An awesome dish to savor poolside, the fish taco is a no-brainer to serve up during the warmer months considering how great it can taste when put together with a few relatively simple ingredients. Whether you’re gathering on a backyard patio in the suburbs or a cramped balcony in the city, it's a guaranteed good dinner – especially if you have some with a few beers. That’s why we’ve called on Tacombi Taco, New York City-based purveyors of some rock-solid Mexican cuisine and makers of a damn good Baja-inspired fish taco, so you can get cooking with their recipe yourself.

Behind the Dish

The inspiration for executive chef Jason Debriere’s Baja Fish Taco stems from his surfing and culinary excursions to Mexico’s western coast. Namely Baja, California, from which the dish gets its name. Along this desert coast lies small fishing towns that were once home to Japanese immigrants in the 1920s, who prepared their daily catch in a flaky tempura batter – this over time was adopted by local taqueros, or taco chefs, eventually evolving into the Baja Fish Taco that can be found there today in local stands, trucks, and taquerias. It’s this culinary evolution that’s served as the model for the recipe Tacombi uses in their restaurants today.

The Tacombi crew makes their own poblano mayo, which you can and should try out yourself (it's pretty easy), and organic ground corn tortillas (they make theirs in-house, but you can just buy some). For the fish, they source fresh-caught Alaskan cod from fishermen who catch, clean, and flash-freeze the fish before it even leaves the boat. Your local supermarket's options might not be quite that fresh, but you should aim for the freshest option you can get your hands on for optimal results. Cod is your best bet, but you can always substitute a similar white fish like haddock, tilapia, sea bass, hake, or cusk if cod isn’t readily available.

The beer batter serves to insulate the fish and create a light, airy, crust with a nice crunch while letting the meat gently simmer inside. After a nice coat of batter, It’s simply fried in vegetable oil before being garnished with pickled cabbage and poblano mayo for some heat. These add-ons serve to complement the taste of the fish without distracting from it, so the freshness and quality can speak for itself.

For the Beer-Battered Crispy Fish

1lb fresh cod, cut into pieces roughly 1⁄2-1” wide by 2”-3” long
2 cups flour for batter + 1 cup of flour for coating fish before dredging in batter
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bottle cold beer
Water for consistency (1 cup to start)

Combine and mix all dry ingredients. Add beer, oil, and vinegar and whisk. Gradually add water if needed to thin out the batter. The consistency should be slightly thinner than a pancake batter to coat the fish evenly and easily.

Then, using a deep-walled, heavy-bottomed pot, add enough vegetable oil so that it is at least 2 inches deep. Heat to 350 degrees (check with a candy thermometer). Once the oil has reached 350 degrees, prepare your fish for frying by first coating portions in flour, next dredge the strips in beer batter, shaking off excess batter before delicately placing in hot oil. Fry fish until golden brown and then remove with a slotted spoon. Season with salt and chili powder (if available). Place on a paper towel to drain. Work in batches to avoid temperature dropping too much.

For the Poblano Mayo

2 fresh poblano chiles, roasted until blackened on the outside (remove skin and seeds)
4 egg yolks
Juice of 2 fresh limes
1 tbsp cilantro
4 cups grapeseed oil

In a blender, puree chilies with egg yolks, then begin to add oil in a steady stream to emulsify. Season with lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro.

For the Pickled Cabbage

1⁄2 head of white or red cabbage
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
Juice of 2 fresh limes

Shred 1/2 head of red or white cabbage. Add 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar. Add juice of 2 limes and mix well. Set aside to marinate, creating a quickly-pickled cabbage.

Assembling the Tacos

Heat a skillet on medium and crisp up your tortillas with a little bit of oil.
Place pickled cabbage on a tortilla, followed by a piece of fried cod on top of the cabbage.
Top with a generous drizzle of poblano mayo, cilantro and additional cabbage (if desired).

How to Make Damn Good, Beer-Battered Fish Tacos