Outer Banks Seafood Tacos
Seafood tacos on the Outer Banks are of no shortage. It’s a matter of catch and cook that makes them popular. Basically, whichever freshly caught seafood came in that day is what is wrapped up in these bites of tortilla heaven and served. And my goodness our fabulous OBX Restaurants with seafood tacos serve up the most unique tastes on the east coast.
Outer Banks Seafood tacos are simple, yet delicious!
Something about making up a bevy of tuna tacos, shrimp tacos, or even tacos made with mahi or grouper brings a smile to the dinner table. Seafood tacos are fun, and washing them down with a cold beverage makes for a pretty good summer day.
Fortunately, we have some outstanding restaurants on the Outer Banks that make fantastic seafood tacos—places like Shipwrecks Taphouse & Grill in Kitty Hawk, Goombays in Kill Devil Hills, Miller’s Waterfront, and Tortugas Lie in Nags Head.
And even better still, those places have been kind enough to share their taco recipes with us.
Goombays Grille & Raw Bar – TUNA Tacos
Jamaican Jerk spiced tuna with black beans and rice flour tortillas, and all the fixins to roll your own! Pairs perfectly with a Goombays Smash!
Ingredients:
5oz of fresh local tuna
Jerk seasoning
Soy bean oil
Tortillas
2 oz Shredded cheese
2 oz Jalapeños
2 oz Tomato
3 oz Iceberg lettuce
Black beans
Marinate tuna for 2-4 hrs with jerk seasoning and soy bean oil.
Add filet to flat top or pan to sear. Cook for 4-6 min.
Dice on flat top once cooked.
Grill four tortillas front back, add tuna, jalapeños, onions, chopped tomatos, lettuce and shredded cheese.
Serve with a side of black beans and rice topped with homemade salsa.
Miller’s Waterfront Restaurant- Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients:
½ lb tail off 21/25 shrimp
2 ears of corn
2 poblano peppers
4 corn tortillas
Napa cabbage
Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses
Pico de gallo
Lightly coat shrimp with blackening seasoning, and pan sear. Once almost complete, add fresh corn cut from the stalk and diced up roasted poblano peppers. Heat flour/corn tortilla in a dry pan till just brown.
Build your taco by first adding sliced Napa cabbage topped with cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Add from the saute pan the shrimp and corn mixture. Finish with fresh-made pico de gallo and cilantro cream (recipe below). Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serves 4.
Cilantro Cream Sauce Ingredients:
½ cup mayo
½ cup cilantro
¼ cup buttermilk
1 green onion finely chopped
Pickled jalapeno to taste
1 lime
2 tsp mustard
Combine mayo, cilantro, buttermilk, green onion, mustard, pickled jalapeño, and juice from a lime; blend.
Shipwrecks Taphouse & Grill – BANG BANG TUNA Tacos
Ingredients:
6 oz Fresh Local Tuna Cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp Butter
2 Flour Tortillas
Salt and Pepper
Sriracha Mayo:
Mayo
Sweet Pickle Relish
Lemon Juice
Sriracha
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
Sweet Corn Salsa:
Fresh or Frozen Corn
Red Bell Pepper diced
Green Bell Pepper diced
Red Onion diced
Cilantro chopped
Fresh Garlic Minced
Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine.
Season tuna with salt and pepper to taste. Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add tuna and cook to preferred temperature. Roughly 3 minutes on each side for medium.
Warm flour tortillas. Construct tacos by adding 3-4 pieces of tuna and topping with sweet corn salsa and sriracha tartar.
Tortugas Lie – BAJA Fish Tacos
Tortugas’ Lie ‘Baja’ fish tacos are not the same fish tacos you could order in Tortugas’ a decade ago. When Richard, owner and kitchen manager of Tortugas’, came across a ‘better’ taco while surfing the Pacific coast of Mexico a couple years ago, he knew he had to bring it back to the Outer Banks. Tortugas’ makes it a priority to source fresh and local fish for their tacos, so the fish may change, but they are always prepared the same; lightly spiced and grilled to perfection. The dish works best with a light flakey fish so mahi is the first choice and typically the offered fish. Tortugas’ grills the mahi, melts shredded jack cheese on a warm taco shell, adds a healthy dose of sliced red cabbage, a sprinkling of cilantro, and tops it all off with a light and creamy taco sauce that is made in house. Don’t miss these tacos!
One taco:
4 oz grilled mahi, spiced with Tortugas’ housemade taco spices
2 oz chopped cabbage
Pinch of cilantro
2 oz shredded jack cheese
2 oz Tortugas’ housemade taco sauce
