Beer-Battered Rockfish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw

5 stars from 1 vote

Rockfish tacos feature crispy beer-battered fish, tortilla shells, and a crisp, tangy cilantro lime slaw for a crowd-pleasing dinner full of flavor!

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: tacos

Calories: 175kcal

Combine cabbage, cilantro, and green onions in a medium bowl. Combine dressing ingredients (sour cream through salt and pepper) in a medium bowl. Toss with cabbage mixture until well-coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Remove skin and bones from rockfish filets, if needed.
Cut fish into ¾" strips. Place the strips into a paper towel-lined bowl. Season fish with salt 30 minutes before cooking.
Combine flour, seafood seasoning, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Slowly add beer to the batter and stir with a whisk. The batter should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter. It needs to be thin enough to coat the fish well but not so thin that it doesn't stick.
Add enough peanut oil to a deep skillet to make it about 1" deep. Heat over medium-high heat to 350-375°F.
Lightly pat fish pieces with paper towel if moisture has accumulated on the surface.
Dip fish pieces in batter and let excess drip off. Add to pan of oil and cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway, until internal temperature reaches 145°F and breading is golden brown and crispy.
If cooking larger batches, preheat oven to 200°F. Place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Once one batch of fish is finished cooking, place it on the wire rack in the oven to keep it warm.

You can warm your tortillas in a hot skillet or dip them in the hot oil leftover from cooking the fish for 30 seconds.
Add 1 or 2 pieces of fish to your tortilla (depending on the size of the pieces), top with cilantro lime slaw, diced pineapple, and sliced radishes (or toppings of your choice) and squeeze a fresh lime wedge over the top. Enjoy!

This beer-battered fish reheats really well in the oven.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Place halibut pieces on wire rack. Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway, or until breading is crispy and fish is heated through.

- A mandolin slicer works great for getting thin slices of cabbage and radishes. But, you can use a sharp knife if you don't have a mandolin available.
- A deep pan is necessary for frying to keep the oil from bubbling over the edge. Select a pan that is at least 3-4" deep since you will be using 1" of oil.
- A high-temperature thermometer or candy thermometer is necessary to make sure your oil is at the proper temperature. If it's too cold, the breading will become soggy. If the oil is too hot, the filets will burn.
- You can cut fish filets with several types of knives, but a filet knife works best due to its unique shape.
- This recipe uses black rockfish filets but you can use any species of rockfish. You can also use other flaky white fish like halibut, cod, mahi mahi, black cod, etc.

- You can use savoy cabbage or red cabbage in place of green cabbage. A mandolin slicer is helpful for shredding the cabbage but you can also use a sharp knife or food processor.

- Peanut oil works great for frying, but you can use other oils like safflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, etc.

- A light beer like a lager works well for beer-battered fish because it adds a light beer flavor without weighing it down. Any light, non-hoppy beer will work.

- You can add or remove spices from the batter to your liking. Cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are all great additions to the simple chili powder and cumin blend used in this beer batter.

- You can customize your taco toppings how you'd like. Mango salsa, avocado slices, fresh pico de gallo, pickled red onion, and pickled jalapenos are all excellent choices.

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