How to Make Crispy Crunchy Fish Tacos Everyone Will Love

I spent a lot of time teaching our kids and teens camps this summer, and my favorite experience is seeing a young cook enjoy something they didn’t think they liked. This was the case when the teens made crispy fish tacos. More often than not, fish is a hard sell in our summer camps because it’s not a food they are familiar with, or when they have tried fish, they thought it was yucky. Our goal is to change that.

I consider myself lucky because I grew up eating all sorts of fish. My great uncle, Robert Schuffler, owned Robert’s Fish Market, a kosher fish market on Devon St. in Chicago. He would supply my family with beautiful, fresh fish and the best gefilte fish you could ever hope to eat.

A surefire way to get kids and teens excited about eating fish is to make it approachable for the young palate. Serve smaller portions of the fish so it’s not overwhelming, include fun textures and identifiable flavors to complement the fish, and make it fun. Enter the fish taco!

My kids favorite way to enjoy fish tacos is when we dip it pieces in a bubbly batter and then shallow fry it. The coating on the outside becomes glass-shatteringly crunchy, golden and irresistible. To make a bubbly batter, you only need a handful of staple ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen.

Before we get to the batter, let’s talk about the fish. Any type of white, flaky fish will do the trick. Some options are bass, snapper, cod, halibut, sole, flounder, or tilapia. Just make sure the fish is boneless and skinless. I prefer to use fresh fish because previously frozen fish can be a bit watery when defrosted. If the fish is IQF (individually quick frozen), then it will be ice-crystal free when defrosted, so look for that option. If it’s not IQF and a bit watery when defrosted, pat it dry with paper towels. The dryer the better! Cut the fish into finger width and length pieces; if they are much bigger, they are hard to nestle in a taco.

Before you make the batter, start heating your oil. I totally get that shallow frying at home does not sound appealing. I’m right there with you, which is why we only fry/shallow fry once every few weeks. But food that’s fried is scientifically proven to taste better according to my children… and husband!

You only need a couple inches of neutral oil (corn, canola, vegetable) to come just under the half way mark in a pan. I use a cast iron skillet, but you can use anything that has straight-ish sides. It’s helpful to have a deep fry thermometer in order to heat the oil to the proper temperature. We’re looking for about 360° to 365°.

While the oil is heating, prepare the batter. In a mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients first… flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. You then whisk in enough ice cold water until you have the consistency of cold heavy cream.

The last step is to whisk in the vinegar.

If you have ever made a model volcano, then you know what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar. Lots of bubbles!

Season your fish pieces with salt and pepper to taste, or any other seasoning mix you like, and lightly dredge them in flour. This will help the batter stick.

Place your flour coated fish pieces in the batter and gently stir to coat them evenly and thoroughly.

Now it’s time to fry! Grab yourself a wooden skewer (to keep your hands clean) and piece by piece, use the skewer to transfer the fish pieces from the batter and lower them gently into the oil.

Be sure not to overcrowd the pan, so you’ll most likely fry the fish in a couple batches. Fry the fish until a medium golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet tray. We use a brown paper bag under our rack to catch the oil drips for easy clean up.

As the fish fries, the batter puffs up from the baking soda/vinegar reaction and becomes crispy and crunchy once it’s cooked through. It’s a pretty magical process that’s 100% achievable at home.

Nestle the crunchy fish in warm tortillas of your choice (I like the El Milagro corn tortillas) and top with anything you like. Some options are pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese, sliced avocado, salsa and or hot sauce, chipotle-lime mayo or a tangy lime juice-dressed red cabbage slaw. And since corn is in season, and we’re already south of the border, it’s a no brainer for us to make elotes as a side dish. If you’re interested in exploring more about the world of Mexican flavors, don’t miss our Secrets of Mexico Boot Camp on Saturday, September 28 at 10am.

Crispy Crunchy Fish Tacos

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 4-6 servings

Active time: 30 minutes

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Oil for frying

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Ice water as needed

2 tablespoons white vinegar

All-purpose flour for dredging

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound white, flaky fish such as cod or bass, cut into 1-inch x 4-inch strips

8 corn or flour tortillas, warmed

Optional toppings:

1/3 cup queso fresco or cotija, crumbled

Salsa or hot sauce

Lime mayo

Pico de gallo

1. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a straight-sided pot until it reaches 365°.
2. To make the batter, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.
3. Pour in just enough ice water, while gently whisking, until you have a batter the consistency of cold heavy cream.
4. Gently stir in the vinegar, which will activate the baking soda and create lots of bubbles.
5. Season your pieces of fish with salt and pepper to taste, and dredge through the flour.
6. Dip the fish in the batter and fry, in batches, until golden brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to a rack set over a sheet tray and continue frying the fish.
8. Nestle the fried fish in the warm tortillas and top with the toppings of your choice.

This restaurant-quality dish is fun to make because it’s so delicious and an excellent way to encourage non-fish enthusiasts to try something new. We had some skeptics in our teen class, but after trying the crispy fish tacos we had some converts.