It’s summer. That means it’s time for tacos. Actually, every season is time for tacos, but summer specifically calls for fish tacos. Like my FAVORITE spicy salmon tacos with bacon, feta cheese, green onions, and tomatoes. I’m still eating them as I’m typing this. It’s quite the show.
I am the lone salmon lover in our household … besides our cats. Mark has no desire to even try to like it, so I’m left to live a sad, salmon-less life most days.
But not today. Today I was on a mission to bring salmon into this household and LOVE it. I’ve been playing with a salmon taco recipe for about a month now, and I also recently ate some great salmon tacos at a new local taco place down the street. I wanted to be sure the salmon was flavorful, not too well done, and had some awesome toppings and an avocado sauce to accompany it.
To start, apply the dry rub mix to the flesh of the salmon, then drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Pan-sear the filets to your desired doneness, (just try not to dry them out!), and then flake them apart onto warm flour tortillas. Extra crispy bacon pairs well with the crispy skin, yet soft meat of the salmon. While cooking the bacon, I sprinkled some of the dry rub onto one side of each bacon strip, too! You can cook the bacon in a medium sauté pan, wipe it clean, then cook the salmon in the same pan. I highly suggest using a non-stick pan for both meats.
For the toppings, add a bit of feta cheese, the crispy bacon you’ve made, and some avocado sauce (see notes in the recipe)! For color and extra fun, I also added parsley, green onion, and tomato. All great additions.
I seriously think I nailed it. I’m really enjoying these, and have thus deemed them my favorite warm weather (healthier) tacos. This recipe makes four total tacos (they aren’t small!), so of course adjust ingredients accordingly if you’re just making them for yourself (like I’ll be doing in the very near future), or if you want to double them up.
Now I have to go to work in an hour but I seriously think I need a nap. Do I really have to clean up after myself? It’s so overrated…I think I’ll just keep eating these spicy salmon tacos and not worry about it.
spicy salmon tacos : a small batch recipe for two.
Ingredients
salmon dry rub mixture ::
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
tacos ::
- 4 strips thick cut smoked bacon
- 2 fresh salmon filets roughly 1/3 pound each.
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 flour tortillas
- feta cheese if desired for garnish
- green onion if desired for garnish
- chopped tomatoes if desired for garnish
- avocado sauce see notes!
Instructions
- Combine salmon dry rub mixture into a bowl and set aside.
- Cut bacon strips in half. Over medium heat, lay each strip into a medium saute pan to cook. Sprinkle top side with a pinch of salmon rub mixture. Flip when necessary, cook until very crispy. Drain on a paper towel, and chop when cooled.
- Sprinkle the salmon dry rub mixture directly onto the flesh of the salmon. Equally distribute the mixture, and spread it out to coat the entire surface. Drizzle the top of the salmon (coated in dry rub) with olive oil (about 1 Tbsp. per filet), and let the salmon absorb it all.
- In a clean, medium saute pan (preferably non-stick), bring heat to medium. Once the pan is hot, gently add both filets with the flesh side down. Let this cook 3-5 minutes, until the flesh begins to change color. Flip the filets, so the skin sides are down, and cook another 3-5 minutes until salmon feels firm and reaches desired doneness.
- Remove salmon filets from the pan, and allow to rest on a cutting board with the skin side down. Warm the flour tortillas (either in the oven or microwave), and prepare to build the tacos.
- Using a fork, simply flake the salmon off of the skin and place directly into the warm tortillas. Add bacon, feta cheese, tomato, green onion, and avocado sauce.
- Serve hot!
Notes
1 Tbsp. plain greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/4 avocado, mashed
1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. buttermilk
juice from 1/4 of a lemon
dash of hot sauce
pinch of tarragon
pinch of garlic powder
1 tsp. crumbled feta
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything together and set aside. Make this ahead of time to allow the flavors to blend!
Tried this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
I’ve made these a few times over the past year. Just really great! Haven’t changed anything except swap out feta for goat cheese. But it’s fantastic the way it is. I did throw salmon on the grill once (big green egg) — so good. Thanks for the recipe. It’s definitely a keeper.
Thank you, Mike! I’m SO glad you like these tacos so much!! The goat cheese swap and grilling the salmon both sound delicious – I seriously need to make them that way ASAP. Thank you for taking the time to leave such an awesome comment, and I’m just happy to provide a recipe that you enjoy so much! Cheers!