As you’ve probably seen in other posts here on my blog, you’ve noticed that I like tacos. Sometimes, a traditional ground beef taco hits the spot, but in this scenario, we wanted to enjoy some of the deliciously amazing Salmon and Sable salmon that we had in the freezer. Now, especially during these Coronavirus times, it has been a life saver to have a stash of their amazing salmon on hand for meals.

This recipe blends a variety of textures into an amazing meal. So good, indeed, that we made these for dinner one night and then again a few days later for lunch. There is nothing better than a work-from-home day where the lunch hour occurs on the back patio, dining on gourmet, homemade salmon tacos.

Stretchy, flavorful flour tortillas. Spicy, succulent salmon. Crunchy citrus slaw. A spicy cream. Exquisite.

On to the cooking

We started this recipe with two portions of King Salmon. I started by placing the salmon, skin-side down, on a sheet of butcher paper. I seasoned each piece with two different rub blends from Spiceology: First, a dusting of their Adobo Honey rub, followed by a coating of my own Spicy Bloody Mary rub. The combo of these two seasonings really packed loads of flavor and ample amounts of heat. King Salmon benefits from a rich and vibrant red coloring that is only further accented by the red tones both rubs. Next, squeeze a fresh lime on the salmon then add the seasonings to seal the flavor onto the fish.

I set my Traeger to 375° and once the grill was hot, placed the salmon on the paper right in the middle of the grill. Because of the application I had envisioned (chunks of salmon in the tacos), I sought to cook the salmon to an internal temperature of 130°.

Slaw’s in town

While the salmon grilled, we whipped up a quick citrusy slaw to enliven the fish. Using what we had on hand, this slaw included thinly sliced green cabbage, a bit of thinly sliced red and green onion, a few tablespoons of red bell pepper, some freshly chopped jalapeno, a squeeze of lime juice, a dash of salt, a dab of olive oil and generous drips of honey. I seasoned it with a bit of garlic powder and ground cumin to amp up the flavor.

For this cook, I wanted the slaw to be crunchy and flavorful but diced pretty small so that it didn’t overpower the fish. By making the slaw right before we served it, the cabbage stayed nice and crisp. A dash of honey in the mix mellowed out the acid of the lime juice and provided a balance of flavors.

To finish off the salmon tacos, we made a sriracha crema: equal parts sour cream and mayo, mixed with a good helping of sriracha, a squeeze of lime and a bit of honey, and you have the perfect creamy sauce to top off this dish.

You’ll notice that I used honey in all three parts: the honey adobo seasoning, the slaw, and the delectable crema. This entwined the flavors masterfully without being overpowering. Take notice that the lime accents throughout the dish benefited from just a touch of honey to balance the acidity. But trust me, there was still plenty of tang in this dish.

We always use Caramelo tortillas which are amazing sonoran-style handmade tortillas. We keep them in the freezer then cook them for just 30-60 seconds per side on a hot pan. They’re stretchy, flavorful, and the ideal vessel for any style of taco.

Assembly required

To assemble, we started with a freshly-cooked tortilla. A smear of the sriracha crema, topped with a handful of our slaw and nice, big juicy chunks of Traeger grilled salmon is all you need. Add a squeeze of lime and a few freshly plucked cilantro leaves and you have a world class taco on your plate.

Note: this recipe could be adapted to use any kind of fish (or shrimp) and could include a smorgasbord of whatever you have on hand in the fridge to craft a from-scratch slaw. Also, the crema is adaptable to whatever hot sauce you have on hand. Easy. Fresh, light and scrumptious.

Watch my video here on Instagram to see the whole cook!