Beer Battered fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Onions and Cucumber and Chipotle Crema

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons cayenne pepper

3 teaspoons garlic salt

A few dashes of Tapatia hot sauce

12 ounces beer. I use Modelo for this recipe.

3 (8-ounce) tilapia or cod fillets, cut into chunks

8 (8-inch) flour and/or corn tortillas, lightly charred over a gas flame or on a grill

Lime wedges for squeezing

Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber, recipe follows

Fill a large pot with oil halfway up the pot. Heat oil to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Slowly whisk in beer until thick, but not runny. Add a few dashes of Tapatia to the batter. Dredge fish in remaining flour first, then dunk in the batter. Fry in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper-toweled lined plate.

Serve fish in tortillas topped with Chipotle Crema and Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber

Quick-Pickled Onion and Cucumber:

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 large red onion, medium dice

1 large Vidalia onion, medium dice

1 English cucumber, medium dice

1 habanero chile, seeds removed, minced

1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt. Add onions and cucumber and continue to cook a few minutes more. Remove from heat, add chile, and transfer to a bowl. Let cool slightly then chill covered, for at least 1 hour.

Toss in the tomato and cilantro, 5 minutes before serving.

For the Chipotle Crema:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 chipotles in adobo

1 tablespoon adobo sauce

2 garlic cloves

pinch of salt

squeeze of lime

Plastic squeeze bottle, for dispensing the crema

For the Chipotle Crema, add the following ingredients to a blender or food processor and combine well: 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 chipotles in adobo, 2 garlic cloves, pinch of salt, and a squeeze of lime. You might need to add a splash of water to get it to combine. If you want more heat you can add more chipotles or some of the adobo sauce. You can substitute some of the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt. Use a plastic squeeze bottle to dispense the crema. It looks real nice on the tacos.