Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos Recipe

As I’ve gotten older and a lot more patient, mostly due in part to having a 3-year-old, I’ve been enjoying more and more the entire cooking process and the same goes with this Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos Recipe.  Whether that’s prepping everything beforehand or cleaning up.  Maybe it’s just pride in my cooking or my kitchen, but I’m enjoying the cycle in its entirety.  The crazy thing is that it can be any recipe too, even a grilled cheese for crying out loud.  I never thought I’d be at this point in my cooking career but I remember reading about it from my favorite chef, Thomas Keller who literally started to feel the exact same transition and his joy for all things cooking.  I think the foregone conclusion is that I’m getting old, DANG IT!

Since we’re finally coming out of the cold every day weather I wanted to spice a few things up by making this blackened mahi mahi fish tacos recipe.  It’s literally been soup and root vegetables for the past 4 months and I couldn’t be happier about Spring being here.  We are huge taco eaters in this family and we love trying out new recipes, so when I brought this up to Lindsay (my wife) she was like HECK YEAH!!!

I started it off my making my own blackening seasoning.  Don’t be intimidated, it’s not hard I promise, and most likely you’ve got the ingredients to make it already in your pantry.  If, however you don’t want to mess with it and you’ve got a premade blackening seasoning that you already love then just use that, no problem.

For the fish I went with mahi mahi and because it was literally unavailable fresh at 3 grocery stores I went with some really nice frozen fillets.  I simply thawed them out and placed them on paper towels to soak up some liquid which makes it easier to saute.

Ok, so I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.  Cabbage goes insanely well with fish tacos…  Between the crunchiness and flavor, it enhances fish tacos so much that it is a must every single time we make them.  The other thing I decided to add in the tacos are black beans.  Simply strain, rinse and heat up.  Our new long goose neck Franke faucet makes it really easy to rinse the beans and ensure anything drained from it goes right down the drain as opposed to our old short faucet where everything went on the countertop.

Now to start creating some yummy toppings!  There are two things I wanted to put on top of these tacos, some sort of crema and a salsa.  For the crema I mashed up some fresh avocados and whipped them with some Mexican Crema along with some lime juice salt and pepper.  It’s incredibly easy and packs a serious punch in the flavor department.

The mango salsa I put together and added to the top of the tacos is to die for.  I caught my father-in-law eating it with tortilla chips as a snack, but thank gosh I stopped him so we could use it for our tacos haha.  This salsa is a simply combination of mangos, jalapeños, red onion, green onions and red bell peppers tossed in a little lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Just be sure to keep the salsa cool before serving.

Cooking fish can be really tricky so here’s my two cents.  First, make sure it’s really dry before seasoning it.  In my case I patted the mahi mahi down with paper towels and dusted them on both sides with the blackening seasoning we made.  Next, get a large saute pan very hot on high heat and add in some cold oil.  Once the oil begins to lightly smoke, turn the heat down to medium-high and place in your fish.  Now, LET IT COOK!!!  Don’t sit there and get worried and start moving things around, give it at least 3 to 4 minutes before attempting to flip it over.  After that amount of time I usually give the pan a little shake and if the fish easily moves the pan then I know I’m ok to flip the fish over.  When the fish is finished cooking I put them back on some paper towels to rest and to drain any unwanted oil.

It’s now time to dress up each taco with as much or as little sides as possible…

For me I go all in and add as much as I can possibly fit into each taco.  Sure I may look crazy eating it but it’s the best way to get all of the ingredients in one awesome burst of flavor.

My wife really only likes the cabbage, fish, crema, salsa and of course some cotija cheese.  I leave the cheese garnished part up to whoever’s creating it because some people like more, some like less, and some like none at all because of the crema.

In the end we are loving our new kitchen and no matter what I’m making these days in there, I’m happy to be doing it.