Men's Journal

Build a Fish-Taco Bar

On a sweltering afternoon, the vibe you really want to channel at your next barbecue is that whole south-of-the-border Baja thing. Bonus: Everyone gets to customize.

Nobody knows Cal-Mex like James Beard award-­winning chef Rick Bayless. His cooking show, Mexico—One Plate at a Time, is about to shoot its eighth season entirely in Baja, the spiritual home of the fish taco. “If you’re like me, you like to hang out by the grill,” says Bayless, whose latest cookbook is called Fiesta at Rick’s. “And what I love about fish tacos is that it’s a meal that evolves—you’re cooking it and slicing it and serving it to your friends, and it becomes an ongoing feast where you’ve got fresh food all the time.

Prepare Ingredients

Green Salsa

For 2 cups, you need 6 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1 lb of tomatillos (little green tomatoes), and 1/2 oz of small hot dried chiles, like red chipotles.

1. Toast seeded and stemmed chiles in an ungreased skillet over a medium flame for 1 minute.

2. Transfer to a bowl; cover with hot water for 30 minutes.

3. In the same skillet, roast garlic for 15 minutes. Remove skin.

4. Remove husks from tomatillos, set on a baking sheet, and roast under a broiler until soft and blackened. Let cool, then put in a blender or food processor.

5. Drain and add chiles and roasted garlic. Add a touch of water, season with salt, and puree.

Diced Onions

“Dice about 1 white onion for every 3 guests. Rinse chopped pieces under cold water to remove the more noxious onion compounds. Mix in 1 tbsp of roughly chopped cilantro per onion. Set in a bowl as a last-minute topping.”

Limes

“Absolutely essential. I like to squeeze on some lime juice right when the fish comes off the grill and then sprinkle on a pinch of coarse sea salt.”

Corn Tortillas

“If you want to blow people away, go to a Mexican grocery store and buy fresh corn tortillas. Figure on 4 tacos per guest. Heat the tortillas by brushing them with a little olive oil and throwing them on the grill in stacks of 2, so each gets a little char but doesn’t dry out.”

Grill Fish to Perfection

1. Choose the Right Fish

Swordfish, Bayless says, is meaty and easy to work with. “Anything in the sea bass family is also good, as well as grouper, tilefish, pink snapper, or striped bass.” The idea is to stick with firm, flaky white fish for good texture and a nice, mild flavor. And don’t even think about freshwater fish, Bayless warns. “It would feel like mush in the tortilla.”

2. Add Flavor

“Throw some cloves of garlic and a couple of green chile peppers on a hot, dry skillet, turning every once in a while until the garlic is blotchy, black, and soft. Then peel the garlic, remove seeds from the chiles, and throw the rest into a blender with some olive oil and salt. Blend that up and brush it over the fillets. Be sure to dilute it with enough oil so the fish won’t stick.”

3. Grill It

“Take a whole fillet and lay it on the hottest part of the grill, skin side up so the skin can hold it together and contribute flavor (you can always remove the skin later). Cook the fish about two-thirds of the way through. Then, what really looks beautiful is if you flip the fillet over onto a piece of banana leaf and continue cooking on the cooler side of the grill.”

4. Leave It Alone

“Everybody always worries that stuff is sticking to the grill, so they try to move it, and that makes it fall apart. But everything sticks for the first minute, so don’t mess with it! When the fish is done, set the fillets on a platter, still on the banana leaves, and let your guests flake the meat apart themselves and add it to their tacos.”

Make Gourmet Guacamole

Rick Bayless advocates a distinct approach for taco-bar guacamole: Make a big bowl of basic guac that blends 6 avocados, 1/2 cup cilantro, 4 minced serrano peppers, 4 tbsp lime juice, and salt to taste. Surround that bowl with optional add-ons, like crumbled bacon, fresh Mexican cheese, tomato, red onion, chopped mango, even toasted pumpkin seeds.

Spice Things Up

Most hot sauces these days rely on cute labels and outrageous levels of heat to sell bottles, but since its humble family beginnings in 1968, El Yucateco red habanero hot sauce is as subtle as something with a Scoville rating of nearly 6,000 can be—hot enough for a sweet sting, but not so fiery you end up looking like you just got maced. ($4; elyucateco.com)

Cool Off

Master Mexican Sangria

Fill a glass with ice, then halfway with limeade (Odwalla makes perfect sangria limeade in half-gallon

jugs). Add red wine gently enough that it floats on top. Drop in a couple of orange slices and serve without stirring

for that cool two-tone effect of pale green below, red above.

Learn to Mix Authentic Agua Fresca

California burrito joints call it agua fresca, or “fresh water,” and the upshot is pitch-perfect hydration for whenever straight fruit juice would be too sticky-sweet and beer might knock you out. For the all-time classic version: 1. Puree an entire cantaloupe, without seeds and rind. 2. Strain the juice to remove the pulp. 3. Add half a cup of water. 4. Stir in a dash of sugar so it won¹t taste thin. 5. Enjoy in a tall glass of ice.

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This article originally appeared in the June/July 2010 issue of Men’s Journal.