Taste of the Wild: Fabulous freshwater fish tacos

Ice fishing season is upon us, and that means my husband and I will be enjoying some hardwater angling. We are always looking for a way to spice up a fish recipe — tacos are usually our go-to dish. In this recipe, you will use panfish or walleye to make a tasty taco that is both pretty on the plate, and easy to eat.

This recipe uses two walleye filets or six nice panfish filets. Thaw completely and remove any small bones.

SPICE BLEND

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

TIP: When you finish an old bottle of seasoning, keep the container and mix this dry spice blend in a small bowl. Pour the blend into the empty container, as this provides an even spreading of the spices!

TACO TOPPINGS

1/4 head of purple cabbage, chopped into small strips

1/4 jar of commercially prepared slaw dressing

2 fresh limes

Dash of chili lime seasoning powder

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

Fresh cilantro, chopped

1 round of Queso Fresco crumbling cheese

Guacamole

6 Tortillas

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Place your filets onto the parchment and brush a coat of olive oil onto the filets. Next up is seasoning. Combine all ingredients and sprinkle the seasoning blend evenly over each filet.

3. Place your baking sheet of filets into the oven and let bake for 20-25 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork. You can increase the oven temperature to broil for an additional 3 minutes at the end if you’d like a bit of a baked crust on the filets.

4. Chop purple cabbage and place into a mixing bowl. Add about 1/4 of the jar of the slaw dressing to your cabbage, squeeze one lime’s juice into the mix, and add chili lime powder. Mix this until cabbage is evenly coated.

5. Dice your tomatoes, chop cilantro, quarter remaining lime, crumble your cheese and set these aside until the fish is finished cooking.

6. When filets are done cooking, you can begin preparing your tacos for dinner!

7. Place your tortillas in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, and in order: layer prepared fish, slaw mixture, guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro, crumbling cheese, and squeeze some lime juice on top.

Recipe and photo by Sarah Kozlowski

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Sarah Kozlowski is from Hayward, Wis. She’s an avid female outdoorswoman from Northwest Wisconsin. You can follow her adventures @skozlowskiii on Instagram

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