Sous vide cooking guarantees perfectly cooked fish – never too little or too much. And what better way to show that than with a round of fish tacos?!
This post is brought to you by ChefSteps in partnership with Joule: Sous Vide.
Sous vide cooking is known for long, slow cooking — cooking food at low temperatures for hours before it’s ready to serve. Many recipes certainly take that long (and with delicious results!), but you can also use your immersion circulator for quick cooking recipes!
Sous vide fish tacos
These sous vide fish tacos are ready in about 45 minutes. Yes, that’s a little longer than a quick stovetop sear, but the upside to fish is that you don’t have to worry about overcooking (or undercooking).
The fish can even hang in the sous vide bath for a few extra minutes if you’re not quite ready to serve.
While the fish is cooking, you can prep the apple salsa and sour cream sauce, and dinner will be ready in no time. The fish itself comes straight from the sous vide bath into the taco and is flaky and flavorful after just 45 minutes of cooking. What could be easier?!
Two fun toppings for your fish tacos
Since the fish has about 45 minutes to cook in the double boiler, I like to use that time to make some fun taco toppings.
First the cilantro sour cream sauce: This is my go-to for many tacos. Mix some sour cream with lime juice and coriander, done.
Then add an apple salad: The apple and radish salsa is different than what you’ll find on most tacos, but has great texture that these tacos need. This is also the time of year when apples are at their best, so why not in a crunchy coleslaw?!
For more information on apple varieties, see our guide to apples.
New to sous vide cooking?
This is one of my favorite recipes for sous vide beginners. It’s hassle free and a lot easier than cooking halibut in the oven or in a pan. In fact, it would be hard to screw this up!
Here are a few other resources if you need help getting started with sous vide cooking:
- Everything you were wondering about sous vide cooking at home
- How to use your new sous vide immersion thermostat
- How to seal food without a vacuum sealer
- Sous vide and food safety: what you need to know
Video: Sous Vide Fish Tacos
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Sous vide fish tacos
Sous vide fish tacos with fall apple salad
ingredients
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1 pound halibut
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pinch of salt
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Pinch of black pepper
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Pinch of ground cumin
- apple salad:
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1 red apple, eg Fuji or Gala, peeled and diced
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4 to 5 radishes, diced
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1/4 cup diced red onion
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juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
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pinch of salt
- Coriander Sour Cream:
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1 cup sour cream
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2 tablespoons chopped coriander
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juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
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pinch of salt
- Serve:
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Taco-sized flour or corn tortillas
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1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced
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2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced
method
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heat water:
Fill your pot with water and place your immersion circulator in it. Set the temperature to 132°F and allow the water to come up to temperature.
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Prepare fish:
Season halibut with a pinch of salt, pepper and ground cumin. Place in gallon sized bags.
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Closing the bag:
Seal the bag and remove as much air as possible by using the water displacement method to force all the air out: lower the bag containing the fish into the water and allow the water to force the air through a small opening in the bag. After the air has been squeezed out, seal the bag.
You can do this in the pot of water while it heats up. (Be careful if the water is already steaming!) Set the halibut aside on a kitchen towel until the water is fully heated.
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Cooking the halibut sous vide:
When the water has reached the right temperature, cook the halibut for 45 minutes. If your fillets are over 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, add 15 minutes to the cooking time.
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Meanwhile, prepare the apple salad and sour cream sauce:
If you haven’t already done so, dice the apples and radishes. In a small bowl, toss with the onions, lime juice, and a pinch of salt.
In another small bowl, stir together the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and salt for the sour cream sauce.
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Assemble the tacos:
A few minutes before the halibut is ready, warm the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. When the halibut is done, remove it from the bag and place it on a plate. Break up the fish into chunky pieces with a fork.
Assemble the tacos by adding a dollop of sour cream sauce to each tortilla and topping with a few slices of avocado, cabbage, a few scoops of coleslaw, and about 1 pound of sous vide halibut. Drizzle more sour cream sauce on top and serve!
