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Fried Catfish Tacos Recipe

By: Andrea Alden

There's a bit of a story with these Fried Catfish Tacos With Spicy Sour Cream And Avocado Coleslaw. When I was a lot younger, back in my picky eater days, I was watching a show whose main characters were focused on a Mexican family and fish tacos. They were obsessed with fish tacos. I couldn't dream of ever contaminating my tortillas with fish! Fast forward many years, and I have to try making these tacos. What happened? I still remember the revulsion of my younger self. However, I am now older an adult and have more adventurous tastes. Right? Honestly, these were delicious. The fish was crispy on the outside, well seasoned inside. The coleslaw with cheese on top, ohhh and the cream sauce bringing it all together... It was fishy heaven wrapped in a tortilla. Or something. Eat it yourself. You will understand.

Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Yield
4
Difficulty
Medium

Fried Catfish Tacos Recipe

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Ingredients

Method

Photos

Ingredients

1 lb. (approx. 3)

catfish fillets

2 bottles

Mexican beer like Dos Equis or Corona

1 tbsp.

taco seasoning

6

soft tortillas

1

lime, cut into wedges

1 cup

shredded Monterey Jack

Handful of cilantro for garnish

4 cups

oil (for frying)


Spicy Sour Cream

1/2 cup

sour cream

1 tsp.

season salt

1 tbsp.

taco seasoning

1

birds eye chili, minced

 

Avocado Coleslaw

2 cups

red cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup

radicchio, shredded

1/2

red onion, sliced

1

large carrot, julienned

1/2 cup

mayonnaise

1

 ripe avocado

2 tsp.

apple cider vinegar

2 tsp.

yellow mustard

2 tbsp.

sugar

1 tbsp.

olive oil

 

Beer Batter

1 tsp.

season salt

1 tsp.

sugar

1 tsp.

garlic powder

1/2 tsp.

baking powder

1 cup

beer

Method
  1. Slice the catfish fillets in half, giving yourself long, thin fish chunks. In a medium bowl, or a ziploc bag, pour 1 1/2 cups of beer, the juice from one wedge of lime, with 1 tbsp. of taco seasoning. Add the fish to the beer-seasoning mix. Refrigerate while you prep everything else. *This will take approximately 30 minutes once you have the fish marinating.*
  2. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, season salt, taco seasoning, and birds eye chili. Whisk until combined.
  3. For the Coleslaw, combine the shredded cabbage, radicchio, carrot, and onion in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the avocado until it's smooth. Whisk in the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the avocado dressing with the coleslaw until evenly coated. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
  4. Pour the oil into a deep walled pot, or Stainless Steel Wok. Place this over medium high heat on your grill's side burner. Preheat the grill to low using only one burner. You will be using it to keep the fish warm as you work in batches.
  5. To make the beer batter, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, garlic powder, and baking powder. Pour in 1 cup of beer, whisking until smooth, but don't over mix.
  6. Remove the fish from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Bring the fish and the batter outside, along with a cookie tray with paper towel, and some tongs.
  7. Dip the fish into the batter, turning to coat. Fry each fillet one at a time, for about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the oil and place onto the paper towel lined cookie tray, over indirect heat while you cook the remaining fish.
  8. To serve, lay down a bed of coleslaw, followed by a hot fish fillet. Top that with shredded jack cheese, a generous helping of spicy sour cream, and topped with a sprinkling of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
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Deep Fry

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Drain on paper towel

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A squirt of fresh lime

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Garnish with cilantro

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Get closer to enjoy the aroma

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Dive in

AndreaAlden
Andrea Alden

I used to be the Sultana of Sizzle, but you can call me Andrea. I have always been passionate about food. Even though I was majoring in Art and Graphic Design, I would frequently be found cooking for my friends and family.

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Thumbnail

Deep Fry

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Drain on paper towel

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A squirt of fresh lime

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Garnish with cilantro

Thumbnail

Get closer to enjoy the aroma

Thumbnail

Dive in