Grilled Catfish Fajitas with Chipotle Salsa

The Grill
Gas:
Direct heat – medium (350ºF)
Clean oiled grate on lowest setting

Charcoal:
Direct heat – medium ash
12" x 12" charcoal bed (about 3 dozen coals)
Clean oiled grate on lowest setting

Wood:
Indirect heat – medium ash
12" x 12" 3-inch deep bed
Clean oiled grate set 4 inches above fire

Tools & Equipment
Long-handled tongs
Basting brush

Timing
Prep:
20 minutes Marinate:
2 to 8 hours
Grill:
10 minutes

Makes 8 fajitas

Ingredients

2 limes
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 /2 pounds catfish fillet, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups jarred salsa, any heat level
1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle
(Tabasco® Chipotle pepper sauce)
2 onions, peeled
8 large flour tortillas (8" to 10" diameter)
2 bell peppers (1 red and 1 yellow)
1/2 cup sour cream
Oil for coating grill grate

Directions

  1. Grate the zest from the limes into a large freezer-weight zipper-lock bag. Cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice of 1 lime into the bag. Reserve the remaining lime. Stir into the bag 1/4 cup of the oil, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Pour a few tablespoons this marinade into a small zipper-lock bag, seal, and refrigerate. Add the catfish to the large bag, seal, and turn to coat completely. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  2. Heat the grill as directed.
  3. For the salsa, mix the salsa, chipotle sauce, the juice from the reserved lime, 1/4 teaspoon of the remaining black pepper, remaining minced garlic clove and remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro. Finely chop 3 tablespoons of onion and stir into the salsa. Cover and set aside.
  4. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, remaining 1 tablespoon chili powder, remaining salt, and remaining pepper in a cup. Cut the remaining onions lengthwise into quarters, leaving the root end intact to hold the quarters together as they grill. Core, seed, and quarter the bell peppers. Brush the vegetables with the seasoned oil and set aside.
  5. Remove the catfish from the marinade pat dry and dip in the remaining seasoned oil.
  6. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the vegetables and the catfish strips until the vegetables are tender and the fish just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  7. Meanwhile, wrap the stack of tortillas in foil and warm over a very low-heat area of the grill, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  8. Allow guests to build the fajitas by filling each tortilla with catfish, vegetables, chipotle salsa, vinaigrette and sour cream.