These Baja tacos are made with crispy beer battered rockfish filets. The fried fish shares a warm tortilla with a purple pickled cabbage slaw and a spicy chipotle mayo. Yeah baby! Now do the taco dance!

“Ugly fish, GREAT taco!”

-Frankie

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Rockfish Tacos

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WTF are Baja Rockfish Tacos?

The Baja rockfish taco is a type of fish taco that originated in Baja California, Mexico. Traditionally they are made with a lightly fried or grilled piece of white fish, such as cod, halibut, or tilapia. But we’re doing ours with Rockfish! The fish is laid into a warm tortilla and topped with red cabbage and a spicy sauce. There are a ton of variations. We like ours with flour tortillas, pickled cabbage for a pop, and a chipotle mayo for the sauce.

Baja tacos are often served in coastal regions of Mexico and the United States, but with this recipe you can easily make them at home, wherever you are! The combination of crispy fried fish, pickled cabbage, spicy chipotle sauce and zesty lime, will have you making these Baja tacos on the regular!

People love these things, Bobby Flay even said “I think fish tacos are one of the most perfect dishes“. Read the full NYTimes article about baja tacos here.

WTF are Rockfish Tacos?

Rockfish is a popular choice for tacos because of its firm, flaky texture and mild flavor. The firmness of the fish allows it to hold up well to the cooking process. For this recipe we batter the filets in beer and shallow fry them, but they also hold up great if you prefer grilling or baking.

Another great reason to use rockfish for tacos is their sustainability. Rockfish are a type of bottom-dwelling fish that are abundant in many coastal regions. They are often caught using sustainable fishing practices, which are good for the environment and helps support local fishing communities.

Baja Rockfish Taco Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a list of the ingredients that you’ll need to make these rockfish Baja tacos.

• Fish: Rockfish, a pound will make enough tacos for four really happy people.
• Tortillas: We like flour, but use whatever your preference is. Traditionally you’d find Baja tacos served with corn tortillas.
• Chipotle Mayo: Just mix some mayo, sour cream, lime juice, salt, and chipotle peppers together to make this quick and easy sauce. It brings everything together, do not skip this!
• Pickled Veg: Toss some shredded cabbage and thinly sliced bell peppers into a mason jar along with some vinegar, salt, sugar and Mexican spices and you’ll have a great tasting quick pickled cabbage to top your tacos with.
• Beer Batter: Who doesn’t like cooking with beer?! We like to use a darker beer like Negra Modelo. You’ll only need half a beer so choose something you like so you can drink the rest with your tacos. Just mix the beer with some flour, cornmeal, baking powder and some spices to make this easy an tasty fish coating.

How to Make Rockfish Baja Tacos

Follow these step by step instructions to make our rockfish Baja taco recipe.

Step 1: Make your Pickled Cabbage

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/3 thinly sliced red cabbage, 1/2 red onion thinly sliced, 1 jalapeño diced, 1/2 orange bell pepper thinly sliced, 1 Tbsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp red pepper chili flakes, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 tbsp citrus champagne vinegar, 1 cup water. Stir to combine thoroughly

Store in an airtight container or a mason jar overnight or for at least an hour before serving.

Step 2: Make the Chipotle Mayo

In a food processor or blender, combine 3/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, half can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp salt. Blend until smooth. set aside in fridge

Step 3: Make beer batter

In a large mixing bowl combine, 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp chili powder and 1/2 cup Mexican beer. whisk to combine. should be the consistency of pancake batter.

Step 4: Fry Fish

Heat 3-4 cups of canola oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom pot. once oil is 350-355F degrees, place rockfish

Cut rockfish fillets into long strips, approximately 1″ by 3″ long. Dip the strips in the batter and make sure all sides are evenly coated.

Once oil is 350-355F degrees, place rockfish strips into the oil and fry each side 2-4 mins or until deep golden brown. The fish should be fully cooke on the inside and brown and crispy on the outside.

Place the fried fish on a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with finishing salt, and let cool for a few minutes.

Step 5: Assemble & Enjoy!

Fry a tortilla on each side for 20-30 seconds. Lather it with a spoonful of the chipotle mayo, a piece or two of fish, and a handful of the pickled veg. top with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Enjoy your rockfish baja tacos!

Rockfish Baja Taco Salsa

The chipotle mayo is great with these Baja rockfish tacos, but if you want to add an extra zing to taco night. Serve one or two of these salsas! Folks can top off their tacos with or just devour them with a big bowl of tortilla chips.

Try our Mango Habanero Salsa recipe, it’s a crowd pleaser! Just make sure some cold beers are close. We roast the peppers which takes a lot of the sting out of them, but it can still be spicy!

If you like a more mellow salsa, check out our recipe for Grapefruit Salsa recipe! It’s got a ton of tangy flavor without the heat.

Rockfish Baja Taco Leftovers

If you can’t eat all of the rockfish in one sitting, fry whatever you’ll use for the night, and then store the rest of the fish in the batter, in an airtight container in the fridge. It will be good like that for a day or two. When you Reheat fried fish, it is never as good. It’s always soggy and a little sad.

The picked cabbage slaw and chipotle mayo will be good for a couple weeks. Just make sure to store it in an air tight container in the fridge.

More Tasty Recipes

Dig these Rockfish Baja Tacos and want more some tasty recipes? We got you covered. Check out these recipes for your next taco night.

Mexican Turkey w/ adobo sauce

beef enchiladas with green sauce recipe

pulled pork crispy tacos recipe