As a little girl, I loved to fish. I remember the early morning wake up, packing up the car with my father and my grandfather, and a quick stop at the bait shop before heading out onto Lake Erie in a modest metal boat with a motor. We were fishing for perch, and we would bring it home for my mother to fry up in beer batter. Blackened fish tacos were not even on my radar then, but I learned early on to appreciate the savory delights of freshly caught fish.
Just a few weeks ago, our neighbors graciously gifted us with several beautiful cuts of yellow fin tuna that they had caught on a fishing trip in North Carolina. I couldn’t help but be drawn back to my childhood fishing days. Keith and I both get seasick very easily these days, which keeps us from embarking on one of these wild adventures, but boy do we dream about it. Eating this fresh tuna made me long for this experience even more.
One of the ways Keith decided to prepare our gift was to make blackened fish tacos. It is no secret that he loves a little heat, so he blackened the tuna with Cajun seasoning. Then he used tomatillos, tomatoes, and peppers to create a zesty salsa verde. He topped it all off with just a drizzle of chipotle mayo.
These tacos are simply awesome. They make for an easy weeknight supper, an ideal “Taco Tuesday”, or a creative Lenten Friday meal. Any fish will do, but trust the girl who grew up near a lake: fresh is best.
- 1 lb fresh tuna steak
- ¼ C Blackfish (Cajun) seasoning
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 C red cabbage (shredded)
- For the Salsa Verde:
- 2 tomatillos
- 4 Roma tomatoes
- 1 fresh jalapeño
- 1 bell pepper
- 4 green onions
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 lime
- 1 clove garlic
- For the Chipotle Mayo:
- 1 C mayo
- 2 chipotle peppers, chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- Start by making the chipotle mayo:
- Combine mayo, chipotle peppers and lime juice well and refrigerate.
- For the Salsa Verde:
- Cut tomatillos in half, tomatoes in half, and bell pepper in half and place on baking sheet along with green onions, garlic and halved and seeded jalapeno pepper and roast under broiler for 15 minutes (or until veggies have been charred and soft).
- Remove and allow to cool on stove top for 10 minutes.
- Once cooked, chop all vegetables and combine with lime juice and cilantro.
- To prepare the tacos:
- Slice tuna into thin strips and sprinkle blackening season to cover all tuna pieces.
- To blacken, heat a cast iron skillet (preferred, but any skillet will work) until it is super hot on stove top.
- Place tuna pieces in skillet and cook for 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
- Now prepare the tacos:
- Using corn tortillas, spread chipotle mayo on tortilla and top with 1-2 pieces tuna and sprinkle with red cabbage and salsa verde.
- Repeat until all tacos are prepared.
- Serve with your favorite beer and enjoy.
Wow! It’s impressive. Such a great cook Items. Actually, I love to fish and like to eat different fish items and these fish tacos look good.
thanks so much Timothy!! We hope you are able to try them! Let us know how they turn out.
Those look so delicious and no doubt healthy. Having a balance between those is what I’m looking for in my meals and I appreciate you sharing this. I love fish, I love taco, but for some reason I don’t make too much fish tacos. Bout time I get started on it.
thanks so much! We’re so happy you stopped by and hope you get the chance to try the tacos. Please let us know how it turns out!!