My Chef-Husband Taught Me How to Make Crispy Fish Tacos at Home and All They're Missing is an Ocean View

Let me start by saying, there's not a lot of middle ground when it comes to fish tacos. Unlike burgers and other handhelds that can fly under the radar as passable, edible and acceptable, fish tacos usually fall into one of two categories: absolutely incredible or extremely disappointing. And sadly, most of the ones I've had over the years tend to be grouped into the latter.

One exception? The fish tacos at Don Pedro's , a beloved beachside restaurant in Sayulita, Mexico. They stole my heart after one bite. Their fish taco was by far the best I'd ever had. Crispy, flaky, golden fish in a warm tortilla with some special sauce drizzled on top. I still dream about it.

So when I recently asked my chef-husband, Luke , about the best fish taco he's ever had, and he replied “The one I’m about to eat!” I was all the more intrigued.

Here's what happened when I followed him into the kitchen to see if it could meet my great expectations in the fish taco department.

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Ingredients for Crispy Fish Tacos

Although Luke just brought back a massive bag of fish batter after a recent fishing trip to Canada, he didn't pull that out like I thought he would for these fish tacos. Instead, he reached for a sack of all-purpose flour in our cabinet telling me it creates the best batter for fish tacos. Simple, affordable, available everywhere—I like it.

Then he grabbed a few limes, radishes and cilantro from the fridge, along with a cabbage-pickled onion slaw he grabbed at the restaurant and branzino fish filets. "I also like flat fish like fluke and halibut for fish tacos," he says. "It's creamy, white, flaky and mild."

He also stopped at the local bodega on the way home to get the good tortillas and queso fresco. "Flour tortillas are perfect for fish tacos," he tells me, placing a bag of Vista Hermosa's on the counter. "You can use corn but flour is classic," he said.

Last but not least, he pulled out a pint of fresh corn that he'd cut off the cob. "For street corn," he winks. Now we're talking.

How to Make Crispy Fish Tacos

"First I’m going to start by hammering out some dishes from last night," Luke laughs. "Step 1: Do the dishes your wife said she would do last night."

[Editor's note: There was one bowl and *maybe* a few utensils in the kitchen sink from a few hours before, not a massive mess from the night before.]

Once Luke got all those dishes out of the way, he set up his dredging station for the fish filets. He filled a shallow bowl with a heaping mound of all-purpose flour, then tapped in a few shakes of Cajun seasoning blend he grabbed from the spice cabinet.

"Best spice known to man," he said, adding that he loves a Cajun blend for its versatility and abundant availability. I have to agree. Luke's been putting in on everything lately—salmon, shellfish, dips—and it instantly makes everything it touches bolder and better.

"Are you going to season the fish as well, I ask?" thinking that's what I would have done. "Nope, you don’t season the fish; you want the fish to be dry," he replies. "If you season the fish it will pull moisture out of it and the breading will turn gummy."I did notice that he added a little salt to the flour mixture, though.

Once the flour mixture is ready, he started coating the fillets, making sure they were thoroughly and evenly coated.

Once the filets were coated in the seasoned flour mixture, he dropped them one by one with fine tweezers into a pan of hot oil waiting nearby. "You don't drop until the oil is hot," he noted.

Once the filets are in and sizzling away, he got to work on the street corn. The pint of shaved kernels went into a saucepan, followed by a few heaping dollops of crème fraîche and a big scoop of mayo.

After letting that get nice and creamy for a few minutes he took the corn off the heat, gave the creamy mixture a good stir and dusted the top with Tajin, followed by crumbled cojita cheese.

After 6 or 7 minutes, Luke gave the fish pan a good swirl to glaze the tops of the filets with oil before taking the pan off the heat. "You don’t want to overcook the fish so you only flip them once when you take the fish off heat," he instructs, before placing the filets on paper towels so they don’t get soggy and absorb excess oil.

Now it's tortilla time. He turned the burner back to medium-high, placed a tortilla directly on the flame and left it there until it started to smoke, almost catching fire. Then he flipped it and repeated the process on the other side for 10 seconds. "Try not to burn your hand," he told me when I asked for his best advice for charred tortillas.

"Thanks, Chef."

Once the tortillas were slightly singed, he made an assembly line. "The best way to build a fish taco is fish first, then slaw, then cilantro, that’s it," he said, as he started to plate them up using lime wedges as miniature taco holders, which I have to admit is both clever *and* the cutest.

My Honest Thoughts About My Chef-Husband's Fish Tacos

If I'm being honest, the street corn was the star. Creamy, cheesy and a tad spicy, I think I devoured seven scoops of this the second he put it on the table. I almost tried to lick the bowl clean once it was gone, too. Plus, it was the easiest thing to make. Far better than most restaurant versions I've had, which I told him, followed by, "I'll be needing this weekly, thanks."

As for the fish tacos, technically speaking they were perfect—10/10 no notes. Except I would still give Don Pedro's a 100/10. Sorry, Luke! I love you, but I love Don Pedro's fish tacos...more. There's just something about eating fish tacos on a beach, with your toes in the sand that hits different. And although yours were delicious in every way—and the corn...chef's kiss!—they were missing those oceanfront views.

Chef Luke's Best Fish Taco Tips

1. Choose your oil wisely. Luke tells me he likes ghee the best for cooking fish, but if you don't have that on hand you can use canola oil. "The most important thing is you want the oil to be hot and shimmering, so turn the heat to medium-high—a 6 out of 10—and put 1/4 inch of oil in the pan," he says.
2. Don’t overcrowd the fish. "To get them nice and crispy don’t move or flip the filets until the edges are golden brown, approx 3-5 minutes, depending on your fish filet size."
3. Serve with slaw. When it comes to taco condiments, Luke keeps it classic: "Pickled cabbage slaw adds crunch, acidity and texture; it's also traditional as a taco accompaniment," he says.

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