With Cinco de Mayo this weekend, I was in the mood for something with a little bit of a kick. The tilapia with roasted jalapeno-lime butter dish is more of a Tex Mex item than something you’d find at a traditional Mexican restaurant. But it is a great tasting entree that your family will really enjoy.
I cooked this dish on my propane grill, but you could use a charcoal grill as well. You don’t have to regulate the temperature of your grill very much when cooking this, so it is an easy one that pretty much anyone can make. Cooking the fish in the corn husks sort of steams it and infuses the fish with the flavor of the corn. But the real flavor comes from the Jalapeneo-Lime butter. For my son’s plate, I just left the butter off. But my wife and I added extra to our plate to give the fish that great southwest flavor.
For the roasted Jalapeno-lime butter, set your grill to high and roast the jalepenos on all sides until charred. You’ll then peel and seed them, before combining with the lime juice, honey, and butter in the food processor.
For the fish, I chose tilapia because that is what was freshest at my local store, but you could also make this with something like red snapper. I found the dried corn husks on the Hispanic food aisle in the grocery store. Of course, you could also use fresh corn husks too. Just brush the fish fillets with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and then wrap them in the corn husks. I cut a couple of the husks into strips, which I used to tie the packets closed.
When cooking the fish, I grilled the packets for about 3 1/2 minutes on each side. When serving, I just arranged the packets on a large plate. You then cut open the packets and place a dollop of the roasted Jalapeno-Lime butter over the fish.
Overall, this dish was a hit with my family and is something your family is sure to enjoy.
- For the butter:
- 3 jalapeno peppers
- Olive oil for rubbing the peppers
- 1 cup fresh lime juice (12 to 16 medium limes)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- For the fish:
- 20 corn husks soaked in water for 2 hours
- 8 fish fillets (about 6 ounces each)
- Olive oil for brushing fillets and the corn husk packages
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Preheat the grill to high
- Rub the peppers with the olive oil and grill, turning until charred on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Peel and seed the peppers and coarsely chop.
- In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the lime juice to a boil and reduce to 1/4 cup.
- Place the reduced lime juice, jalapenos, honey, salt, and butter in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 min before use
- For the fish, preheat the grill to high
- Brush each fillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Remove the corn husks from the water and pat dry.
- Cut 2 or 3 husks into long, narrow strips. You should make about 16 strips.
- For each fillet, lay one corn husk flat on a work surface, place the fish inside, and top with a second corn husk.
- Using the long strips, tie each end to form a closed packet.
- Brush each packet with olive oil and grill about 3 1/2 minutes on each side.
- To serve, cut open each packet and top the fish with a dollop of the roasted jalapeno-lime butter.
