Nearly guilt free, these Grilled Pacific Rock Fish Tacos skip the typical dredging and go straight for the grill. Topped with fresh mango salsa and served in a warm flour tortilla with chipotle slaw.
Grilled, not fried
I love a good fish taco, but normally they are fried and that’s not so good on the waistline. These Grilled Pacific Rock Fish tacos will have you feeling a step ahead of the calorie count AND they are packed with flavor and freshness from the mango salsa. You’ll feel like you’re sitting on the beach somewhere near Baja, just sipping a margarita with taco in hand.
Rock Fish, Snapper, Red Perch
I recently did a Google search on rock fish and was very surprised at how widely the term rock fish was used. Here in the Pacific Northwest we typically refer to rock fish as Pacific Snapper or sometimes, Cat Fish because of the “whiskers”. Watching cooking shows I always hear about Striped Bass and can never seem to find it here on the west coast. Well, according to my Google search, it is one in the same. How about that?
Grilled Pacific Rock Fish Tacos
Ingredients
Mango Salsa
- 1 large mango, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, fine diced
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, fine diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed if you like mild and diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 lime, squeezed for juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Chipotle Slaw
- 2 cup green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce (just the adobo sauce)
- 1 splash milk to thin
- salt and pepper to taste
Grilled Rock Fish
- 4 small fillets or about 1 lb rock fish (such as snapper or catfish)
- 1-2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (such as Zatarains or Slap ya Mama)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Other
- 8 small flour tortillas, warmed
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 1 avocado, sliced
Instructions
Mango Salsa
- Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
Chipotle Slaw
- Toss together green and red cabbage in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl combine mayonnaise and white vinegar until smooth. Stir in sugar and chipotle in adobo sauce. Stir in milk to thin to a semi-creamy , but not liquid consistency.
- Combine the mayonnaise mixture with the cabbage and set aside until serving.
Grilled Rock Fish
- Start a charcoal grill (I prefer charcoal, but you could use gas). Wait until charcoal is completely grey and will not flare up when cooking.
- Pat each rock fish fillet dry with a paper towel. Rub Cajun seasoning over each fillet, making sure to completely coat.
- Coat a paper towel with vegetable oil and rub over grate of grill. Drizzle a vegetable oil lightly over seasoned rock fish.
- Grill rock fish on first side for about 3-4 minutes. This really depends on how thick your rock fish fillet is. Grill until you can see the flesh turning from clear white to opaque white about half way though. Do not move the fish while it is cooking on the first side because it may stick and start to flake apart. After 3-4 minutes, using a thin metal spatula, flip and repeat on second side. You will know it is cooked when it starts to flake and the center is opaque, but still moist.
Serving
- Place a little chipotle slaw on flour tortilla, top with some flaked rock fish and mango salsa. Serve with lime wedges and avocado slices.
