Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

I ran across this recipe a while back at CarftBeer.com of which was posted by the blogger at Pink-Parsley.com. I have been wanting to try fish tacos for a very long time as I am a fish taco virgin, so this recipe was right up my alley. The Mrs was not enthused about fish tacos to say the least. She even wrote on my printed recipe, “Fish Tacos You Suck”. Undeterred I put down a couple of brews and started making my very first fish tacos. India Pale Ale was the suggested brew for this recipe so I turned to the trusty Founder’s Centennial IPA. I made a few modifications to the recipe as I went along and they will be listed in red. I also skipped the Guacamole Crème because I am not a fan of Avocados. Yes I know boooo me if you like.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

By CraftBeer.com

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Difficulty: Moderate

Time: 30 minutes

Beer Style: India Pale Ale

Seasonality: Summer

Serves: 4

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Josie of the Pink Parsley whips up some delicious fish tacos sourcing SweetWater Brewing Company's IPA—one of her favorite local beers.

Ingredients

For the Fish

1 lb firm white fish (cod, haddock, halibut, etc)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup beer, preferably IPA

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

3-4 TBsp of corn meal

1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

1 TBsp of Mccormicks dried Red Pepper and Garlic
1/4 tsp cinnamon

vegetable oil, for frying

Mango Salsa

2 mangos, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, diced

2 Tbs diced red onion

juice of 1 lime

1/8 tsp chili powder

2 Tbs minced fresh cilantro

2 TBsp of Cholula hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Avocado Crema (I didn’t use)

1 avocado, pitted

1-2 Tbs plain yogurt

1 Tbs sour cream

juice of 1/2 lime

hot sauce to taste

salt and pepper to taste

To Serve

taco shells, hard or soft
lime wedges
hot sauce


Directions

Batter and Fish
Combine 1 cup of the flour, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the beer, whisk to combine, and let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow the yeasts to develop.
Meanwhile, pat the fish dry, season with salt and pepper, and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Toss with the remaining 1/2 cup flour.


Mango Salsa
To prepare the mango salsa, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Taste and season with more salt, lime, or hot sauce if necessary.


Avocado Crema
For the avocado crema, use a fork to mash the avocado in a medium bowl. Add the yogurt, sour cream, hot sauce, and lime, and continue mashing to form a smooth sauce.
Add more yogurt or sour cream to achieve your desired consistency, and season with salt and hot sauce.


Frying the Fish
To fry the fish, heat 1/2-inch oil in a large skillet to 375°F.

Working in batches, shake off the excess flour from the fish, then coat with the beer batter. Being careful not to overcrowd the pan, fry in the hot oil 3-5 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked through.


You may need to test a few in the first batch to get the time right.


Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain, and repeat with remaining fish.


Assembly
To assemble, warm the tortillas and fill with fish.
Drizzle with mango salsa.
A couple dollops of sour cream but don’t overdo it a TBsp or so
Some shredded 1 (TBsp) Monterrey Jack and (½TBsp) Cheddar don’t overdo this either.

Conclusion
These turned out absolutely amazing. Even the Mrs., who was completely against the idea of fish tacos, loved them. Everything was in perfect balance and blended wonderfully. The key to this recipe is not to overdo any single ingredient when building your tacos. I put just enough mango salsa to cover the fish. When adding the sour cream and cheese I was careful to put just enough or it would have overpowered the delicate balance of the mango salsa and fish. I included some hot sauce and Cayenne into the ingredients to add some depth but did not turn out overly hot. This has to be one of my favorite meals ever and I will definitely revisit this recipe soon.  Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!

Cheers!