Beer Battered fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Onions and Cucumber and Chipotle Crema

 

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons cayenne pepper

3 teaspoons garlic salt

A few dashes of Tapatio hot sauce

12 ounces beer or club soda

3 (8-ounce) tilapia, halibut, rock fish or cod fillets, cut into chunks

8 (6-inch) flour and/or corn tortillas, lightly charred over a gas flame or on a grill

Lime wedges for squeezing

Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber, recipe follows

 

Fill a large pot with oil halfway up the pot. Heat oil to 350 degrees, or use your deep-fryer.

In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Slowly whisk in beer or soda until thick, but not runny. Add a few dashes of Tapatio to the batter. Dredge fish in remaining flour first, then dunk in the batter. Fry in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper-toweled lined plate.

Serve fish in tortillas topped with Chipotle Crema and Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber

 

Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber:

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 large red onion, medium dice

1 large Vidalia onion, medium dice

1 English cucumber, medium dice

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced

1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

 

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt. Add onions and cucumber and continue to cook a few minutes more. Remove from heat, add chile, and transfer to a bowl. Let cool slightly then chill covered, for at least 1 hour.

Toss in the tomato and cilantro, 5 minutes before serving.

 

Chipotle Crema:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 chipotles in adobo

1 tablespoon adobo sauce

2 garlic cloves

pinch of salt

squeeze of lime

Plastic squeeze bottle, for dispensing the crema

 

For the Chipotle Crema, add the following ingredients to a blender or food processor and combine well: 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 chipotles in adobo, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lime. You might need to add a splash of water to get it to combine. If you want more heat, you can add more chipotles or some of the adobo sauce. Use a plastic squeeze bottle to dispense the crema. It looks really nice on the tacos.