ShareThisGrowing up in California, Zack Gross got to taste his share of fish tacos.
"Out there, everybody has a fish-taco recipe," the owner of Z Grille in St. Petersburg, Fla., said. "But the secret is fresh fish."
So one morning, we brought Gross some freshly caught sheepshead. Everybody has a favorite fish for fish taco -- snapper, grouper, even snook -- but the lightly flaky flesh of a sheepshead is particularly well-suited for fish tacos.
The chef's fish tacos have become well-known, where at lunchtime, folks line up at his other eatery, Zurritos.
Gross usually doesn't share recipes. But a bribe in the form of a little fresh fish was all it took to get his creative juices flowing.
ZACK'S FRESH FISH TACOS
This recipe will make about six to eight tacos
1 pound fresh fish (snapper, sheepshead or any flaky white fish)
24 ounce beer (Zack prefers the darker stuff, Dos XX amber is nice)
1-1/2 cups tempura flour
2 tablespoons hot smoked paprika (to flavor the flour)
Flour tortillas, six to eight
Diced tomatoes, 1 cup
Shredded cabbage, like that used in coleslaw. One bag or 16 ounces
Cheese, 1 cup
Avocado, 2 each
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Lime, 2 each
Mix beer, flour and paprika to make batter. Remember to reserve some flour to dust fish, which will help keep batter on the fish.
Cut fish into chunks, 1 inch by 1 inch
Place fish in flour, then into the beer batter
Put battered fish into fryer oil at 375 degrees for about two minutes
Assemble tacos, cabbage, cheese, fish, tomatoes, avocado and chopped cilantro, squeeze of lime. Add some salsa and sour cream for the ultimate fish taco.
Call all your friends
Serve with cold beer
(E-mail tomalin(at)sptimes.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Must credit St. Petersburg Times
