Drinking is a training no-no.
Let’s be honest… I indulge on cheat day and sometimes at night I sacrifice a carb for a wine.
Booze isn’t just for drinking though! It makes for a wonderful marinade. So wonderful that I have made this Tequila-Lime Tilapia dish 4 times in as many weeks (that NEVER happens). It is a great dish to make in bulk to take for lunch throughout the week!
My trainer insists that booze doesn’t completely cook out. We should be so lucky. I don’t believe it. I’ve eaten a lot of this tilapia and didn’t feel the least bit buzzed.
A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory DID show that alcohol content diminishes with cooking time. When food is baked or simmered for 15 minutes, 40% of the alcohol will be retained. After an hour, 25% remains. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal here, as this is just a marinade and the amount of alcohol in an individual serving will be minimal.
Adding liquor and/or citrus to recipes has always made me a little nervous. It seems all too easy to add too much. The recipe has taught me to let go of that fear. More is more (to an extent… that time my aunt challenged me to a margarita contest wasn’t my finest moment).
Like chicken or tofu, tilapia is a blank canvas; it will take on whatever flavor you soak it in. The bright tang from the lime and smooth silver tequila really shine here. I love the garlic and the warm, almost peppery quality of the cumin.
This is one place you don’t want to go overboard with the chili powder. Remember, you can always add more but you can’t take it back. Just a hint of heat on the end is all you need with the delicate fish.
Ever the Mexican fan, I served mine tostada style (read: I over-stuff what was originally going to be a taco) over a corn tortilla with salsa, spinach, red pepper, cucumber, and cilantro. I guarantee you this is more fresh, healthier, and just as tasty as what you find at your local El Whatchamacalit.
I think this would also be good with tofu for my plant-based friends. Please let me know if you try it!
*Important note* Don’t use this as an excuse to rid yourself of crappy alcohol. Just like drinking bad booze, cooking with bad booze won’t have good results. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t eat it (this applies to cooking with wine, too).
Tequila-Lime Tilapia
- 3 T fresh lime juice (1 medium lime)
- 3 T tequila (I used Patron Silver)
- 3 T fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 T red onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 lb tilapia (or other white fish)
Combine all ingredients except the fish in a resealable plastic bag.
Add fish, seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 min – 1 hour, turning once.
Heat grill pan (or grill) to med-high, and spray with oil or PAM. Remove fish from marinade and place in pan to grill for ~3-4 mins each side, or until the fish is no longer translucent in the center (it will vary depending on the thickness of the fillets).
Remove from heat and allow to rest a moment before serving.
Optional: garnish with lime wedges and fresh cilantro.
Serves 4.
***
I would say something insightful about the nutritional content of seafood… but I’m feeling a little loopy after my fish tacos…. *hiccup*
What is your favorite Mexican dish?
Have you ever cooked with booze? Any recipes to share?
These look so good! The only cooking I’ve done with alcohol was with wine and I only used a little bit because I was nervous. I definitely need to let go of that fear and embrace it! 😉
wine is a great one to start with – think of it like vinegar. You can use the same amounts (Maybe a little more). I love to sub white wine for rice or white balsamic vinegar.
I seriously love tilapia, what a great flavor combo
These sound so good! I have some limes that are in desperate need to be used up and we just bought a ton (almost) of tilapia from Costco! I see dinner in our near future! I have cooked with booze, but I don’t do it often. Not because of the alcohol it leaves behind, but more of the flavor. It has to be in just the right dish and not over powering.
I love using white wine when I cook, especially with a fish like tilapia. It adds such a nice flavour!
Whenever I try to make a taco, it ends up being a tostada…over-stuffers, unite. 🙂
This does sound awesome. I’m glad you get to indulge every once in a while, and that your training regimen doesn’t mean you don’t eat delicious food every day. How is it all going, by the way?
Of course! Indulging is a key for sticking to eating clean most of the time.
going well – thanks for asking! It’s tough, but really rewarding.
I *hope* all liquor doesn’t cook out… That’s why I love dessert fondue so much. I add fruit and suddenly my dessert is a super free-radical fighting powerhouse… Or at least that’s how I rationalize it.
That and sangria, which is basically healthy, right? What with the wine and fruit and all…
LOL! Fondue definitely has more alcohol remaining since it’s cooked a a lower temp and for less time. Heers to free-radical defense!
My go-to Mexican is veggie chili. It’s just so easy and comforting.
I like to add some leftover red wine to my home-made marinara sauce. I pour it in after the onions are getting translucent, let it boil down at high heat for a few minutes, and then I add the canned tomatoes. Delicious!
Oh, and I sometimes ate a dash of rum to my cake batter before baking. That smells incredible.
That chili does sound good! Do you have a good recipe?
Not a real recipe, I always just wing it: chop and sautee onion and garlic, add canned tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, a small can of sweet corn, one bay leaf, salt, let simmer for 10 min, add salsa/sriracha, salt, and pepper to taste.
Oh, and a chopped red bell pepper!
Sounds fabulous – thanks!
I love cooking with wine but I’ve never tried tequila. I used to be the only one of my friends that could drink tequila without feeling queazy, and I could never understand why…. until one particularly memorable evening 😉 The one and only time I’ve thrown up from alcohol! Now the smell of it makes me gag!
Ewwww… I think we all have that one drink. I don’t drink gin. 😉
Bean and cheese enchiladas always make me happy!
And vodka pasta is amazing. Funny story – I made some when my grandparents were staying with us and never quite told them that the delicious sauce they ended up loving had alcohol in it. In my defense, my mom told me not to!
LOL! My mom did the same thing with Kentucky Derby Pie. My dad got so pissed that she gave it to me (non-drinking) PawPaw!
Oh yes, booze and food are a great combination! And this would most certainly be a winner on tofu. 🙂 I think my fav boozy recipe is still the whiskey marinated tofu steak – that was a fantastic combination and one we should probably make again in our house!
I need to make that again! It was good with tempeh too!
Loved this recipe! I’ve never cooked with booze but I might just have to try this one out! Sounds awesome!
Please let me know if you do! You can always start with half the tequila and go from there. 🙂
We had talapia last night with a sweet potato in green beans. YUM! I actually wrote an article about cooking with booze for St. Patrick’s Day last year.
http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/jigger-of-alcohol-punches-up-irish-dishes-nq4d28k-141937083.html
It obviously featured Irish booze but it was really interesting to learn what alcohol can bring to a dish and even baked goods.
This is awesome – thank you so much for sharing! I particularly love booze in baked goods.
I dunno how you do it love! I couldn’t go a week without having at least one cocktail during the weekend. It is like a ritual for me on Fridays after hard weeks! You fish looks SO very tasty. Make it more boozy this time, maybe you will get a slight buzz.
Noooo… re-read the first part? I sometimes sub a drink for a carb. 😉
oh hey, i’ve got all these ingredients. guess what i’m having for dinner tonight?
Margaritas? 😉
margarita tilapia smoothies. kidding. gross. 😛
I’m going to pretend like I didn’t see this. *gag*
Gorgeous tasty lookin’ food girl! 😀 I love fish as it’s easiiiiiilllyyyy one of my FAVE foods ever. And although I don’t like the taste of alcohol in itself, I do love it in food because it makes it taste so much stronger and complex! I’ve only used it in pasta and desserts! Tiramisu is one of my favorites. I bet it’s yours too? hehe
I absolutely LOVE tequila, patron especially, and love fish, so this is PERFECT! yum! I agree – cheap alcohol never is good, whether it is in cooking for drinking, ha ha. If I treat myself to fancy bottle of patron I will definitely be making this 🙂
LOL you’re such a booze snob and I love it.
I can’t help myself… LOL!
Hey! I just wanted to let you know I gave you a Versatile Blogger Award over on my blog, Treats With a Twist! You inspire me with your healthy recipes and hard-core training! Get it girl! Here’s the link if you wanna check it out: http://www.treatswithatwist.com/2012/09/you-really-like-me.html
Much love!!
That’s so nice of you – thank you!!
I.cannot.wait. to make these. I’m practically drooling…all my fave ingredients…lime, cilantro, cumin. Wow.
This looks awesome! I love tilapia tacos and who doesn’t love a good shot of Patron?! 😉 Actually I guess a lot of people hate tequila but not this girl! Thanks for sharing your recipe! I like to cook put red wine in my spaghetti sauce for spaghetti squash spaghetti.
I think it’s that “bad story” liquor for a lot of people. LOL!
You know, I had such a bad bad experience with drinking too much tequila (alone, with no tilapia) that as good as this recipe looks, I don’t think I could make it. It’s one of those things, I guess? haha. My favorite mexican dish would have to be a quesadilla or fajitas, either one is tasty in my books!
I understand completely! Maybe try rum?
I love tilapia and it’s an amazing lean source of protein. My grandma always makes it in this Mediterranean like sauce consisting of onions, carrots, tomatoes, and bay leave YUM! I’ve actually cook with wine once to make super amazing “poulet au paprika” (chicken in french), but I don’t know whether it was all of the cream i’ve used or the wine that gave it it’s awesome flavour 😛
I have never done tilapia Mediterranean-style. I’ll for sure try this out. Thank you!
mmmm that sounds good! I love me some tilapia!! I love hot and spicy mexican food!!
Tequila-Lime Tilapia – we would be all over that! sounds delicious.
we have used beer in recipes to make bread and meatballs. and of course used wine to make sauces in the past 😉
Beer meatballs?! Is that on your blog? Must try that out.
no not on the blog, it was a family/friends recipe that we make every year for our family’s Christmas party. it really is quite easy, use frozen meatballs and as they warm up mix in beer with whatever sauce you like. I believe that is how we pretty much make it, going off memory haha
Simple enough! Thank you. 🙂
What is your carb: fat: protein ratio?
I don’t track that.
You had me at tequila.
And I don’t even eat fish.
But I would really like to see how this works with tofu. Because I love tequila, and lime, and cilantro, and tacos, and… I could keep going, but I’m sure you have more important things to do.
I’ve only attempted to cook with wine once, many years ago. It was bad wine to begin with, so the dish (a risotto, I think?) was pretty bad. I was young and new to cooking. Maybe it’s time to explore this horizon a bit?
Heather says it would work… let me know if you try it! I may try it soon myself.
Risotto FOR SURE is one you have to use a good wine with. My fav is Amarone risotto. Ridiculously expensive in the States, unfortunately. 🙁
I don’t even eat fish and this is making me hungry. It looks really good, especially with those big beautiful cilantro leaves. Mmmm cilantro…..
Does drinking while your cooking count as cooking with booze?
LOL! I think so. 🙂
Nice note on the quality…I couldn’t agree with you more! I LOVE cooking with wine! I’ve only used the hard stuff a couple of times…like the rum spiked pumpkin pie (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pumpkin_pie_with_rum.html) I made for my very FIRST hosted Thanksgiving a couple of years ago…actually that was when I started my blog! Yay! It was pretty tasty…but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more booziness! 😉
I need to try this tilapia. I haven’t had tilapia in YEARS because my ex used to cook it the SAME way every time we bought it and I got burnt out on it fast…now when I look at it, all I taste is Dale’s marinade…ick!
Favorite Mexican dish: I used to live for chimichangas but since they are like gut busters for me now, I usually stick with something light…without a lot of cheese…not exactly easy to do in most places, but I did have a pretty mean dish of shrimp tacos one of the last times I went out! Mmm, shrimp! 😀
Mmmmm… RUMpkin pie!
This tastes NOTHING like Dales, I promise you. What’s funny is that I was the same way – I had an ex that would make tilapia and a potato everyday for breakfast. The smell of either used to make me shudder.
That wrap looks soooo delish and refreshing!
Fajitas and nachos are definitely my fave!
Looks awesome!!! Love the combinations 🙂
I’m with you on this – booze does make for a lovely marinade! If you made this four times this week, I sort of have to try it. 🙂
I do enjoy cooking with booze, especially when making a tomato sauce.
The tilapia looks quite tasty and I can see why you’ve had it so many times…anything in a taco tastes better.
Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to try this! 🙂