Since Spork and I both like going to taquerias, I wanted something along those lines. My goal was more Mexican than Tex-Mex.
Since I was in a lazy experimentin' mood, I started by marinating the beef in Goya Mojo Criolla marinade. I saw some guy on tv use it for fajitas. No, it wasn't a cooking show, it was a home improvement show, but one of the guys on the crew did all the cooking and it looked gooooooood.
We have a lot of peppers ripening in the garden right now, so I sliced up the sweet ones, along with an onion, and pan-fried them in butter with a little fajita seasoning. Normally I would use Goya Adobo with Pepper for the seasoning, but there appears to be some boycott in this town on that particular spice mix. Who doesn't like adobo seasoning?
For adornment purposes, I had limes, avocodo and cilantro. I also made a little batch of pico de gallo to go with it.
I gave the tortillas a good blistering. Can't stands 'em raw!
Then I fried the meat in batches (and an absurd amount of butter), cooking it pretty hot until the marinade steamed off and the meat took on a nice char. I made sure to spill some on the stove, too. Have to leave something for the sous-chef to clean up.
Time to eat, baby!
Spork made himself a little princess taco. See how it's all dainty and cute? It's okay, though, he made up for it by having several princess tacos.
I, on the other hand, overserved myself. I stuffed mine so full I had to force it closed with my fork. And yes, I did exactly the same on the second one.
Overall, I was pleased with the way the tacos turned out, however inauthentic they may be. Next time I'll either buy a smaller package of meat or divide it up into smaller quantities. Two and a half pounds of shredded beef is a lot to cook at once*.
*Spork did not feel that the quantity was a problem.
9 comments:
looking at the food porn made me need to go eat a bit of the cold charred beef.
i was reading a cookbook that said the best crispy meat tacos were fried AFTER they were stuffed - ever heard of this?
Hmmmm, interesting... Did it say whether it meant pan fried or deep fried? Jack in the Box has those gross-but-tasty deep fried ones, but I also read about some from an Austin restaurant. Here's the description:
Two tortillas were dipped in oil and wrapped around several thick slices of smoked brisket, placed on a hot griddle with a weight on top and then flipped and griddled on the other side. They came to the table crunchy but chewy, with chopped onions and cilantro, cold lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole to shove inside the taco. The wild variation in temperatures and textures is unbelievable. I have been back to eat those tacos at least a dozen times.
it was in this book listed as "the original el fenix taco" and i love el fenix
http://www.amazon.com/Tex-Mex-Cookbook-History-Recipes-Photos/dp/0767914880/ref=pd_cp_b_3?pf_rd_p=413864201&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0007US9JW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1ACQMCRZPXA23H6WMV3E
I got this book from the library. I'm going to have to buy it. :)
Yeah, I'm eye-ing that cookbook, too. I may have to kick Spork's books off the book shelf, if I get too many more cookbooks.
So, are the El Fenix tacos puffy tacos? (I have to attribute that to Spork - he came up with the idea)
If you kick my books off that shelf then there will be no more home made bacon.
Well, I was sure that you had some books on that shelf other than cookbooks, but when I went back and looked, there weren't. I guess I was wrrrr... wrrroo... Oh, you know what I mean!
You've already blown it sister. The bacon is mine.
Well, that's too bad. I was thinking about making a pie this weekend. I won't have the strength for it without bacon.
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