These Baja Fish Tacos are made with beer battered fried fish, then topped with a creamy cilantro lime slaw and chipotle mayo – delicious street food made at home!
I recommend making the slaw and mayo before making the fish; see recipes linked in the ingredient list above. Keep both refrigerated until ready to serve.
Prep fish: Pat fish dry, cut either into pieces or into sticks (¾-inch pieces or ½ by 3 inch sticks (2cm pieces or 1 ¼ by 7 ½ cm sticks)). Season with salt and pepper.
Make batter: Whisk together all ingredients for batter EXCEPT for beer in medium-large batter bowl until fully combined. Slowly and gradually whisk in beer (careful, it will foam up) until a smooth, lump-free batter forms.
Heat oil: Fill Dutch oven or deep fryer 3 inches deep with vegetable oil. Slowly heat to 350°F (175°C), or until a wooden spoon sizzles when carefully dipped into the hot oil.
Fry fish: Dredge fish pieces through batter, one at a time, allowing any excess to drip off. Immediately place into hot oil (do not overcrowd! this needs to be done in several batches) and deep fry for 2-4 minutes, turning once; until batter is deep golden, crispy and fish has reached an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). (Exact time will depend on fish size and exact oil temperature.)
Drain excess oil: Place fried fish on wire rack or large plate lined with layers of paper towels to soak up excess oil. Continue battering and frying fish until all fish has been fried.
Serve: Serve fried fish with warmed soft taco shells, slaw, chipotle mayo, fresh cilantro and lime wegdes.
Notes
Ingredient notes
Cod loin: If cod loin is unavailable, use cod fillet. It will be thinner and less juicy, but still delicious. You can also use a different firm, white fish fillet if you don’t have any cod.
Beer: A Mexican-style beer works best, although if you can’t find any at your store, a regular light/blonde beer works great in its place.
Baking powder: Do not use baking soda in place of the baking powder, they are not the same.
Spices: If you don’t have the individual spices on hand, you can easily substitute store-bought or homemade Taco seasoning.
Taco shells: I used soft taco shells made from white corn. They are my favorite for these fish tacos, but feel free to use whatever taco shells you have on hand.
The batter is very easy to make and it’s not difficult to fry the fish, it’s just a little tedious and time-consuming because you need to batter the fish one piece at a time and can’t overcrowd your fryer when cooking the battered fish. Plan for about 20-30 minutes of deep frying, depending on the size of your fryer and if you cut the fish into nuggets or into sticks (sticks are easier/faster).
Be very careful with the hot oil. Hot oil is dangerous to pets, children and, well, pretty much anyone. If you are deep frying in a Dutch oven on the stove, I strongly recommend using a back burner to minimize the risk of a spill. The same goes for electric deep fryers – set them in a. safe spot and constantly supervise/never ever leave the hot oil and frying goods unattended!
Do not overheat the oil, or heat it too quickly. Overheated oil will cause the batter to burn quickly. Equally, oil that is not hot enough will leave your fish soggy and greasy.
You may need to test batter amount and frying time for a few pieces before you get the hang of it. That’s another reason why I prefer nuggets over sticks, more time to get it right ?
I have never needed to reheat the fish, it always stays hot and crisp until I have fried all of the pieces. If you need to reheat it, I recommend using an air fryer or the oven. I do not recommend making the fish ahead of time on purpose, though.
Keep leftovers in the fridge in a covered container with paper towels. Reheat in the oven on a rack or in an air fryer until crisp and heated through.
I decided not to display nutrition facts for this recipe. It is very difficult to gauge oil amount when deep frying, and it's impossible to gauge how much slaw/mayo/which taco shells each individual person is going to consume. If you need nutrition facts, then please calculate your own using a service like My Fitness Pal.