Beer Battered Fish Taco Extravaganza

The name Demmon is synonymous with "excellent taco making". Taco Sundays were a regular part of the week for many a young soul in Northern Virginia from 1999-2003, and sporadically since then. Mama D's tacos were a thing of wonderment, and even though I live a stone's throw away from our authentic Mexican friends and eat Mexican cuisine multiple times a week, I often crave the unique flavor that only Mom's cooking seems to be able to capture.

However, I can't remember her ever exploring the art of the fish taco, so I decided for my inaugural taco attempt I would risk everything and go for the gold... en flaky crust of beer battered fish tacos. (Ignore the pun or act impressed). A quick Google search yielded a gigantic amount of results, so being a poor twentysomething I picked the recipes that included the most ingredients that I already had, or could substitute. I already had the red snapper, corn tortillas, extra sharp cheddar, colby jack, and fresh organic romaine, but what is a fish taco without white sauce? Just a dry taco. This search yielded the most hits with approximately 2,993,830,247 different ways to make them, so what I eventually did was:

1/2 cup ranch dressing (it said yogurt but I didn't have any and ranch is delicious)
1/2 veganaise (it said mayonnaise, but since mayo is gross and I would never use it again, why buy it?)
1 jalapeno (big and somewhat wrinkly, I like to think the older they are the hotter they are. This is completely not true.) Can use a habanero, whichever flavor you prefer.
The juice of 1 fresh lime
Generous helping of cayenne (probably around a teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Add the mayo and ranch/yogurt with the lime, mix, dice the pepper as small as possible and add with the seasonings. Mix well, it should be a little drippy but not runny.

The beer batter was pretty much the easiest thing in the world. 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and one beer (not dark). I used Bud Lite because I'm ashamed to have it in my refrigerator and this was a good excuse to get rid of it without having to drink it. I cut the snapper into 1 inch pieces and dipped them in the batter after heating the oil to medium heat. Each piece took about a minute to cook to a light gold color without turning brown and getting burned, and provided a super light, crispy shell that wasn't too "fried". Nothing is more annoying than getting a Fried Batter taco when all you want is some evidence of fish buried deep within the taco. Afterward, I fried the corn tortillas for about a minute, folding them halfway through to ensure the right shape and crispiness! Perfectamundo!

Mama D, you would be so proud.