Ensenada Style Fish Tacos- Claudia's Cocina

Ensenada-Style Fish Tacos

Tacos de Pescado Estilo Ensenada

You can get fish tacos at most places in Southern California. However, I know that they aren’t as common across the rest of the United States and abroad, so I decided to share a little bit of Baja California with you through this recipe for Ensenada-style fish tacos.

What makes these tacos Ensenada-style is their unique sour cream sauce, a tangy mix of mayo and sour cream that they make in this port town on the Pacific Ocean. Crack open a beer, squeeze some fresh lime, and get transported to your own Baja vacation.

Makes 16 tacos

Canola oil

For the Ensenada-style sour cream:

1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream

1/3 cup (75 ml) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon cold water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dry dredge:

2/3 cup (80 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

For the fish batter:

2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

2 large eggs

2 1/2 cups (600 ml) cold Mexican beer, plus more if needed

For the tacos:

2 pounds (910 g) skinless red snapper fillets

16 (6-inch/15-cm) corn tortillas

2 cups (190 g) shredded cabbage

Lime wedges (optional)

Fill a deep fryer with xx inches (xx cm) canola oil and heat it to 375°F (190°C).

To make the sour cream: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, and water until completely incorporated and a little runny but not watery. If it’s too runny, add little more sour cream and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the dry dredge: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic to incorporate.

To make the fish batter: In large shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and granulated garlic. Whisk in the eggs and beer. The mixture should be the consistency of pancake batter. If it is too thick, add a little more beer to thin it out.

To fry the fish: Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet to drain any residual fat (if you don’t have a cooling rack, paper towels set over a flat plate will work too).

One at a time, add the red snapper fillets to the dry dredge and toss to coat. Transfer them to a plate or baking sheet. Working in batches, dredge the fish into the wet batter, letting any excess drip off, and carefully place them in the deep fryer. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on both sides, flipping them once the underside is browned. Remove them to the wire rack to drain and immediately sprinkle with salt.

To heat the tortillas: While the fish is frying, preheat a skillet or comal over high heat to get it nice and hot. Reduce the heat to low and warm the tortillas for about 1 minute on each side, until malleable, placing each in a kitchen towel as they are heated to keep them warm.

To serve: Place a piece of fried fish on each tortilla, top with shredded cabbage and Ensenada-style sour cream, and serve with lime wedges alongside if you like.  

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