Campfire Fish Tacos with Chipotle Slaw

After the amazing response we got to Arthur Aguirre’s Tamales with Pulled Pork, we had to have him back when he mentioned that he was doing fish tacos around the campfire with chipotle slaw.  And man did he come through.  I’ll hand if over to Arthur so he can show you how to make these amazing campfire fish tacos!

***Editor’s Note ~ Arthur has started his own blog and I’m more than happy to promote him on mine.  His new site is called MajorLeagueGrilling.com***

Over the Memorial Day weekend, my family and I went camping down in Leasburg, MO. We had great weather and the kids really enjoyed themselves. However, my favorite part of camping is grilling outdoors. I got the urge to make fish tacos over the campfire one evening for dinner. I wanted the tacos to have a fresh, outdoorsy taste, so I thought about topping the fish with chipotle cole slaw and pico de gallo. I also figured this meal would be quick to make if I prepared some things ahead of time. Not everything went as planned with trying to save some time, but it was so easy to make, it could have been worse. I’ll explain later.

Before we left for our weekend getaway, I made the chipotle sauce and Pico de Gallo ahead of time. I did this for two reasons. First, it always tastes better the next day. It gives all the flavors time to greet one another. And second, I didn’t want the ingredients to get smashed in the coolers. So I prepared them and stored them safely in the cooler. This way, it took up less space in the cooler and it is ready to serve when the fish was ready.

Chipotle Cole Slaw Ingredients:

1 Bag of shredded cole slaw
1 Can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 Cup of mayo
2 Cups of sour cream

I start off by adding the mayo and sour cream into a container that is just large enough to store the sauce. You may substitute the mayo and sour cream for light or fat free versions. A healthier alternative is to use plain white yogurt.

Next, open the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, remove the peppers from the sauce.

If you want the sauce extra spicy, throw all the contents of the can into a blender and run it until smooth, this will put hair on your chest. I think the adobo sauce is spicy enough, so I use a 1/2 cup of it and add it to the mix.

I store the remaining sauce and peppers in the freezer for future use. Finally, mix all the ingredients together, put a cover over it and place it the fridge.

My wife added the sauce to the shredded slaw earlier that day for lunch. It chilled in the cooler for hours until we were ready for dinner.

Pico de Gallo Ingredients:

2 Tomatoes
1 medium white onion
4 jalapeño peppers
1 lime
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt

I like to rinse all the vegetables off with water, even the packaged veggies. Bacteria seems to find a way into all kinds of produce, I err on the side of caution.

The pico takes more time to prepare. Start by dicing the tomatoes and onions to be approximately the same size, place them in a medium size bowl.

Next, cut the stems off of the jalapeños:

Then cut them in half so they look like boats.  Using a spoon, remove the seeds and the veins of the pepper:

After dicing the jalapeños, put them in the bowl with the tomatoes and onion:

Give a rough chop to the cilantro, just enough to release its earthy aroma.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze one half into the bowl, use the other half for some Mexican cerveza:

Add salt to taste:

Mix all the ingredients together, put it in a storage bag and store it in the fridge or use it immediately:

Both of these items were ready to go. This was easy to serve at the camp site and with having 4 toddlers running around, the less time preparing food, the better. We combined all these ingredients into 2 small containers plus we still have to grill the fish at the camp site.

Campfire Fish Taco Ingredients:

• 3 cod filets
• 8 soft taco tortillas
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

I didn’t have the opportunity to go fishing in the river, not that I’m capable of catching anything, so I bought some frozen cod filets. I like cod because it’s thick and meaty which means it holds up well on the grill. Cod also has a mild taste to it, so it won’t over power the other ingredients or the smoky flavor it absorbs over the campfire. But first, I like to coat it with some olive oil and season the cod with salt and pepper. And just for kicks, I sprayed non stick spray on the grill so the fish will not stick.

As I alluded to earlier, not everything went off without a hitch. We had a tough time getting a hot fire going in the fire ring.

A combination of the high humidity and the very green firewood didn’t allow us to achieve the hot and fast method. Instead, we had low and slow and the family was not happy. It did, however, add some great smoke flavor to the cod:

How to Make Campfire Fish Tacos

After about an hour of trying to get a hot fire going, it catches, and I was able to sear them at the end. Had the fire been too low or had been extinguished at any point, the fish would have been thrown away for fear of bacteria.

It is done when the cod tears apart easy with a white flaky texture:

You can just tear it into chunks or chop it up. I like my fish chunky.

Next I heated up some tortillas over the fire. They only take about 30 seconds each over a hot fire, just keep flipping them until they are soft. I found some whole wheat tortillas that were really good:

Assembling them is easy:

First, lay the tortilla flat, then add the cod:

Top with the Pico de Gallo:

Finally add the chipotle slaw:

Roll up the soft taco and enjoy:

Campfire Fish Tacos Run Down

This was really good.  It was smoky, spicy and fresh all at the same time. My only change would be to use traditional corn tortillas. They would have added some sweetness to the palette.

Delisioso!

***Editor’s note ~ Wow, Arthur, wow!!!***

If you would like to see other seafood dishes click here.

If you have any questions feel free to comment below or shoot me an email and I will forward it on to Arthur.

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Arthur Aguirre

Major League Grilling’s founder, Arthur Aguirre, is a BBQ enthusiast with a passion to cook anything on the grill. Before reaching the level of pitmaster, Arthur spent years of hopelessly under cooking and overcooking various cuts of succulent meats. With the help of internet forums such as the BBQ Brethren, Char-Broil, and the experts from the Grillin' Fools, Arthur’s grilling exploits soon followed.

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This article was initially published on: June 9, 2010