Oven-Fried Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are so easy to make at home, there’s no reason to wait to order them for take-out. While it’s simplest to sauté spiced fish in a flash in a skillet, here I dredge them in seasoned flour, egg, and bread crumbs to bake in the oven. The resulting tacos taste like fried fish without all the messy and caloric frying. By changing the spices and/or the salsa, along with other toppings, this favorite meal can go in many different ways. The blog includes some ideas for different salsas if you’d like to ramp up your Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo. No tacos for you? Serve the fish over your favorite greens for a full meal salad or tucked into a fresh bun for a “fried” fish sandwich.

serves 4

Ingredients

FRESH SALSA (PICO DE GALLO)

3 plum tomatoes cut into small dice
2 minced scallions -- green and white parts
½ small jalapeño, seed and deveined, minced
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
Pinch each salt and pepper
½ teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup diced red bell pepper, optional

FISH

1 cup flour whisked together with ¼ teaspoon each: salt, pepper, and chili powder
2 eggs beaten with 1 tablespoon water and whisked together with ¼ teaspoon each: salt, pepper, and chili powder
1 ¼ cups fresh bread crumbs whisked together with ¼ teaspoon each: salt, pepper, and chili powder
4 (4-5 ounce) tilapia fillets —or other white fish such as catfish, cod, halibut, etc., rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon EACH: ground cayenne and ground cumin

TOPPINGS

½ cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese or crumbed Cotija cheese
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
2 ripe avocadoes, peeled, pitted and diced
Crema — see notes for recipe
2 limes, cut into wedges
Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce (pass at table)

8 CORN TORTILLAS—Warmed on griddle, in oven, or over stove burner flame

Instructions

PREHEAT OVEN to 400 degrees and set rack at center.
MAKE THE SALSA and set aside: Stir together the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside while you cook the fish.
PREP THE FISH: Put the flour, egg, and bread crumb mixtures into 3 separate shallow bowls. Mix the ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon each ground cayenne and ground cumin in a small cup and sprinkle both sides of the tilapia fillets with the mixture, patting the spices into the flesh of the fish. Dip each fillet on both sides into first the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and then the bread crumb mixture, shaking them off a bit after each and patting the crumbs into both sides of the fish. Place fillets at least 2 inches apart on a rimmed sheet pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. If one end of a fillet is a lot thinner at the end than it is in the middle, tuck that under to avoid over cooking.
BAKE THE FISH Bake for 10 minutes (no need to turn over) or until fish is firm, opaque, still juicy, and flakes when nudged with a fork. (approx. 140 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. The temperature will rise as the fish rests.) Cut the fillets into 6-8 pieces each.
MAKE THE TACOS: Place a few pieces of cooked fish onto the center of a warmed tortilla. Add 2 tablespoons shredded cabbage, a piece or two of avocado, a sprinkle of grated cheese, a small spoonful of salsa, and a drizzle of crema – or to taste. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Serve with lime wedges. Pass hot sauce at the table. Serve hot.
LEFTOVERS: Store leftovers well-wrapped in the fridge for 3 days.

Notes

Crema – Whisk a ¼ cup of sour cream with ¼ cup mayonnaise, a tablespoon milk, the juice of half a lime, a pinch each salt and pepper, and a shake or two of Tabasco until smooth. If not thin enough to drizzle over tacos, add a little more milk. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more lime or Tabasco as desired.