Beer Battered Cod Tacos

Crispy, crunchy, and so light! These beer battered cod tacos are made with your favorite ale and topped with cabbage slaw and a homemade sauce.

This is one of those taco recipes that makes you wish you were at the beach. Fresh ingredients, handheld, and oh, so good!

Made with beer battered mild white fish, homemade cabbage slaw, a drizzle of zesty sauce, all wrapped in a soft flour or corn tortilla.

And don’t forget to add your favorite toppings! Hello, avocado and pico de gallo! Fried fish has never tasted so good.

Pair these tacos with some fries or hush puppies to round out your meal!

Beer Battered Cod Taco Tips

Use a deep pan for frying. As the oil heats, it will expand. Not to mention, the fish takes up space in the pan. Make sure you leave plenty of space for the oil to expand upward without overflowing the sides of the pan.

A wire rack is your friend! If possible, let the fish cool on a cooling rack suspended above paper towels. When you lay the fried cod directly on top of paper towels or a plate to cool, they sit in oil and get soggy.

Dry the fish really well. Make sure to get all the moisture out of the fish before dipping it into the beer batter. Otherwise, the batter could slide off of the fish or get soft.

What can I use in place of cod?

If you’re unable to find cod, try halibut or mahi mahi. All of those have a firm texture and mild flavor that would work in place of cod.

I don’t like ale. What other kind of beer can I use?

If you don’t like ale, opt for another mild flavored beer. A strong beer will come through in the batter, so look for something light.

What can I use in place of Old Bay Seasoning?

Use your favorite all-purpose seasoning blend in place of Old Bay. You’ll need to add some salt since Old Bay has a fair amount of sodium. A combination of garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle, and paprika are always a favorite.

Can I make beer battered cod tacos without beer?

If you’d rather not add beer to the batter use a soda water or seltzer water. Make sure that it doesn’t container sugar or sweetners. Swapping out the beer for water will change the flavor of tacos.

Storage

Store the components of the cod tacos in separate containers in the refrigerator. They’ll stay good for about 3 days.

Reheat the fried cod in a toaster oven or conventional oven until warmed through.

Beer Battered Cod Tacos

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Author: Kimberly Vargo

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 Servings

Prevent your phone from shutting off while cooking!

Ingredients

For the Taco Sauce

• 1 ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, juice from ½ a lemon
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• ½ teaspoon dried dill
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

For the Slaw

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded
• ¼ cup purple onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

For the Fish

• 2 pounds cod, cut into filets, fresh or frozen and thawed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning, We used Old Bay.
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces beer, Ale works well.
• 3 cups vegetable oil, for cooking the fish

For the Tacos

• 8 tortillas, corn or flour
• Lime wedges
• Extra cilantro
• Radish slices

Instructions

 

To Make the Taco Sauce

• Place all the sauce ingredients into a bowl, and whisk to combine. (Adjust the salt and pepper if desired.)
  1 ¼ cup mayonnaise

  ½ cup sour cream

  1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

  ½ teaspoon dried dill

  ½ teaspoon onion powder

  ¼ teaspoon ground cumin

  ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

  ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

  ¼ teaspoon garlic salt

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• Refrigerate until ready to use.

To Make the Slaw

• Place the dressing ingredients into a bowl, and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until you're ready to dress the slaw.
  ½ cup mayonnaise

  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

  1 teaspoon granulated sugar

  ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

  Salt and pepper
• Add both types of cabbage, onion, and cilantro to a large mixing bowl. Pour the lime dressing over the cabbage mixture, and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  3 cups green cabbage

  1 cup purple cabbage

  ¼ cup purple onion

  2 tablespoons cilantro

To Make the Cod

• Pour the oil into a heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium heat. While you're waiting for the oil to heat, prepare the beer batter.
  3 cups vegetable oil
• Use paper towels to pat the cod dry. Cut the fish filets into equally sized pieces. Our filets were large enough to cut into 4 pieces each giving us 16 pieces total. Season the cod with salt and pepper.
  2 pounds cod

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon black pepper
• In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, and seafood seasoning.
  1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  1 tablespoon garlic powder

  2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
• Add the egg, and slowly whisk in the beer until completely combined. The batter will be thinner than pancake batter but thicker than buttermilk.
  1 large egg

  12 ounces beer
• One at a time, dip a piece of fish into the batter and allow the excess to drip off. Carefully lower the fish into the hot oil (the oil will shimmer when it's hot enough; if the oil begins to smoke, it's too hot). Add 2-3 more pieces of fish, as much as the pan can easily hold without being overcrowded.
• While the fish cooks, line a large baking sheet with foil followed by paper towels. Add a wire rack on top of the paper towels. After the fish turns light golden brown use tongs to remove it from the pan and place it on the wire rack. It should read 145°F on an instant read thermometer.

To Assemble the Tacos

• Place 1-2 pieces of fish onto a tortilla (the amount of fish per tortilla is dependent on preference). Add some fish taco sauce, slaw, and additional toppings if desired. Serve immediately!
  8 tortillas

Notes

*The calories listed are an approximation based on the ingredients in the recipe card and a serving size of 2 tacos. Actual calories will vary.

*We adjusted the amount of calories based on the amount of oil used not what’s listed in the card. Furthermore, we estimated the amount of taco sauce used as about 1-2 tablespoons per taco.

*Adjust the temperature of the oil as needed to make sure it keeps a constant temperature. It will expand as it heats, so leave plenty of room in the pan for the expanding oil and the fish.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tacosCalories: 1182kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 51gFat: 83gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 45gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 165mgSodium: 1746mgPotassium: 1310mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 734IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 210mgIron: 5mg