Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa and Guajillo Hot Sauce

I love street tacos. The truck-turned-taco-stand that drives up onto the beach, the greasy little street carts or outdoor huts or really anywhere in Mexico (and beyond) selling these.

Usually priced at $1 each, I think they taste even better eaten standing up and with a cold Tecate.

My favorite place to go in Mexico for it's proximity and price is Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) and I eat lots of these when I'm down there.

I'll focus on the recipe, but let me take a little detour here to introduce my darling friend Melanie and her travel blog Leave Your Watch. Take a peek - she goes into much more detail about Rocky Point and beyond. Feliz Viaje!

Back to the tacos. I used flour tortillas here because at the grocery store today they were making them fresh and I couldn't resist. Typically I would go traditional and use corn. Double wrapping the tortillas can help prevent breakage.

I can't get enough of the creamy avocado salsa that is typically served with the tacos, so I improvised a recipe. I also made my own hot sauce with dried guajillo chilis and it's very hot, but delicious.

Here are links to some other recipes for carne asada.
A narrative recipe for a Carne Asada feast from Immaeatchu
The Guilty Carnivore's recipe for creating an at-home taqueria
Elise's beautiful carne asada recipe from Simply Recipes

Carne Asada Street Tacos:
(makes about 12 tacos, depending on size of tortillas and how much you fill them)
1 lb eye of round or top round beef
2 dozen small corn tortillas (or flour, although corn is traditional)
Chopped onion
Chopped cilantro
Limes
Chili powder
Salt & Pepper
Cumin

Directions:
Chop beef into small strips or cubes. Toss with juice of 3-4 limes and other seasonings and let sit (can do way ahead for best flavor).

Using a grill pan (or a griddle or saute pan if you don't have one), grill meat over high heat just until done. Meanwhile, lay tortillas over grill to heat through. Serve tacos by placing the beef on the tortilla, topping with cilantro and onion and salsas to taste. Squeeze a lime over the taco just before eating.


Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa:

3 tomatillos, grilled or roasted whole
2 whole serrano chili peppers
2 avocados
Salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic
2 tbs chopped onion
2 tbs chopped cilantro

Directions:
Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Makes about 2 cups.

Guajillo Hot Sauce:

5-6 whole dried guajillo chilis (seeds dumped if you are worried about heat)
1 c hot water
3-4 cloves garlic
Salt
1/4 c vinegar
2 tbs chopped onion

Directions:
Blend all ingredients until liquified. Serve. Warning - this is HOT sauce. Makes about 1.5 cups.

Red Currant Jam

When I saw a little carton of red currants at Trader Joe's for the first time, I couldn't resist buying them. Having no plan but adoring their cute mini-grapeness and cranberry-esque color, they came home with me.

I ended up making a simple jam, which I ate with Brie and water crackers. It was tart and sweet and such a good partner for the Brie (although what isn't delicious with brie?) I think it would also be great as a sauce for meat, similar to a cranberry sauce.

Red Currant Jam:
(makes about 1/2 c)
1 small carton red currants
1/4 c brandy
2 tbs sugar (or to taste)

Directions:
Stem the currants, allow to come to a boil with other ingredients, simmer until desired thickness.

Oh Mexico...

I need a vacation...so I am taking (a sadly short) one. Mexico...and to get in the mood, I am listening to some Jimmy Buffet, making this fire roasted salsa and drinking Mexican beer. Delicious and relaxing on all fronts. This picture is from last years trip...new ones will appear "Come Monday." The best news? No phones, no TV and it's shrimp season. Could it be any better?

Fire Roasted Salsa:
(makes about 5-6 cups)

1 large forest-green chili pepper ( a poblano works great here)
3-4 serrano green chilis (or jalapenos)
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place peppers and garlic on a sheet pan, broil, turning frequently, until brown and blistered on all sides. Pull tops off chilis, dump seeds if desired (I used them), peel garlic and blend with other ingredients.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

This is an amazingly simple and wonderful recipe from Rick Bayless. You can find it here.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa:
(makes about 5 cups)
3 lb fresh tomatillos
10 fresh serrano chiles
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 c fresh cilantro
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat broiler, cut tops off chiles. Place tomatillos (outer skin removed, rinsed), chiles and garlic (unpeeled) on foil in a sheet pan. Roast, about 7-10 minutes per side. Remove from oven and let cool.

Press garlic from its skin and puree all other ingredients in blender, including juice and browned skin from the tomatillos. Serve warm or let cool.

Retro Recipe Challenge: Lazy Texas Brisket

A big thanks to Retro Recipe Challenge Blog for the idea for this recipe. Head over to the site for details, but the basic premise is this:

Make a recipe from the year you were born, +/- 5 years to allow for a recipe that you actually WANT to make. Take some photos of the recipe, record the resulting deliciousness (or lack thereof) and eat!

I searched around and settled on this recipe from Bon Appetit from 1982 (1979 was not a good year on Epicurious.com). I was born in Texas, so this recipe seemed just right for me, plus the recipe is from Jinx Morgan, who cannot seem to write a bad recipe, nor one too complicated.

As far as an outcome, I cannot describe how euphorically delicious and simple this recipe is. The brisket is aptly named as it is practically effortless, and the Broncbuster's barbeque sauce was so easy and delicious that I'll be using it for all my barbeque sauce needs from now on.

The recipe is here, but my version below includes my slight adaptations.

Lazy Texas Brisket and Broncbuster's Barbeque Sauce:
(serves 4-6 with my recipe)
2.5 lbs beef chuck roast or brisket
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 generous tbs hot mexican chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp ground dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbs butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tbs molasses
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika

Directions for Brisket:
Gather all ingredients, allow brisket to come to room temperature.

Mince garlic, and combine all other ingredients (except beef) in a bowl. Rub garlic on both side of meat, then sprinkle/rub all other ingredients onto beef, thoroughly coating.

Wrap beef tightly in several layers of aluminum foil, then place in a shallow baking pan. Place in a preheated 325 degree oven. Roast for about 2 hours, or until fork-tender but not overly dry. Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce.

Directions for Sauce:
Melt butter in a saute pan, add onions and sweat until soft and translucent.

Once onions are softened, add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until reduced to a thickness that coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat, serve or let cool and chill.

"Fire" Burgers

This recipe is my interpretation/memory of the original, courtesy of the Diener family. My brother married into the family and I think he made an excellent choice as my sister-in-law is beautiful, sweet and just overall amazing - but my feeling about her family was even further solidified once I tasted these delicious burgers.

The fire sauce is so good you'll want to get creative and mix it with everything. I tried it in scrambled eggs, guacamole, mixed with ranch dressing for a dip and just plain on tortilla chips if you can stand the heat.

The mix of peppers is up to you, use what you can find in your grocery store/farmer's market and adjust the heat accordingly.

*Warning* I recommend wearing gloves while cutting the peppers and handling the raw burgers and don't touch your eyes or nose!

"Fire" Sauce:
2 large jalapenos
2 large habaneros
4 banana peppers
6 serrano peppers
1 tbs peanut oil or other oil (enough to slightly emusify)
Salt & Pepper
Garlic powder (or use whole garlic cloves)

Directions:
Cut off stem and chop peppers roughly. Discard seeds and membranes unless you like it REALLY hot. Blend all ingredients in a blender. Can be stored, chilled, in an airtight container for a few days.

Burgers:
2 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup fire sauce (or to taste )
2 large eggs
1 cup crushed crackers such as Ritz
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic powder and other spices to taste

Directions:
Blend all ingredients by hand or in a stand mixer. Form 6 large, flat patties by hand. Grill to desired doneness.

Leanne's Simple Souvlaki Marinade

Thanks to Leanne, this is wonderful and easy!! No more boring chicken or steak.

Simple Souvlaki Marinade:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs fresh oregano
1 tbs fresh rosemary
2 tbs lemon juice
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and pour over meat in a non-reactive dish. Marinate meat for at least three hours. For a more intense flavor, marinate overnight. Grill and enjoy!