Tue 21 Jun 2011
Last week at the farmer’s market I picked up a “butcher’s steak” from Deep Roots Meat. A few weeks before I noticed their ground beef in a case by the produce section at my local grocery store. It was the BEST ground beef I’ve ever had. I’ve cooked grass-fed ground beef before and found it good, however, this meat was spectacular. It needed no seasoning at all. It was sweet, beefy, amazing.
Anyhow, when I saw them at the farmer’s market I decided to get a cut that I hadn’t seen at the store. Originally I wanted a skirt steak to make some fajitas, however, they were out so Mr. Platt offered me a butcher’s steak instead. After some internet searching and this helpful wikipedia article I learned several things:
- butcher’s steak = hanger steak = onglet (French) = arrachera (Mexican)
- well, actually arrachera is skirt steak that has been specially prepared by a Mexican butcher to be extra tender
- the piece of meet I had needed to be cooked quickly to medium rare else it would be tough
After my searching I was left with a dilemma: continue on my plan of fajitas OR cook the steak in the traditional french manner with shallots. Ultimately I wanted Mexican so I decided to cook the meat in the traditional French manner (i.e. broil it to medium rare) then cut it into slices to make tacos. Good decision! These were the best Mexican tacos I’ve made yet.
| Tacos de Arrachera |
- Marinade:
- 1 butcher’s steak (approximately 1 lb)
- 1/2 – 1 bottle light beer
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Tomato-chile salsa:
- 2 tomatoes, chopped in large pieces
- 2 jalapeños, chopped in large pieces
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chiles de arbol
- Onions & cilantro:
- 1 onion, diced
- 3/4 cup cilantro, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 16 corn tortillas
- Marinate the meat: Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add meat and marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight.
- Make the tomato-chile salsa: Soak the chiles de arbol in boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Combine tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, and whole garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Toss with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a 425°F oven for 20 minutes. Purée everything in a blender and salt to taste.
Roasting the tomato-chile salsa
- Make the onions & cilantro: Combine onions, cilantro and lemon in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the meat: Preheat broiler. Place marinated steak (sans marinade) on a baking sheet (use aluminum foil) or a large cast iron skillet. Broil for 4 minutes per side for medium rare; 5 minutes per side for medium. Take meat out of the oven and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into thin slices and place in a bowl to serve.
- Make corn tortillas or heat store bought.
- Serve 3-4 tortillas on each plate with a few slices of meat, a little onion & cilantro mixture, and tomato-chile salsa to your taste. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.
Epicurious.com has nice instructions for reheating corn tortillas.
You’ll find chiles de arbol at Mexican groceries. If you cannot find them you can leave them out and substitute a little cayenne. With the chiles this sauce has a medium-level kick.
Get ready to make tacos: Meat, sauces & fresh tortillas.
