style beer makes these tacos super delicate. Pair that with a bright and creamy slaw and rich avo and you might just have the perfect California taco.

Makes 10-12 tacos

Beer Battered FIsh
1 lb tilapia (or other mild white fish)
1 cup flour + 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp Pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 cup sour Gose style beer
Enough neutral oil (canola) to fill your frying vessel 1 in deep

Slaw
1/4 of a green cabbage
1 shallot
1 serrano pepper
1 tbsp mayonaise
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste

Tacos
10-12 tortillas
1-2 avocados
1/3 cup cilantro

TL;DR

• Combine salt, pepper, mayo and lime juice in a medium bowl.

• Using a mandolin set at ~1/16 in slice the cabbage, shallot and serrano.

• Combine the veggies with the dressing and let sit atleast 30 minutes.

• Combine 1 cup flour, pimenton, and beer. Stir. Set aside.

• Heat oil to 350º

• Cut fish fillets in half and then into roughly 1/2in strips.

• In batches, dredge fish in flour, dip in batter, fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.

• Remove fish from oil and place on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt.

• Assemble taco

  • Warm tortilla

  • Slaw

  • 2 pieces of fish

  • 2-3 slices avocado

  • Chopped cilantro

  • Serve with lime wedges

I know that frying at home feels scary, especially fish; there is hot liquid, maybe smoke, and potentially a *smell*. But I want you to power through that fear. It will all be worth it. This is a super easy fry and you will be rewarded with pillows of succulently moist fish, encased in an incredibly delicate, perfectly crisp crust.

The first step is to assemble the slaw. You should to do this around 30 minutes before you want to eat because letting the slaw sit for a bit does a few nice things. Firstly the salt draws the moisture out of the cabbage, which softens it, and secondly the acid removes some of sulfurousness from the shallot. Thirdly, all the flavors get to meld and become friendly, which is always good news.

You need to slice the 1/4 cabbage, 1 shallot and 1 serrano into super thin slices, around 1/16in. You can use a mandolin if you have one handy, are a perfectionist, and aren’t afraid to loose a finger (jk, please be very careful). But you can also just slice it by hand. We like to leave the seeds in the serrano, but if you are not into that, remove the seeds and ribs, or even just use a Jalapeno.

Stir together the 1 tbsp mayonaise, juice of 1/2 a lime, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste, in a medium bowl. Add the sliced veg and stir thoroughly. Set the slaw aside, but not too far aside, you do want to go back to it every now and then and give it a stir.

Next we make the beer batter. We are using Gose style beer, which is a traditional German style salted, sour beer that is one of Sean’s favorites, so we tend to have it on hand. Using it here also adds a nice tartness that you wouldn’t get with a lager style beer. So go get that Gose! We like Modern Times Fruitlands. Whisk together the 1 cup flour and 2 tsp Pimenton. Then pour in 1 cup of beer and whisk to combine. You can add another splash of beer if the batter is too thick; you are looking for a texture like pancake batter. Continue whisking until smooth. Then set aside to rest.

Grab a high sided castiron or dutch oven to use as your frying vessel. Fill it with 1 inch of neutral oil, like canola and bring that up to 350º over medium heat. It will help a lot to have a frying/candy thermometer that clips to the side of your frying vessel so you can get that temp just right. Having the oil hot enough is the trick to fried things that are light and crispy, instead of being soggy and greasy, because when the oil is hot enough crisps the outside, before it gets the chance to soak into the batter.

While your oil is heating, deal with the 1 lb of tilapia. Cut each filet in half, lengthwise down the middle. Find the grain on each half (lighter lines going across the fish). Place your knife at a 45º angle to the grain and cut the fish into 1/2 inch strips.

Now it is fry time!! You are going to want to work in batches so as not to crowd the fryer, which will drop the temp of the oil too much. Set up your remaining 1/2 cup of dredging flour in a small bowl next to your batter and fish. Now go systematically, using one hand for the dry and one for the wet so as not to get the dreaded *clubhand*. Dredge each strip of fish in flour, then into the batter, and gently into the hot oil. Fry the fish for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Using a spider (or slotted spoon if you are in a pinch, but really, get a spider) flip the fish once mid-fry and remove from the oil, onto a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Immediately sprinkle the fish with flaky salt. It is super important to get the salt onto the fish right away so it sticks. Wait for the oil to come back up to temp, and repeat with the next batch until all the fish is fried to golden perfection.

When you are all done, leave your oil where it is, in the pan, until it is completely cool. Then strain it into a jar, label is “fishy oil”, and save it for your next taco night.

To assemble your tacos, begin by making or warming your tortillas. We make our own, but mostly just so we don’t end up with extra tortillas. That recipe will be a story for another day. Storebought is just fine. Then layer on your slaw, followed by 2 pieces of fish, sliced avocado and chopped cilantro. Serve with a wedge of lime and some habanero hot sauce, if you want.