My husband and I recently moved to Florida and I am LOVING the fact that we can get excellent fresh fish here. We were previously living in Idaho, and let’s just say that there wasn’t a plethora of great fresh fish to cook with. Don’t get me wrong, Idaho was great – the fish selection, not so much. So, after being in Florida for only a few weeks my husband and I visited this great local fish market, Joe Patti’s Seafood, and purchased cobia (among other fish because I mean let’s be real, I couldn’t just buy that…), because my husband informed me that he needed fish tacos ASAP. Have any of you ever made cobia before? If not, then you haven’t been enlightened yet (as I was) that it’s not the greatest fish to use if you need to take the skin off as the skin is really tough. As you can imagine, I was practically fighting the fish as I was attempting to take the skin off in order to finish making dinner. Taste wise though, the cobia was very good. Next time, I would use something like tilapia, cod, etc.
Now let’s chat about the Air Fryer. After researching, I recently purchased the NuWave 6-Quart Digital Air Fryer. So far, I am really enjoying my purchase and don’t have any complaints. For this recipe, I cooked the fish in batches to avoid overcrowding. In the Air Fryer, if you overcrowd the food, portions of said food won’t become as crispy and “fried” as others.
Air Fryer Cobia Fish Tacos with Pickled Onions, Cabbage, & Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients:
- 1 pound fresh cobia, skin removed (alternatively, use tilapia or cod)
- 1 1/2 cups LA FISH FRY New Orleans Style Lemon Fish Fry
- 1 small halved and thinly sliced red onion
- 2 jalapenos or serrano peppers, sliced into thin rings
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1/4 cup pickling liquid from the pickled onions
- 8 oz. tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- Flour tortillas
- Cooking spray
- Garlic powder, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
For the Air Fryer Cobia: Heat the Air Fryer to 400 degrees. Remove the skin from the cobia and cut the cobia into 2-3 inch pieces (it’s okay if you prefer for the pieces to be larger or smaller). Pour the 1 1/2 cups LA FISH FRY New Orleans Style Lemon Fish Fry into a medium bowl. Using tongs, generously coat the cobia pieces with the fish fry, gently shaking off an excess, then set the pieces aside on a clean plate. Once all of the cobia pieces have been coated with the fish fry, spray the cobia pieces with cooking spray. When heated, place as many pieces of cobia into the Air Fryer basket that will fit nicely without stacking and/ or overcrowding. “Fry” the cobia in the Air Fryer for 15 mins, flipping half way through. If the cobia does not appear done or does not appear to be as crispy as you would like it at the end of the cook time, add an additional 3-4 minutes, checking the cobia throughout the process.
For the Pickled Onions: Bring the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, combine the onions and jalapenos or serranos in a bowl. Once boiling, remove the vinegar mixture from heat and pour the mixture over the onion mixture and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
For the Pickled Cabbage: Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Salt and pepper, to taste.
For the Tomatillo Salsa: Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Pulse until mixture is a coarse puree, however, be careful not to over process. Transfer salsa to a bowl and adjuste seasoning if necessary.
To Serve: Place 4-5 tortillas in a wet paper towel and transfer to a microwave safe plate. Microwave the tortillas on high for 30-45 seconds. Place tortillas on serving dish, top with Air Fried cobia, tomatillo salsa, pickled cabbage, and pickled onions. Enjoy!
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Adapted from James Beard Foundation and Everyday Annie
Spices & Sprinkles 