Tacos are notorious for being quick and delicious. If you’re ready for some fish, spice, fresh pico, and a boozy avocado tequila lime dressing. You’ve come to the right place! We loved creating this spin on the seafood taco.
Although cooking fish and shellfish can be a little intimidating, we aim to make these Seafood Tacos with Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle super simple. That being said, let’s get into the fishy part of this recipe. What fish to use? How to season fish for tacos? How to properly cook fish?
Fishy Business: What fish to use?
When it comes to fish in tacos, it’s pretty typical to use any kind of white fish. We chose to use cod, mostly because it’s in the middle price range, depending on where you are in the world. Also, because it’s super adaptable and carries less of a fishy taste. Depending on preference, feel free to use any fish you’d like. Even a deep red fish like salmon or tuna would be delicious! We also used jumbo shrimp to give our tacos some extra texture. You’re more than welcome to leave them out if you’d prefer.
Spices: How to Season fish for Tacos?
To season your fish for tacos, most places you’ll go sprinkle some salt and pepper then lather in some sort of batter, usually beer batter. Don’t get us wrong…this is DELICIOUS! However, for the sake of not dealing with hot oil and to make it a little less greasy we decided on a wet rub and to grill/bake ours.
Typically tacos have a kick! So, if you’re looking for some spice, we have a great combination for you. For this recipe we decided to make a wet rub. Essentially, it’s just a bunch of spiced or herbs with some sort of fatty oil to not only heat the fish faster and create a slight crunch but to also help you spices stick properly to your fish.
In this recipe we used:
- cayenne pepper
- cumin
- smoked paprika
- onion powder
- salt & pepper
- fresh garlic
- olive oil
After you’ve mixed all of your spices and oil together, using a grilling brush, you’ll simply just even apply it to both your fish and shellfish. Then you’re on to the most important step, cooking.
Fried, Baked, or Grilled: How to properly cook fish?
First things first, how are we cooking the fish? As stated above, restaurants that sell fish tacos usually coat them in batter and fry. Nonetheless, given our personal preference, we’ve chosen to bake/ grill ours. We wanted to grill the shrimp and because cod is a flaky fish, to keep things efficient, we used a cast iron attachment to bake it on the grill as well. Tin foil works great also!
Fish can be difficult. If cooked improperly it can become textually unappealing. Very rubber-like and dry. So, in order to execute this suitably all you’ll truly need to do is pay close attention to the temperature and the amount of time your fish is being cooked. At about 500 degrees it takes about 6 minutes to cook a fish fillet thoroughly on the grill, 3 minutes each side. For shrimp it’s even less time being, 5 minutes total, 2 1/2 minutes each side. Then that’s that! You’ve got yourself some flaky, juicy, cooked to perfection fish.
Simple Pico de Gallo:
You can’t have tacos without some sort of salsa. For this recipe we decided to make a simple Pico de Gallo. Pico consist of seven easy to find ingredients and will spice up any Mexican dish.
Those ingredients are:
- tomatoes
- white onion
- cilantro
- jalapeno
- fresh lime juice
- fresh garlic
- salt&pepper (to taste)
All you have to do with these ingredients is give them a rough chop and throw them together in a bowl, mix to incorporate, and you’re done!
Avocado Tequila Lime Dressing:
Now for what we think makes our seafood tacos stand out from the rest! It’s spicy, tangy, rich, and has some Mexican flare, our avocado tequila lime dressing!
What you’ll need:
- Greek Yogurt (full fat)
- scallions/green onions
- cilantro
- jalapeno
- fresh lime juice
- fresh garlic
- tequila
- avocado
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for about 5 minutes until it becomes a sauce-like consistency or until well incorporated.
Instead of using cholesterol boosting mayo we decided to use full fat Greek yogurt and avocado to make this dressing rich and creamy. Alongside all of the herbs and spices, this makes for a delicious accompaniment to our Seafood Tacos with Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle.
Bringing it all together!
Time to make the perfect seafood taco! Do you really think we’d forget the most important building tool for these tasty bad boys?? You already know we’re about to link our last week’s recipe! >>>>>>>>>>
The last and final step to this entire process is to pile all of these ingredients onto a tortilla (although I left a link for paleo tortillas, we used small flour), not forgetting your Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle, and Enjoy! 🙂
Don’t forget to cherish the little things with the people you love. We hope you enjoy this recipe much as we have! Peace and love to you all! <3
Seafood Tacos with Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle
Equipment
- Blender
- Grill or Oven
Ingredients
Seafood:
- 2-3 Large Fish Fillet (we used cod)
- 10 Jumbo Shrimp (cleaned and peeled)
Seasoning for Seafood:
- 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp. Onion Powder
- 2 Cloves Fresh Garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Pepper
- 1/4 C. Olive Oil
Simple Pico de Gallo:
- 1 C. tomato (diced)
- 1/2 C. White Onion (diced)
- 1/4 C. Cilantro (chopped)
- 1/2 Fresh Jalapeno (diced)
- 1 Clove Fresh Garlic (minced)
- 1 Lime (juiced)
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle:
- 1/4 C. Full Fat Greek Yogurt
- 4 Scallions/Green Onions (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 C. Cilantro
- 1/4-1/2 Fresh Jalapeno (your preference on spiciness)
- 1 Fresh Lime (juiced)
- 1 Clove Fresh Garlic
- 1 oz. Tequila (preferably from Mexico)
- 1/2 Medium Avocado
Additional Ingredients:
- Paleo or Flour Tortillas
- Oil or Butter (to grill tortillas)
Instructions
Avocado Tequila Lime Drizzle
- Combine all ingredients full fat greek yogurt, scallions, cilantro, fresh jalapeno, lime juice, garlic, tequila, and avocado into a blender and blend on high for about 5 minutes or until it becomes a sauce-like consistency or is well incorporated.
- Place in airtight container and put in fridge until ready for use.
Simple Pico de Gallo
- Roughly chop all of your ingredients tomato, white onion, cilantro, fresh jalapeno, garlic, lime juice and place in a a medium to small sized bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let rest at room temperature until ready for use. Refrigerate after use.
Seafood & Seasoning
- Clean shrimp. (remove shell, head, legs, de-vein) wash, set aside in medium bowl along with cod.
- In small bowl incorporate cayenne pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Preheat your grill to about 450-500 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're using an oven preheat it to 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once that's done you'll place your fish in a baking dish and using a grilling brush to evenly coat your fish and shrimp with the wet rub mixture.
- Cook your fish fillet on one side for three minutes, flip, and cook for an additional three minutes. For shrimp cook on either side for about 2 1/2 minutes. (If using a grill, we recommend using a cast iron attachment of the cod.) If using an oven, place seafood in baking dish and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Finally, you're ready to assemble! Pile all of these delicious ingredients onto your choice of tortilla, not excluding our avocado tequila lime drizzle, and enjoy! 🙂
