Wicked Good Fish Taco Recipe

This fish taco sauce was developed a couple of years ago by MaryJo and she thought it was worth saving.  Turns out it is an awesome sauce for a Wicked Good Fish Taco Recipe.

MaryJo’s sauce is a great combination of classic ingredients but includes a good amount of Sriracha seasoning and a secret ingredient.  Well, not so much a secret ingredient, but a seasoning that we’ve had for a while.  It is Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming.  It’s a spice mixture of peppers, garlic, onion, and lemon zest.  It also contains no salt.

If you are not familiar with Penzey’s you should be.  They are a spice company that originated in Wisconsin and has stores in several states.  What is really nice about Penzey’s is that they have a great online service that provides spices really quickly.

When we were living in Minnesota, there was a Penzey’s store in St. Paul.  We would make a day of going to Penzey’s then finding a restaurant to go to.  Penzey’s is on Grand Avenue in St. Paul and there are numerous good restaurants up and down Grand Avenue.

Here’s a photo of our spice cabinet showing only part of our supply of Penzey’s spices.  They are always fresh and are quality spices.  You should check them out, especially since this recipe calls for Arizona Dreaming.

You can find their website here, under Penzey”s.

I must say also that Joe’s Healthy Meals does not receive any money from Penzey’s.  I just believe in their products and customer service through their website.

Wicked Good Fish Taco Recipe

These fish tacos were great!  I used Old Bay blackening seasoning for the fish which was tilapia.  I know a lot of people don’t care for tilapia, but blackened tilapia is pretty good.  Try to get some thicker fillets because they hold up to frying better and have more flavor.

Another one of my favorite fish with blackening seasoning is mahi-mahi. It is really a firm white fish with a nice flavor. It would be great for this recipe for fish tacos.

Putting it All Together

Mix up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. You can keep this at room temperature for up to 2 hours otherwise it should be refrigerated. When applied to the tacos, room temperature is best. I like to store this in a squeeze bottle so it is easy to apply to your food.

You can store this sauce refrigerated for up to a week. Try using it with steamed green vegetables or with grilled chicken. It is pretty dang good.

For blackening the fish, a heavy skillet like cast iron works best. I suggest you do not use a non-stick skillet because the high temperature that you need could damage the surface. 

Cut the fish into 3 or 4-inch fillets and coat them liberally with the blackening seasoning. I used Old Bay blackening this time, but Don Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic is also a great seasoning.

Heat your skillet to medium-high or about 375° to 400° when read with an infrared thermometer. Any temperature higher than this will make the seasoning start to smoke and that’s not good. Place the fish into the hot skillet and fry on both sides for about 2 minutes each. The fish should be just cooked through. 

Then, make a simple cabbage salad out of red or green cabbage, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. 

To assemble the fish tacos, I like to heat up the taco shells on a griddle. Then break up the fish as necessary to fill the tortilla shell. Squeeze a little sauce onto the fish, then add the salad and more sauce. Serve the tacos warm.

Change it Up a Bit

It would be just as good to make this recipe for fish tacos and substitute shrimp. Blackened shrimp is great tasting and the special taco sauce would be wonderful on them. 

Give this wicked good fish taco recipe a try.

And here are some more tasty recipes to try:

• Fish Picatta made with Mahi-Mahi
• Jalapeno Taco Sauce
• Smoked Fish Spread
• Slow Baked Dill and Citrus Salmon
• Shrimp and Sausage Stew

Wicked Good Fish Taco Recipe

Exceptionally good fish tacos that the whole family will love. 

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Seafood main dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fish taco recipe, recipe for fish tacos

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 tacos

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Joe Boyle

Ingredients

Blackened fish

• 1 pound Tilapia fillets, or other white meat fish
• 2 to 3 tbsp blackening seasoning , (Old Bay or Paul Prudhomme)
• 2 tbsp canola oil

Wicked good fish taco sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp mayonaisse
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 or 2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce
• 1 tbsp Penzey's Arizona Dreaming
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Salad

• 1/3 purple cabbage , thin sliced
• 1/2 red onion , thin sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 4 taco sized flour or corn tortillas , (I used flour tortillas)

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Instructions

• Mix sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, refrigerate until used.
• Season fish with blackening seasoning.
• Heat heavy skillet on high heat, add canola oil.
• Fry the fish on high heat about 2 minutes per side
• Combine cabbage, onion and cilantro in a bowl and toss in lime juice
• If desired, heat tortilla shells on a hot griddle.
• Assemble tacos and serve immediately.

Notes

1. Substitute any other flaky white fish like mahi-mahi, cod, halibut, walleye, or perch.
2. A heavy skillet like cast iron is best to use to fry the fish. Keep the temperature of the skillet at 400° F or less to prevent burning the seasoning. Don't use a non-stick skillet because the high temperature may damage it.
3. This recipe for fish tacos could also be made with shrimp. Use the same blackening seasoning and fry the shrimp for about a minute per side. 

Nutrition

Calories: 350kcal

This recipe for fish tacos has been updated on December 7, 2021.