No, not crappy fish tacos. Crappie. These guys…
If you popped in for a Friday night visit at the cottage I would never serve you anything crappy, but I may prepare some of these delicious crappie tacos. And you would not be disappointed.
These are relatively new for the Mister and I. You see, until recently crappie was just a catch and release fish for us. But after some encouragement from other anglers we decided to give them a try. And fish tacos was my first thought. We adore fish tacos. We have tried them at just about every place that serves them. It is also a great way to potentially mask any unappealing flavors that may present themselves. Which we soon found was not anything we need be concerned over. It seems crappie takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with.
I made these guys for some friends a few weeks ago and the consensus was “these are the best fish tacos I have ever had!”
Crappie fishing is great fun. They school and can give you some quick action, leaving you pulling them out one after another. White Perch can be the same, and we have also discovered they too, make delicious tacos.
When jigging for pan fish we prefer using the Swedish Pimple in sizes ranging from #2 – 1 inch to #5 – 1 7/8 inch. We have been pulling out some fat pan fish this season.
If you have been following along for the past 10 years or so over at A Life Enchanted, you know I don’t measure when cooking. I believe food tastes better when you FEEL the process versus following guidelines. I am going to give you my best guess on measurements. Don’t be afraid to get in there and mix things up.
Crappie Fish Tacos
Ingredients:
4 crappie filets, cut into chunks
3/4 c flour
3 eggs
3/4 c panko
3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoon chili powder
Oil for frying – coconut, peanut, olive, avocado. Enough to fill the pan about an inch or so.
Shredded cabbage
Chopped cilantro
Green onion
Lime
Sour cream
Tortillas
Salsa
Hot sauce
Avocado or guacamole
Place the flour on a plate, add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon chili powder and mix it together.
Place the panko on another plate and add the same amount of salt, pepper and chili powder. Mix.
Put the eggs into a bowl, add the same amounts of salt, pepper and chili as above. Beat the eggs until well mixed. Many just put the seasonings into one of the components, usually flour, but I prefer to layer the flavors.
Dust the pieces of fish with the flour mixture, then egg and finally panko, being sure to coat each piece well. Heat the oil over medium heat. Drop the coated pieces into the oil, give them a gentle shift so they do not stick to the pan and leave them until golden brown. When the first side is browned, flip and brown that side. The whole process takes just a few minutes.
Put the cooked pieces onto a plate with a paper towel to absorb any excess
oil and keep the fish crispy.
We like our tacos with cabbage, a ton of cilantro, cilantro lime sour cream
(just mix them together at the start so they have time to meld together), my homemade fermented hot sauce and my homemade salsa on soft tortillas. We try to make everything from scratch around here. I will get around to posting a homemade tortilla, hot sauce and salsa recipe as the ingredients become available from our garden.
In the meantime, get out there and get hard water fishing. Time is running out. It may seem like this snow and ice will never leave, but it definitely will.
Tight lines, friends!