First Mate Jana here,
one of our favorite treats down in the Islands is fresh fish tacos. Few things satisfy our primal instincts more than hunting, catching, and eating our food. How many people these days can say they’ve done that? We also believe that the process of hunting, catching, and then eating your own food is more sustainable and healthier than purchasing food harvested by the “big farm” industry. We are always grateful for what mama ocean provides for us, and what better homage than cooking up some fresh #FishTacos!
There are many ways you can cook fish, but the sure fire way to get everyone jumping for joy is frying them up in crispy panko breadcrumbs. The technique is simple: rinse your fish and pat them dry, then dip and coat the fillets in flour, then egg, and then the panko bread crumbs and place your breaded fillets into your favorite frying oil.
We love this recipe because it isn’t a fine science, and you don’t have to be a master chef to serve up this dish. The ingredient amounts listed aren’t exact, and the good ol’ method of ‘eye-balling it’ will work just fine!
Although the star of the show is clearly your fried fish, garnishing your tacos with fresh produce will really set them off. We like to use what is in season, but you can’t go wrong with: Lettuce, Tomato, onion, shredded cheese, and a squeeze of Key Lime.
We also like to whip up our own tarter sauce, which is surprisingly simple.
Enjoy!
Fish Frying ingredients
· Frying wok/ deep pan
· Vegetable oil, about 1 ½ -2 cups, or enough to cover your fillets
· Fish fillets, rinsed with water and patted dry.
· Panko style bread crumbs
· Egg, usually 2-4, depends how much fish you’ll be breading,
· Flour, about 1 cup, also depends how much fish you’ll be breading
· Salt
Instructions
· Set out 3 bowls. Fill one bowl with flour, one with eggs, and one with breadcrumbs.
· Take your clean and dry fillets and dip and coat each fillet: first in flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs—set all of your fully dipped and coated fillets aside.
· Heat your vegetable oil. Test the oil is hot enough by sprinkling a few pieces of breadcrumbs into the pan. If it simmers and bubbles your oil is ready, if not, oil may not be fully heated or you may need to increase the temperature. *NEVER COVER HOT OIL.
· Take your plate of coated fillets and place 2-3 fillets at a time into the oil. You want your fillets to have enough room in the oil to simmer without touching the other fillets. Notice how the bottom of the fillet starts to brown, once it’s a beautiful golden brown color, flip your filet and let the other side get that same golden color. 3-4 minutes per side. Only flip once.
· Once both sides are evenly browned remove filet from oil and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Lightly salt.
· Continue this process until all your filets are complete.
Key Lime Tarter Sauce Ingredients:
· Small mixing bowl (or wide mouth mason jar for easy storage!)
· ½ cup of Mayonnaise
· ½-3/4 cup of Sweet Relish
· Teaspoon of vinegar
· Tablespoon of Key-lime juice fresh squeezed, or we like Nellie and Joes Key Lime concentrate
· Salt
· Lemon Pepper (regular pepper works too)
Tarter Sauce Instructions:
· In your mixing bowl or jar combine: mayonnaise, sweet relish, vinegar, key lime juice, salt, and lemon pepper
· Mix all ingredients until you like the consistency—this is where that ‘eye-balling’ technique comes in handy
· Place mixture into the refrigerator to let chill while you finish preparing the meal.
Taco fixins’
· Chop up some leafy greens, tomato, and onion
· Set out some shredded cheese-- we like Colby Jack
· Garnish with fresh lime wedges and cilantro
· Tortillas—we prefer flour. Warm them up in the oven or microwave for a nice touch
Grab your tortilla and spread some key lime tarter sauce onto it. Then add your fixings and finally place your fried fish on top. Fold up your taco and take a bite into pure deliciousness J
Thanks for reading and we’ll catch y’all later!
