
Tasty Yellowtail Taquitos
I’ll never forget a hunting trip to the outer Channel Islands on a day when the water was 71 degrees and yellowtail were zipping around in the kelp forest and enjoying the shade directly under our dive boat. A strong current made the hunt a bit challenging, but I camouflaged myself in the kelp and it wasn’t long before I got a clear shot of a nice-sized yellowtail. This versatile fish turned out to be perfect for the taquito recipe you see here.Remember, “Always ‘Stay Legal,’ and never take more than you’ll eat.”
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. yellowtail cut into strips about 3/4” square
- 16-20 corn tortillas
- 2 cups peanut oil
- 2 ripe avocados diced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Salsa and sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- In a non-metal bowl, combine avocado, tomato, onion and cilantro. Gently mix ingredients and season to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large frying pan over medium heat, bring the peanut oil to 350 degrees F. While the oil is heating, line a baking tray with paper towels. Once the oil is hot, use tongs to gently place a tortilla into the hot oil for about two or three seconds, turn once and remove to the paper towel-lined pan. Do this with all the tortillas. The goal is to soften the tortillas a bit; do not overcook or they’ll become brittle.
- Assemble taquitos by placing strips of yellowtail across the tortilla; roll tightly and secure each taquito with a toothpick.
- Fry taquitos until crisp, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel-lined pan and let cool just a bit, then arrange over a bed of avocado salsa, garnish with sour cream or Mexican crema and enjoy.