Month: June 2023

Delicious Fish Taco Recipe

By Capt. Andy Martin – Without a doubt, fish tacos are one of the most popular dishes to enjoy freshly caught rockfish, lingcod, surfperch or halibut. Nearly everyday on our charter boats, we hear “That will make a taco,” or “Fish tacos tonight!” Customers love fish tacos, our crew loves fish tacos, and visitors to the Oregon Coast love fish tacos.

There are countless ways to prepare fish tacos. Some people beer batter pieces of fillets, smother in tarter sauce, and wrap a tortilla around it. Others fry their catch in panko, and serve with cabbage, salsa and sour cream.

Fish tacos with baked rockfish, lime and a delicious crema sauce.

Fish tacos originated in Baja, Mexico. Early versions were fish fillets coated with tempura and fried, served in a warm corn tortilla. The Tipai-Ipai Indigenous people of Mexico are believed to have discovered the tasty combination of fish and stone-ground tortillas.

Fish tacos later became popular in San Diego, and then spread throughout the West Coast.

One of our favorite ways to enjoy fish tacos is seasoning small pieces of rockfish or surfperch fillets, drizzling with olive oil and baking or grilling. When my daughter was young, it was often difficult to get her to eat fish. She would have friends over, and I would make a platter of tacos, not telling them they were made of fish. She and her friends would eat them up faster than I could make them.

Freshly chopped cabbage, red onion, tomatoes and cilantro are a key ingredient to delicious fish tacos.

Today, my captains and deckhands share recipes daily with our charter customers. This baked fish taco is delicious, quick and easy to make, and leaves little mess to clean up.

The colorful combination of purple cabbage, red onion, cilantro, avocado, tomato and feta or cotija cheese make these tacos look, and taste, absolutely amazing. A key ingredient is the crema sauce. The fact the fish is baked, or grilled, instead of fried makes them a healthy alternative to the deep fried fish tacos many people are accustomed to.

A simple mixture of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and cumin make a perfect fish taco seasoning.

This recipe is incredible with fresh rockfish or surfperch, but frozen fillets also will work. Pacific cod also can be used.

Baked Fish Tacos

Fish Taco ingredients

12 small corn tortillas

1 pound fish fillets, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Fish Taco toppings

1 avocado, sliced

Cherry or roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 cup purple cabbage, shredded

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup cotija or feta cheese, grated

1 lime, cut into wedges

Crema sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp Sriracha sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with wax paper, and coat with cooking spray.

In a small dish, combine cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and cumin.

Place the seasoning in a shaker bottle and sprinkle on both sides of fish, or add a small pinch of the seasoning to the fish (don’t apply too much, a little goes a long way!)

Place the fish on the baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees to 12 to 20 minutes.

While fish is baking, combine the taco sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. The sauce can be spooned onto the fish tacos, when ready, or applied with a squeeze bottle.

Toast the corn tortillas in a large skillet over medium-high heat, 20 to 30 seconds per side.

Place a couple small pieces of fish in each tortilla, and assemble the tacos with the cabbage, onion, cilantro, avocado, tomato, cheese and lime juice, and top with the crema sauce.

Season the fish fillets, and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake the fish at 375 degrees for 12-20 minutes.
Serve with quickly toasted corn tortillas.
Perfect rockfish or lingcod fish tacos.

These fish tacos are sure to be a favorite of even the most picky eater, and are one of the healthier versions of fish tacos you will come across. Served with cole slaw, black beans and/or spanish rice.

To catch a limit of rockfish or lingcod to make your own fish tacos, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Deckhand Chris holds a pair of black rockfish, the perfect ingredient for delicious fish tacos.

Seafood Bisque great way to enjoy rockfish, crab

The delicious combination of Oregon Coast rockfish, crab and shrimp in a thick, creamy soup will have your family coming back for seconds, and friends or co-workers over for dinner impressed. Seafood Bisque, which resembles clam chowder – but without the clams, potatoes and bacon – is surprisingly easy to make, yet rivals the menu of an elegant French restaurant.

The combination of fresh rockfish, crab and shrimp make this creamy soup a home run.

Capt. Andy of Brookings Fishing Charters has cooked up several variations of seafood bisque recipes. This is his favorite, in part because it is simple and quick, yet incredibly delicious. This recipe is perfect with rockfish, lingcod or halibut, combined with shrimp (either large shelled and deveined shrimp or Oregon Coast salad or cocktail shrimp), and fresh crab meat. Just rockfish and crab, or fish fillets and shrimp meat will work with the recipe, although all three give it a 10 out of 10.

The Louisiana twist to the recipe – with cajun seasonings – gives it a unique flavor that complements Pacific Northwest seafood.

Seafood Bisque takes just a few minutes to prep, and is ready to serve in 45 minutes.

Seafood Bisque is a great way to enjoy the rockfish caught on our charter boats.

Rockfish and Crab Bisque

1 pound rockfish, lingcod or halibut fillets, cut into small chunks

1/2 pound crab meat

1/2 pound shrimp meat

2 cubes unsalted butter

1 bunch green onion, chopped

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups half and half

1/4 cup white flour

1/2 can creamed corn (optional ingredient)

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Melt butter in a large pot, and saute green onions.

Sprinkle flour over the melted butter and onions, and stir well.

Add heavy cream, half and half, seafood, seasonings, and if desires, the half can of cream corn. Stir continuously as the bisque is brought to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. The raw fish will quickly cook, and add an incredible flavor to the creamy soup.

Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with sour dough or french bread, and white wine.

Melt butter in a large pot, and saute chopped green onions.
Once the onions are cooked, add 1/4 cup flour.
Add heavy cream and half and half, seafood, cajun seasons, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and Old Bay.
This creamy soup is ready to serve after simmering for 40 minutes.

To book a charter to catch your own rockfish or lingcod, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Calm weather expected after mostly windy spring

BROOKINGS, Ore. (June 5, 2023) – After a mostly windy spring, with big swells, choppy seas and mostly hard-to-fish conditions, the forecast improves this week, with ideal weather for long-range trips to the Point St. George Reef Lighthouse or Mack Arch from Wednesday through Saturday. Light winds and calm seas generally lead to good fishing, and our crew can’t wait. The weather also is good for halibut!

A nice lingcod from a windy weather day aboard the Nauti-Lady last week.

Between gale warnings, which have been common so far this spring, fishing has been good. We have been getting limits when our boats can get to the lighthouse and fish for several hours. On near-shore trips the past two weeks, we have been getting limits of rockfish with some lingcod mixed in.

Capt. Kirby holds a nice lingcod from the lighthouse caught in late May aboard the Nauti-Lady.

The marine forecast for Wednesday through Saturday this week shows winds less than 5 mph and swells down to 2 feet, with no wind chop. That will allow our six-pack boats and the Nauti-Lady to make it to the lighthouse or the halibut grounds. Salmon season, meanwhile, opens June 17. We have been releasing salmon while bottom fishing, and are seeing lots of birds and bait. Lots of pelicans mean the anchovies are here, and where there are baitfish, there also are salmon. This year we can keep two hatchery coho per day, from June 17-Aug. 31. The rivers seasons on the Rogue and Chetco also will go on as normal this year.

Salmon season opens June 17. Here is a nice hatchery coho from last summer aboard the Dash.

During the most recent all-day trips to the Point St. George Lighthouse, our boats caught limits of jumbo rockfish and a pile of big lingcod. But windy weather has kept the fleet closer to the harbor for most of the last two weeks. With the improved forecast, we expect good fishing at the lighthouse, and also will be focusing on Pacific halibut. Halibut season runs May 1-Oct. 31 out of Brookings. The best fishing is usually late June through August. Beginning June 12, the limit increases to two halibut per day!

We’ve released a lot of nice cabezon the past two weeks. We can keep them beginning July 1.
Parmesan baked rockfish is a tasty, and healthy, alternative to deep fried fish.

We’ve added a couple of new recipes to our fishing report blog. Be sure to check them out. The Parmesan baked rockfish is great. Check it our here.

We have open seats this week. To book, visit www.brookingsfishing.com or call (541) 813-1082.

Here are just a few of the catches from the last two weeks on the Miss Brooke, Kraken, Dash, Papa B and Nauti-Lady.

Grilled salmon healthy, delicious and easy

When preparing ocean-fresh salmon, or chrome-bright kings from the lower Chetco, Smith or Rogue rivers, simpler is better. There is no reason for fancy marinades or elaborate sauces, as fresh salmon from the ocean, bay or tidewater are already full of flavor. Grilled salmon is healthy, delicious and easy to prepare.

Applying a dash of salt, squeeze of lemon juice and dash of dill weed is the most popular way to prepare salmon fillets or steaks for grilling. There are also numerous other ways to season fresh salmon before setting it on the barbecue. Capt. Andy of Brookings Fishing Charters and Wild Rivers Fishing has a unique twist to grilled salmon to keep the fish moist, and not detract from the great taste ocean-fresh fish have because of their higher fat and oil content.

Aside from being a thrill to catch, ocean-bight salmon, like this beauty caught on the Miss Brooke, are also extremely tasty.

Popular with chefs who prefer to cook salmon over a cedar plank, brushing a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar and white vinegar keeps the fish moist while cooking, and adds just a tiny bit more flavor to an already delicious cut of king or coho.

Grilled Salmon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter (unsalted)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

salt, to taste

Cut the salmon into smaller strips, or steaks. Heat grill to 350 degrees (medium-low). A Camp Chef or Traeger works great for this recipe with the added smoke. Stir brown sugar with melted butter, and then add the vinegar, mixing well.

Add a dash of salt to the fillets, and place skin-side down on the grill. Brush the tops and sides of the salmon with the melted butter mixture. Grill for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the fish reaches 120 degrees (this is another reason a Camp Chef or Treager work so well).

Serve with rice and coleslaw. Tastes great with a little tarter sauce, barbecue sauce, or squeeze of lemon.

Add brown sugar and white vinegar to melted butter.
After salting the salmon, brush on the butter mixture.
Place on grill, skin-side down.
Grill at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 120 degrees.
Tastes great with rice and coleslaw.

To catch an ocean-bright king, book a fishing charter with Brookings Fishing Charters, www.brookingsfishing.com, or call (541) 813-1082.