The Best Grilled Fish Tacos

Can you think of a better way to eat fresh fish than in taco form?  Me neither.  So of course when we went to pick up lobster rolls at the fish market for lunch, we decided to get some fish for tacos too.  Ryan asked the guy working at the fish market what he thought would be the best fish for tacos and he said halibut.  So he took home a beautiful 2 pound piece of halibut to cook up on the grill.  I've eaten a lot of fish tacos in my day (a lot of tacos period), but I've never made fish tacos before, so this was a fun little experiment.  Since we're on an island and in a town where you kind of take what you can get when it comes to groceries, we pivoted this recipe a few times, but it turned out perfect.  

The main thing you need to make sure when you make any type of taco is that you get a good combination of heat, acidity, and creaminess.  The ways to get all these flavors?  You need a combination of slaw, salsa, and sauce.  The three S's I guess you could call them.  Originally, we were hoping to get the creaminess for this recipe from the guacamole, but we're not in California anymore and the avocados out here just aren't quite the same as they are back home.  So we ended up with more of a chunky avocado salsa and not a creamy guacamole.  Still tasty, but it meant that we needed to get out creamy factor elsewhere, so I made an easy creamy & acidic slaw.  Pair that with a spicy aioli and a spice rubbed piece of halibut and you have the perfect taco fixings.

Total Time: 20-25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas

For the Fish:

2 lbs halibut or other white fish

3 tsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbs avocado oil

Salt & Pepper

For the Slaw:

1/2 head green cabbage

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tbs hot sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Avocado Salsa:

2 ripe avocados

4 tbs cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 jalapenos, de-seeded

juice from 4 limes

Salt to taste

For the Aioli:

2 tbs hot sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbs lime juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat your grill over medium- high heat.
2. Combine cumin, chili powder, paprika and garlic powder in a small bowl.
3. Rub both sides of the fish with avocado oil, salt & pepper.  Gently pat the spice mixture over the fish.
4. Once the grill is preheated, place the fish skin-side down and close the grill.  Cook for 10-20 minutes without flipping, until the fish is cooked through - this will depend greatly on the size of your fish fillet(s).
5. While the fish is cooking, prepare the toppings.  Chop the cabbage into thin slices and mix in the slaw ingredients.  Set aside to marinate while you prep the other toppings.
6. Combine the avocado salsa ingredients and mash the avocado until you have guacamole consistency.
7. Combine the aioli ingredients and set aside.
8. Lightly grill your tortillas to warm them up and give them a little flavor.  You can either place them on the top rack of your grill if you have one or put them over the direct heat for about 30 seconds each side.
9. When the fish is done cooking, cut into pieces about 1 inch wide and 2-3 inches long. 
10. Lay out your taco making ingredients and layer your tacos - fish, slaw, avocado salsa, then top with aioli.