My blackened fish tacos use a Cajun spice rub cooked skin-side down for a properly charred crust, served with red cabbage slaw and avocado salsa. 20 minutes.
Blackened Fish Tacos
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Category
Dinner
Servings
1
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Fish tacos is one of my favourite weeknight dishes as it's super easy to make, everyone loves them and it's only going to take you about 20 minutes from start to finish.
What is blackened fish?
Now, if you haven't heard of blackend fish before, it's a Cajun technique where the fish is rubbed with a spice spice and then cooked at a high heat until the crust chars slightly on the outside. It might look burnt but it's not, it's just the sugars and spices being caramelised that gives it that look.
Spice mix
The spice mix has smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, dried herbs, and a small amount of brown sugar, which helps the crust develop at lower temperatures than cast iron cooking requires, so you can get a proper result in a standard frying pan.
The cook
We'll cook the fish skin-side down under a protein press for 5-6 minutes, then gets a quick 30-second flip before resting and being sliced into thirds across the three tortillas. While it cooks, put together a quick red cabbage and jalapeño slaw dressed with red wine vinegar and a fresh avocado and tomato salsa with lime. The tortillas are toasted in a dry pan before assembling.
Ingredient Notes
Smoked paprika: The smoky base of the blackening spice rub. Use smoked paprika rather than sweet or hot: the smokiness is what makes the crust taste like it belongs on charred fish. Sweet paprika gives you the colour but not the flavour.
Corn tortillas: More traditional with fish tacos than flour tortillas and naturally gluten free. Toast them in a dry pan for 30 seconds per side, or hold them directly over a gas flame until they have a little colour and char. A toasted tortilla is firm enough to hold the filling without going soggy. You can find corn tortilla is most supermarkets, delis or specialty grocers.
Brown sugar: A small amount in the spice mix that helps the crust develop and darken faster. The sugar caramelises at a lower temperature than the spices alone, which is what lets you get a proper blackened crust in a regular frying pan rather than needing a cast iron skillet at full heat.
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chef’s knife
- Small bowl (for spice mix)
- 2 medium bowls (for slaw and salsa)
- Small frying pan
- Protein press (or heavy pan)
- Tongs or spatula
Ingredients
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- pinch cayenne
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp dried mixed herbs
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- 180g white flesh fish fillet (coral trout, barramundi, snapper)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and pepper, to season
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 Jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lime
- ½ avocado, diced
- ¼ cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
- 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ white onion, diced
- 3 corn tortillas, toasted
Directions
Combine paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, mixed herbs and sugar in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Rub fish with a little of the oil, then sprinkle with spice mix and toss to coat well. Set aside.
- Toss cabbage, jalapeno and red wine vinegar in a bowl, season with salt to taste.
- Mix avocado, coriander, tomatoes, onion and juice of ½ the lime in another bowl. Season to taste.
- Heat remaining oil in a small frying pan on medium.
Add fish, skin side down pressed down with a protein press, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the skin is crispy and flesh is just cooked through.
- Turn and cook for a further 30 seconds to seal the other side, then transfer to a tray to rest.
- Slice fish into 3 pieces, then place down the centre of each tortilla. Add some cabbage mixture and top with avocado tomato salsa.
- Fold over and serve immediately with the other half of your lime.
Recipe notes
Chef Tips
Cook skin-side down and don’t touch it
Once the fish goes in skin-side down with the press on, leave it alone. Five to six minutes at medium-low undisturbed is what gets you a properly crispy, charred skin. Lifting it or moving it early causes the skin to stick and tear. It only needs 30 seconds on the other side once you flip, then straight onto a tray to rest.
Toast the tortillas before assembling
A raw corn tortilla is too soft and will split or fold as soon as you add the filling. Thirty seconds in a dry pan on each side, or 20-30 seconds directly over a gas flame, gives them enough structure to hold everything together. They should have a little colour and be pliable but firm.
Storage
Best assembled and eaten immediately. Once put together, the tortillas soften and the slaw wilts quickly. If prepping ahead, store the slaw, salsa, and cooked fish separately in the fridge for up to 1 day and assemble just before eating. Reheat the fish in a pan for 1 minute on each side.
FAQs
Can I use a different type of fish? Absolutely any firm white fish works well. Think snapper, barramundi, cod, or even flathead if you're going budget-friendly.
What if I don’t have a protein press? No stress use a spatula or the bottom of a small pan to press the fish down so the skin crisps up nicely.
Can I make it gluten free? The dish is already dairy free and naturally gluten free with one check: make sure your corn tortillas don’t contain wheat flour, which some brands include. Pure corn tortillas are gluten free.
Is it very spicy? It has a gentle kick from the cayenne and jalapeño, but nothing aggressive. If you’re heat-sensitive, reduce or leave out the cayenne in the spice mix and deseed the jalapeño before slicing.
