Beer-Battered Deep Fried Cauliflower Tacos

Take a look around at current restaurant offerings, blog recipes, as well as popular culture in general, and you’ll see that cauliflower is all the rage.  It began several years ago with the invention of cauliflower wings, or “cauli wings”, when somebody bright, or “multiple bright persons”, noticed that the shape of a cauliflower floret slightly resembled that of a miniature chicken leg.

“Hmmmmmmm…”, said he or she thoughtfully.  “The vegan world is clearly itching for a chicken wing replacement at restaurants, bars, and super bowl parties.  Why don’t I batter that, deep-fry the hell out of it, and slather it with Buffalo wing sauce.”

Also, because the thought of battering, deep-frying, and slathering Buffalo sauce on broccoli was quite a bit less appealing, this(these) bright individual(s) settled on cauli wings… and the world was never the same.

Thanks to the overwhelming success of cauli wings, we are now inundated with cauliflower products… riced cauliflower, pizza crust made from cauliflower, alfredo sauce made from cauliflower, cauliflower cheese, cauliflower “steaks”…  You can even find recipes and videos online showing how to make beer-can cauliflower.

And then there’s my current favorite… Cauliflower Tacos!!!

I’m not exactly sure where the idea to make this cruciferous staple the highlight of a basic taco originated, but I’m happy to tell you that it works beautifully.  Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed multiple variations of this dish at local establishments, and they’ve all been quite tasty.

Of course, when I repeatedly enjoy a vegan entrée while dining out, the subsequent mission is to successfully duplicate the dish in my own kitchen.  Over the weekend, I was able to do just that, creating a beautiful collection of tacos made with beer-battered deep fried cauliflower, along with a handful of colorful, healthy toppings.

Want to make them yourself?  Read on for the process…

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 avacado (or pre-made guacamole)
• 1 batch of soft or hard taco shells
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 jar of your favorite hot sauce
• 1 head of red cabbage – you can always get pre-shredded, but you’ll pay MORE!!!
• 1 bunch of scallions
• Rice of your choice
• Light olive oil for frying

The Beer Batter

This is basically the same beer batter I use for my world-famous Sweet ‘n Sour Tofu recipe.  (By world-famous, what I mean is that almost three people think it’s awesome.)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• 1 cup of your favorite mellow lager or amber ale (I like a nice Oktoberfest for this purpose.  Also, I would stay away from IPAs, unless you want your tofu tasting hoppy and bitter)

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together.  Gently pour the beer into the dry ingredients to minimize fizzing, expansion, and a possible giant, overflowing head.  Mix together with a fork, breaking up any large lumps that form.  Hold off on adding the beer until just before you’re set to batter and fry the cauliflower.

Prepping the Cauliflower

Fill a mediumish-to-large stock pot about two-thirds full with water and turn your burner on high.  While the water comes to a boil, cut up the head of cauliflower into medium-sized florets.  You don’t want your pieces to be too large, as attempting to bite into a taco filled with monstrous-sized cauliflower would be cumbersome, messy, and frankly, downright heinous.

On the other hand, don’t cut them too small.  We’re not trying to make cauliflower meal.  Use your best judgement, as well as the life skills you’ve acquired up to this point, to make good choices about the size of your cauliflower florets.  I’m certain you’ll manage.  Once the water has come to a boil, toss in the cauliflower, boil for about 6 minutes, and then drain immediately, rinsing with cold water to stop any further steaming and softening.  Set aside.

Cooking the Rice

This is pretty self-explanatory.  Cook the rice.

Also, now is the time to cut up and prepare your toppings.  You can always use lettuce, but I prefer cutting up red cabbage to give my tacos some extra color, as well as a powerful antioxidant punch.  In addition, I make a batch of guacamole and mix in a few spoonfuls of salsa (I recommend fire-roasted corn salsa) for extra flavor.

Putting It All Together

Begin heating a heavy cast-iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat, or just a bit hotter (6 out of 10 on burner).  After a few minutes, add about ¾ to an inch of oil to the skillet.  While your oil is heating, line a large cookie sheet with 2-3 layers of paper towels and keep it nearby.  You’ll also want to have a set of stainless steel tongs with a long handle to safely agitate and remove the cauliflower from the hot oil.

Once you’ve added the beer to the dry ingredients and prepared the batter, dip individual cauliflower florets completely into the batter to get them fully coated, hold them above the container to let any excess drip off, then drop them carefully into the hot oil.  Beware of spattering oil.  You’ll probably have to fry three or four batches, depending on the size of your skillet.  As far as batch size, you can fry enough to loosely cover the bottom of the skillet.  But be sure that the florets can move around freely without crowding each other.  If any stick together, wedge the tongs between the attached pieces to gently separate them.

After five minutes, you can use the tongs to begin checking the underside of the individual florets, which should be brown and crispy, but not burnt.  See the pictures above.  I find that 6-7 minutes on each side is just about right.  As each batch is completed, remove the individual florets from the skillet and spread them on the baking sheet where they’ll cool, as the paper towels soak up excess oil.  Be sure to hold the baking sheet near the skillet when unloading the cauliflower, as you don’t want to drip hot oil everywhere.

Once all of the cauliflower has been fried, dump it into a large mixing bowl, add several liberal squirts of your favorite hot sauce, and mix to combine thoroughly.

And finally, the payoff… Add 3-4 florets to a soft or hard taco shell, load up with your favorite toppings and sauces, and sink your teeth into your wondrous culinary creation of beer-battered cruciferous bliss.

Don’t forget to eat the rice.  And take lots of pictures!  That’s what foodies do.