Tips for Cooking Fish While RVing (+ Easy Recipe)

This quick and easy spicy fish tacos recipe is so simple to throw together and full of flavor. You can get dinner on the table quickly, not to mention have an RV full of happy tummies.

There are two main ingredients that I steer clear of cooking in our RV. The first is cauliflower because I think it smells like dirty feet. To clarify, it smells the way I think dirty feet would smell. Ew.

The second is fish. Everyone knows that lingering odor. It lasts and lasts. And in a small indoor space like an RV, you do not want odors to stick around. Yes, it’s healthy. But that doesn’t trump the stinky.

If you cook a lot in your RV then you know that whatever you cook, everything smells like it for a while. I do cook bacon in the RV sometimes because I don’t know about you, but I’m ok with having my clothes smell like bacon. Because…bacon. Just don’t go hiking anytime soon. You don’t want to smell like a tasty snack.

So, my amazing tip on cooking fish in your RV is…don’t do it. I know, mind-blowing tip. Thankfully, if you love fish as much as I do, there are a few ways to cook it outside the RV.

Related Reading: Awesome Travel Trailers with Outdoor Kitchens

Use Your Outdoor Kitchen

We loved our outdoor kitchen and used it quite a bit. Here I am with my son when we were whipping up his specialty – a cheese quesadilla – at camp.

These are the ways we used our outdoor kitchen when RV camping:

• When cooking anything that had a strong smell, like fish
• When we needed to tag team for dinner; I would use one kitchen and Todd would use the other
• When it was so incredibly hot in the RV that even using the burners would heat it up and make it even more uncomfortable
• When cooking something that would splash hot oil

Our outdoor kitchen had two burners and almost as much counter space as the interior kitchen. It also had a small refrigerator we used for drinks, cheese, and other items that we had to keep cold.

One accessory we used quite a bit in the outdoor kitchen, was a cast iron griddle/grill combo. I have always liked the Lodge brand for cast iron cookware. This griddle does not disappoint. It’s versatile and incredibly useful.

If we end up buying another travel trailer, an outdoor kitchen will be at the top of my list. We’ve noticed that some of the newer models are replacing the burners on the outdoor kitchens with a grill. So if you’re shopping for a new rig, be sure to open the outdoor kitchen to see what it includes.

Grill The Fish

I love grilled fish. It turns out so flaky and delicious, but grilling it can be tricky without the right tools. I recommend that you use a grill basket to cook your fish. It makes turning the fish a breeze without it flaking apart.

Grill Basket with Handle to Enclose Food

Open Grill Basket

The open grill basket can be placed straight on top of the grill for cooking vegetables, shrimp and other meats.  It’s great for any cuts that will fall through the grill. You can even use it to grill bacon.

I recommend you clean it fairly soon after it cools off from cooking. Rinse and use a soft brush or cleaning cloth. Avoid using a hard metal or grill scraper to clean the basket because it will scratch the non-stick surface.

The first grill basket we owned worked great, but the nonstick coating started to flake off after I scrubbed it with a Brillo pad. Oops. I didn’t feel comfortable grilling with it after that as I didn’t want the coating to peel off into the kids’ food.

Rolling Grill Basket

Another option is another grilling basket that is designed like a cylinder. It’s called a rolling grill basket. That makes sense because instead of flipping the basket over to cook both sides of your food, you simple roll it to one side or another. It looks super easy and gets high reviews.

That said, you still need to watch the food closely and perhaps give it a shake to ensure items don’t get stuck in the center so that prevent uneven cooking.

Cook Meals In Foil Packets

Another way to cook fish while camping and RVing, is in a foil packet. I love foil packet meals because they are so incredibly easy to not only make, but also to clean up.

We often make foil packet meals when we’re RV camping. Some are baked. Others are simply placed right on the grill. Or, if there campground allows wood fires, the single packets can be placed on the hot coals.

It’s that simple. All of these simple methods will allow you to cook fish (or dirty feet cauliflower) while camping and RVing without stinking up your home on wheels.

Now, let’s get to the recipe, shall we?

Related Reading: Foil Packet Meals for Easy Camp Cooking

For some reason, cooking fish used to always intimidate me. I had this idea that (a) it was only for special occasions (I mean, who has fish tacos on…let’s say a Thursday?) and (b) it was hard to work with and cook just right.

Boy was I wrong.

Quite the contrary. This taco recipe is so fast and so simple, that it has made its way into my weeknight meal rotation. Spicy tacos are now my go to meal whenever I have limited time to get dinner on the table.

What Makes This Recipe So Fast and Easy?

For this recipe, I’ve used tilapia. I like the way it tastes, it’s easy to cook and I have vacuumed sealed bags of tilapia in my freezer at home all the time.

When I’m short on time or just didn’t think ahead on what we’re having for dinner, I place a couple packs of vacuum-sealed frozen tilapia in a bowl of cold water to thaw. That takes about 15-minutesr.

While the fish is thawing, I’ll whip up a jalapeno-kiwi pico de gallo salsa or another topping, like shredded purple cabbage (add lime, mayo and sour cream), as well as a lime cream I like to serve with it.

What also makes this recipe come together so quickly, is the easy mix I use to coat the fish. It only requires a few ingredients, which is always nice when you’re in a rush. Plus, you only have to cook the fish 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Easy peasy.

Related Reading: Simple Recipe for Jalapeno-Kiwi Pico de Gallo

How to Make These Easy Spicy Fish Tacos

Here are the ingredients and the steps for this yummy spicy fish taco recipe:

Ingredients

These are the ingredients:

• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp of lime zest
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch
• salt and pepper
• 4 Tilapia fillets
• cooking oil
• 6 – 8 flour tortillas
• Cilantro, roughly chopped (if desired)

8-Step Recipe Instructions

Here are the eight simple steps for cooking the tacos:

1. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the smoked paprika, chili powder, lime zest and corn starch in a bowl.
3. Sprinkle the fish fillets with the corn starch mixture, gently rubbing it into fillets for an even coat
4. Heat cooking oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. (To make sure oil is hot enough to add the fish, sprinkle a little of the cornstarch mixture in the oil. If it sizzles, it’s ready.)
5. Add Tilapia and cook 3 – 4 minutes per side, until browned and lightly crisp.
6. After it’s done, set it on a paper-towel-lined plate.
7. Heat flour tortillas in the microwave
8. To serve, break tilapia into small chunks, top with pico de gallo, lime crema and cilantro

What to Serve as Toppings for Spicy Fish Tacos

As I mentioned, I like to serve a fruit salsa, like this Jalapeno-Kiwi Pico de Gallo, as well as with lime crema with these spicy fish tacos.

You could also serve fish tacos with:

• Cabbage slaw
• Chipotle crema
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Sliced scallions

Are you ready to make these yourself? Here’s your printable recipe. Enjoy!

Easy Spicy Fish Tacos

Yield: 4 people

This quick and easy spicy fish tacos recipe is so simple to throw together and full of flavor. You can get dinner on the table quickly, not to mention have a house full of happy tummies.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• salt and pepper
• 4 Tilapia fillets
• cooking oil
• 6-8  flour tortillas
• Cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the smoked paprika, chili powder, lime zest and corn starch in a bowl.
3. Sprinkle the fish fillets with the corn starch mixture, gently rubbing it into fillets for an even coat
4. Heat cooking oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. (To make sure oil is hot enough to add the fish, sprinkle a little of the cornstarch mixture in the oil. If it sizzles, it’s ready.)
5. Add Tilapia and cook 3 – 4 minutes per side, until browned and lightly crisp.
6. After it’s done, set it on a paper-towel-lined plate.
7. Heat flour tortillas in the microwave
8. To serve, break tilapia into small chunks, top with pico de gallo, lime crema and cilantro

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