crispy panko fish tacos

Cut the fish fillets into chunks that are roughly 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the beer or seltzer, flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Note that the beer will be difficult to measure out due to foam; you’ll need at least 1 1/2 cups of beer to make this batter. The batter should be thick like pancake batter, but if it appears clumpy or overly thick add more beer, seltzer or water until mixture is thin enough for dipping.

Pour the panko breadcrumbs into another bowl. Have an empty plate handy for the breaded fish.

Dip each piece of fish into the batter. When you pull the fish out of the batter, let the excess batter run back into the bowl.

After dipping in the batter, gently roll each piece in panko crumbs to coat. Leaving too much batter on the fish will lead to clumping, so make sure your fish is only lightly coated with batter before breading. Use one hand for wet dipping and the other for dry, otherwise you’ll end up with lots of clumps in the dry coating ingredients. Place the breaded fish onto the empty plate.

When your fish is breaded, heat 1/2 inch of cooking oil in a skillet over medium high. Fry the breaded fish pieces in batches of 6. If the oil is at the correct temperature, it should bubble and sizzle evenly—no splatters or popping.

Flip the fish when they turn dark golden brown. It will take 2-3 minutes per side for the fish to become golden and crisp.

Place fried fish pieces on a wire rack to drain, if you have one. This will keep the fish as crisp as possible. Use paper towels to catch the oil drips underneath the rack. If you don’t have a wire rack, you can drain the fish pieces on a double layer of paper towels.