Surf and Turf Tacos

San Diego. We are very fortunate and thankful for the location we live in. I always tell people it is a secret gem in the mountains. San Diego has wonderful weather year round and the ranch rests about an hour outside of downtown. Bryce and I went to college in San Diego and I hold many special memories and life long friendships from our time spent down there. 

Bryce grew up near the ocean and his dad has always had a love for deep sea fishing and sailing in the San Diego waters. Bryce and his dad went fishing in Baja Mexico last year and brought home Wahoo, Mahi and Yellowtail after a 10 day trip. 

I am very proud that all of our meat in our freezer has been brought home and harvested by our family. We literally only have our beef, ocean caught fish and wild game that we either hunted, caught or raised ourselves. 

This week's recipe is inspired by San Diego food culture. "Surf to turf" is a common foodie theme in our area and in our home. Many restaurants closer to the ocean offer amazing meals inspired by our ocean and "farm to table" agriculture. We are proud to serve locals with our ranch-raised beef and be a part of the San Diego food scene. 

Whelp, it's fish taco season for me. I love fish tacos battered or grilled. I love white fish, especially Mahi or Wahoo. I am so grateful that Bryce had a great fishing trip last summer and we are still reaping some benefits! I have been using this recipe for years and absolutely love the texture and flavor of the fish. 

Check out my go-to beer battered fish taco recipe below!

Beer Battered Fish Tacos

 

Ingredients:

The beer batter:

1 lb of fresh white ocean fish (we like to use wahoo or mahi mahi)

1 cup flour (King Arthur is my absolute favorite)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sugar (I enjoy using this monkfruit sweetener in a lot of my recipes)

1 tsp salt (Himalayan pink salt is my go to!)

1 tsp taco seasoning (can't go wrong with McCormick's seasonings)

1 & 1/4 cup of Mexican lager beer, you get a few sips for yourself while frying! (We use Viewpoint Brewing Company Mexican Lager, because we love them! However, if you're not local to SD I have used Modelo with great results!)

Canola oil for frying

 

Toppings:

Tortillas/cabbage shell (I have been using cabbage in substitution for a tortilla and it works wonders with a wonderful crunch and fresh twist.)

Thin sliced cabbage

Lime wedges

Cotija cheese

Optional hot sauce

Pickled red onions

Pico de Gallo (recipe below)

Lime crema (recipe below)

 

Pico De Gallo:

3 Roma tomatoes chopped

1 small onion chopped

1 jalapeno chopped and deseeded

1/4 cup chopping cilantro 

1/2 a lime squeezed in

~Mix all together

 

Crema:

In a food processor

1 cup of Mexican creama

The zest of a lime

1 whole lime squeezed

A handful of chopped cilantro

Couple dashes of hot sauce

~mix all together

 

Directions:

1.) Prep the pico de Gallo and crema first and then set aside in the fridge. 

2.) Heat up a pan on medium high with about 2  cups of canola oil.

3.) While the oil heats, mix together in a bowl flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, taco seasoning and Mexican beer. 

4.) Slice up your fish into 3 inch long slices 

5.) Dip the fish into the batter and start frying. They cook quickly, only about a minute per side or until golden brown. 

6.) Plate your tacos!

 

The photos in this blog post were taken by food photographer, Teri Surratt. If you are local to southern California area and are in need of a talented food photographer, check out Teri's website at https://terijsurrattphotography.com/ . 

Teri happens to be one of my closest life-long friend's Aunt and she had reached out to me a few years ago about taking some food photos for our business. We had planned a day to shoot a few recipes and I really wanted to incorporate this skirt steak lime marinade I have been recently using for tacos. I also use this on carne asada often. 

If you have young children, this is a great recipe for their tastebuds. Not spicy at all, but great Mexican flavor. I just add a few dashes of hot sauce to my taco to satisfy my spice cravings. 

Try this recipe below!

Skirt Steak Lime Marinade

  

Use 3-4 lbs of skirt steak or carne asada

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper 

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 whole lime zested

1 whole lime juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

 

Mix ingredients together, coat the meat in either a gallon ziplock bag or a casserole dish for 4-24 hours. (longer the better!)

Grill or cast iron (we enjoy using Lodge!) the meat medium/high until desired cook! I like to do mine on a very hot sear so it is pink in the middle at a medium/rare. Carne Asada is a little quicker to cook. 

Cut the meat against the grain and serve up as desired. I have been using a romaine lettuce leaf as my tortilla and that holds up very well! See the lime crema and pico de gallo recipes above!