Fish Tacos

All types of tacos are delicious, but when given the choice, fish or seafood tacos are always the winner in my opinion. When creating my own fish tacos, I use bluegill or crappie fillets because I live in lake country, and I have a friend that loves to fish and keeps my freezer stocked all year long. However, if you prefer other oceanic fish instead, I’m positive my marinade would work on that too. In fact, this marinade even works on chicken. Cole doesn’t eat fish, so I always split my recipe in half, making 6 ounces of chicken tacos and 6 ounces of fish tacos. Before diving into this recipe, a quick warning: Since my tacos use a marinade, this does require some planning ahead. The meat has to sit in the marinade for an hour before cooking in order for the flavors to fully seep into the fillets. 

*This recipe makes between 6-7 small tacos 

Ingredients

12 oz fish fillets (I use bluegill or crappie)

6 oz Crystal’s Hot Sauce

3 tbsp Taco Seasoning

½ tsp Dried Onion Flakes

1 tsp Minced Garlic

Juice Squeezed from One Lime

Schallock Toppings of Choice

6 inch Soft Taco Shells

Avocado

Sliced Grape Tomatoes

Old El Paso Zesty Ranch

Old El Paso Creamy Salsa Verde

Fresh Cilantro

Goat Cheese

Directions

1. Set the fish on a wide and deep plate or platter. Cover in hot sauce, sprinkle on seasonings, and squeeze the lime juice over the top of it. Stir the mixture together until the fillets are fully coated in all the ingredients. 

2. Set the plate of fish in the refrigerator and let marinate for one hour. 

3. While the fish is marinating, prep toppings of your choice. I personally like to dice up some avocado, slice grape tomatoes into fourths, wash up fresh cilantro leaves, and chop/crumble up goat cheese. 

4. After the fish is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with tin foil. 

5. Set the fish on top of the tin foil lined pan and bake for 17 minutes. 

Kitchen Tip: The sauce that drips off the sides of the fish may burn a little throughout the baking process, but don’t panic when you see the meat surrounded by black. The actual meat itself will be just fine, and the marinade that stays on the fish will not burn. 

6. When it is finished baking, the fish should be tender enough that it can be crumbled into small pieces on top of each taco shell. Assemble your toppings of choice on top of it, and the tacos will be ready to eat! 

While all taco toppings are delicious, I personally am in love with the Old El Paso sauces that I found at the grocery store. A small amount of the zesty ranch and creamy salsa verde seems to pull the whole dish together. I highly recommend trying to find these items next time you go grocery shopping if you are going to make this dish. Enjoy!