Beef Tacos

These beef tacos are the kind of weeknight meal I’ll prepare when I come home after a long day of meetings only to find the fridge devoid of anything even remotely inspirational. The kind of day when I’m almost tempted by my phone and a takeout menu that someone surreptitiously slipped under the door. Thankfully, stand-bys like these beef tacos are at the ready to save me from an almost-certainly bad meal and subsequent heartburn.There’s nothing fancy or even authentic about these tacos, but they’re a great quick meal that can be thrown together in as little as 10 minutes if you have a few basic pantry items prepared. Just make sure you stock some type of protein in the freezer, some onions, a spice mix, and a bag of masa harina (to make the tortillas). The rest are all condiments and embellishments that are nice to have, but aren’t necessary for this simple satisfying meal.

Yield:

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

1. 1/2 medium onion chopped
2. 2 cloves garlic minced
3. 1 lbs sliced or lean ground beef
4. 2 Tbs chili powder
5. 1 tsp kosher salt
6. 1/2 tsp sugar
7. .
8. For Serving:
9. ==============
10. 12 corn tortillas
11. 1 recipe salsa verde
12. cilantro
13. lime wedges

Directions

1. Heat a pan until hot then add a splash of oil along with the onions and garlic. Fry until the onions are just turning translucent, then add the beef, chili powder, salt and sugar.
2. Stir fry until the beef is cooked and there’s no liquid left at the bottom of the pan.
3. Heat the tortillas and serve with the beef, salsa verde, cilantro and lime wedges.

Notes

Carne Asada

Carne Asada, or “roast meat” is a Mexican dish that’s commonly associated with barbecues. The spices used vary by region, but carne asada is almost always made with thin, cheap cuts of beef such as skirt steak or hanger steak. They may not be the most tender cuts, but boy howdy! they sure pack a wallop of flavour.Not only does this Carne Asada do a good job balancing the salt and spices with the fresh tang of limes and cilantro, it’s cheap, and easy to make. The marinade helps tenderize the meat, and if you’re rushing off to a mid summer barbecue, you can always add a bit of kiwi to recruit the services of its enzymes. These microscopic thugs will gleefully beat the crap out of any uncooperative strands of protein in the meat.While you could just grill this up and eat it like a steak, I like chopping up the Carne Asada and stuffing it into fresh homemade tortillas to make tacos. It’s also great in a torta with some avocado and cilantro.

Yield:

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1. 1 skirt steak or 2 hanger steaks
2. .
3. For the Marinade:
4. =================
5. juice of 1 limes
6. 1/4 C olive oil
7. 1/4 C minced cilantro
8. 1-2 Serrano chillies minced (to taste)
9. 1 Tbs minced garlic
10. 1 tsp sugar
11. 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
12. 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
13. 1/4 tsp ground cumin seed
14. 2 tsp kosher salt (less if using table salt)
15. black pepper to taste
16. 1 Tbs pureed kiwi (optional)
17. .
18. For Garnish
19. =================
20. 1/4 C sweet onions minced
21. 1/4 cilantro minced
22. .
23. To Serve
24. =================
25. 1 batch of homemade tortillas

Directions

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a container with a lid that will fit the meat. Kiwi has a powerful enzyme called actinidin that breaks down protein, making it a great addition to the marinade if you don’t plan on letting the meat marinate overnight. Taste it and add more salt or sugar if needed. It should be relatively salty, but not so salty that it burns your tongue. The sugar is a personal preference thing. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar.
2. When you’re ready to grill the meat, remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. This helps ensure the Carne Asada will cook evenly. If you’re using a broiler, move the rack to the top position and turn the broiler on high, with a grilling rack on top of a baking sheet. Scrape any excess marinade off the meat and place the meat on the grill. Cook until nicely browned on one side, flip and brown the other side. Skirt steak will cook much faster than hanger steak, so be careful not to overcook it.
3. Transfer the Carne Asada to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Use a sharp knife to roughly chop up the meat then add it to a bowl with the sweet onions, cilantro, and any juices that accumulated on the baking sheet or cutting board.
4. Serve the Carne Asade with fresh tortillas and Pico De Gallo.

Notes

Niku Jaga - Beef With Potatoes And Carrots

If Japan had cowboys and burly lumberjacks, this would be their meal. It’s a real work horse of the Japanese home kitchen and quite literally translates to “meat and potatoes”. Being high in energy, low on prep time and very tasty, it’s no surprise why. This is also one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day, so you can make it in larger quantities and warm it up over rice for lunch.While each home has their own variation, I’m basing this roughly on my moms version. She typically uses ground beef, but I’ve replaced that here with thinly sliced end-cuts of rib-eye and added a little meyer lemon zest at the end to brighten up the sweet earthy flavor. While this is more or less the base-recipe you could really go on and add just about anything you want, sugar peas, bamboo, shirataki noodles, or even tofu (although if you left out the meat or potatoes, you’d probably have to rename it:-)It makes a great accompaniment to rice, but you could also turn it into a donburi by putting it over a bowl of rice and allowing the cooking liquid to seep in and flavour the rice below.

Yield:

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. canola oil
2. 1/2 small onion sliced
3. 1 tsp minced ginger
4. 1/3 lbs thinly sliced beef
5. 1 carrot cut into small pieces
6. 2 small potatoes peeled and cut into medium pieces
7. 1/4 C sake
8. 1/4 C water
9. 2 Tbs soy sauce
10. 2 Tbs mirin
11. 1 Tbs sugar
12. 1 scallion finely chopped
13. Meyer lemon zest

Directions

1. Put some oil in a pan over medium heat and saute the onions and ginger until wilted and fragrant. Add the beef and fry until brown. Toss in the carrots and potatoes, sake, water, soy sauce, mirin and sugar.
2. Cover and turn down to the heat to a low simmer and cook, tossing a few times until the potatoes are soft. Serve topped with scallions and a little lemon zest along with some rice.

Notes

Grilled Skirt Steak

 

Yield:

 

Ingredients

1. 2 whole pieces of skirt steak about 2 lbs
2. Kosher salt and freshly
3. ground black pepper
4. Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Heat grill to high and wipe it down with an oiled paper towel to create a non-stick surface.
2. Drizzle skirt steak with a little olive oil.
3. Season with plenty of salt and black pepper.
4. Grill steak until it's still slightly pink in the center. (4-5 minutes first side, 1-2 minutes on the second side).
5. Remove from grill and let it rest for a few minutes to allow the juices to settle.
6. Slice across the grain into thick pieces.

Notes

Six-Spice Hanger Steak

During a research trip to Hong Kong, food editor Ian Knauer discovered that every family has its own recipe for five-spice powder, a pivotal ingredient in so many Chinese dishes. He took things a step further by adding black peppercorns to the aromatic mix, which holds its own against the robust flavor of hanger steak. As for side dishes, this would be delicious with steamed rice and stir-fried bok choy, but your menu doesn’t have to be Asian—try it with a brightly dressed green salad and roasted potatoes.

Yield:

Serves 4 To 6

Ingredients

1. For the Steak:
2. =================
3. 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
4. 10 black peppercorns
5. 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
6. 1 teaspoon anise seeds
7. 1 (2-inch) piece cinnamon stick
8. 4 cloves
9. 2 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
10. 1 hanger steak (about 2 lb and 1 1/2 inches thick), center gristle removed
11. .
12. For the sauce:
13. =================
14. 1/4 cup soy sauce
15. 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (not seasoned)
16. 1 tablespoon water
17. 1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
18. 2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
19. 1 teaspoon minced shallot
20. 1 small garlic clove, minced
21. 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Directions

1. MAKE STEAK:
2. Preheat broiler and lightly oil rack of broiler pan.
3. Finely grind spices with brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt in grinder.
4. Pat steak dry, then sprinkle evenly with spice mixture and rub into meat. Broil steak 2 to 3 inches from heat, turning once, 7 to 12 minutes for medium-rare. Let steak rest on a plate at least 10 minutes.
5. MAKE SAUCE WHILE STEAK RESTS:
6. Heat sauce ingredients, except cilantro, with meat juices from plate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring, until warm. Stir in cilantro before serving.

Notes