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Halibut Fish Tacos
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5 from 1 vote

Halibut Fish Tacos with Old Bay Crema

Puffy stay-crisp beer battered halibut smothered in Old Bay crema atop a crunchy corn and cabbage slaw.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time42 minutes
Servings: 10 tacos
Author: Mallory Austin

Ingredients

Beer-Battered Fish

  • 1.5 lbs halibut skinless and boneless or similar white fish fillets: sea bass, cod, snapper, etc.
  • oil for frying fish, about 5 cups peanut, vegetable, canola, etc.
  • corn or flour tortillas
  • Avocado and lime wedges for serving
  • Flaky finishing salt for sprinkling fried fish

Cornstarch Dusting

  • 1/2 cup cornstarch

Ultra-Crispy Beer Batter

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup very cold beer IPA/pale ale or similar. Avoid dark beers

Old Bay Crema

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay® hot sauce Louisiana or Texas Pete works instead
  • 2 tsp Old Bay® seasoning
  • 2 tsp paprika

Corn & Cabbage Slaw

  • 1/2 head green cabbage, fined diced or shredded
  • 1/4 red onion, diced fine
  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced
  • 2 corn ears pan toasted and removed from cobb
  • 1 small jalapeno, diced
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • salt to taste

Instructions

Prepping

  • Prepare the Old Bay® crema but combining ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust spices and hot sauce to your liking. Refrigerate until use.
  • Make the slaw ahead by combining all ingredients and tossing in the lime and salt. Refrigerate until use.
  • Prep fish by cutting to 4-5" by 1.5" pieces.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together: flour, cornstarch, baking powder and seasonings. Set aside until oil is heated. DO NOT add beer at this step.

Dusting Fish & Prepare Oil

  • In a shallow dish, add the 1/2 cup of cornstarch for dusting the fish.
  • Prepare frying station by heating oil to 375 degrees in a fry-safe pot, with thermometer attached. Place a wire rack nearby for draining.
  • While oil is heating, coat the fish pieces in cornstarch on all sides to dust them.

Beer Batter

  • Remove beer from the fridge and whisk into the flour mixture slowly until just combined but still a little clumpy. Do no overmix. The batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but not too thick and not runny. Add beer a splash as a time to get the batter just right. Use immediately!
  • Working in batches of 3-4 pieces at a time, dunk fish pieces into the batter, fully coating them. Allow excess to drip off and then place into the hot oil. Keep an eye on the oil temp as it usually drops once fish is added. Adjust as needed to keep it at 375 degrees.
  • Fry for a total of 4 minutes, flipping half way through. They should be a deep golden brown.
  • Place finished pieces on cooling rack with paper towels placed under the rack to catch falling oil. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Assemble

  • Warm up tortillas and serve with the slaw as the base, then add one piece of fish per taco, avocado slices, and drizzle with Old Bay crema.