Campechano Tacos with Street Style Salsa
8 tacos
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds flank steak cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 white onion
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound longaniza casings removed, chopped (or substitute Mexican chorizo)
- 1/2 pound pork chicharrón crumbled or chopped into small pieces
- 8 corn tortillas store-bought or homemade
- 1 cup finely chopped white onion for garnish
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
- Salsa Callejera
To prepare:
Place the meat, garlic, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and a teaspoon of salt in a large casserole or pot. Cover generously with water and place over high heat. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, remove any foam that may have risen to the top, cover, and cook for an hour and a half until the meat is completely tender and falling apart. Turn off heat and set aside.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the meat with a slotted spoon and chop into small pieces. Set aside.
Set a large saute pan over medium-high heat, once hot add a tablespoon of oil. Add the longaniza or chorizo and brown, crumbling into smaller pieces with a couple wooden spoons or spatulas as it cooks, for about 5 minutes until crisp and brown. Add the chopped meat, stir, and cook for a couple minutes until it starts to brown as well. Incorporate the chicharrón, mix it all up and turn off the heat.
Preheat a comal or skillet over medium-low heat. Heat the tortillas for about a minute per side until completely hot with brown specks on both sides. Assemble the tacos, or let people assemble their own, by adding some of the meat mix and topping with chopped onion, cilantro, and salsa callejera.
Salsa Callejera
3 generous cups
Ingredients:
- 2 chiles de árbol stemmed, or more to taste
- 1 1/2 pound about 5 or 6 ripe Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 pound about 4 tomatillos husked and rinsed
- 1 to 2 jalapeños or to taste
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped white onion
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and upper stems
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
To prepare:
Preheat a comal or small saute pan over medium-low heat. Once hot, toast chiles de árbol for about a minute until toasted and fragrant. Remove from the heat.
Place the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and set over medium-high heat, simmer for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes and tomatillos are cooked and mushy and the jalapeños have softened and changed their color.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic to blender. Incorporate the chiles de árbol, onion, cilantro, cumin, and salt and puree until smooth.
Set a medium saucepan over medium heat, once hot add the oil. Once the oil is hot, pour in the salsa and be ready to partially cover with the lid as it will jump. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until thickened and seasoned and color has deepened.
Homemade Corn Tortillas
16 tortillas
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups (231g) masa harina
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 2/3 cups warm water plus more as needed
To prepare:
To make the dough:
In a large, shallow mixing bowl, combine the masa harina and salt. Gradually add the warm water, stirring with your hands to make a cohesive dough.
Using your hands, mix and knead the dough in the bowl until it’s smooth and somewhat firm, about a minute or so. If the dough sticks to your hands and feels wet, add more masa harina a teaspoon at a time. If it crumbles when you roll a piece into a ball, add more water a teaspoon at a time.
To shape the tortillas:
Preheat a comal, a cast iron or nonstick pan, or a griddle, over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until evenly hot.
Cut two round or square pieces of food-safe plastic – from a plastic produce or zip-top bag – to a size about 1/2″ larger than the diameter of your tortilla press (see “tips,” below). Set aside.
Divide the dough into 16 pieces (about 35g to 40g each) and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls on a clean work surface and cover them with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel to keep them moist.
Working with one ball of dough at a time, place one piece of plastic on the bottom of the tortilla press, place the ball of dough, and top it with the second piece of plastic. Gently, squeeze the handle of the press until the dough is about 1/16” to 1/8” thick and about 5” in diameter. To achieve a nicely round tortilla, jiggle the handle of your press just as you near the bottom. You may need to press it a couple of times to get the desired thinness.
To cook the tortillas:
Open the tortilla press, peel off the top piece of plastic, and then take the tortilla on the bottom piece of plastic next to the comal, so that you can pass the tortilla to one hand as you remove the bottom plastic with the other hand and quickly but gently lay the tortilla on the hot pan. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly flat (you’ll get better as you practice), and don’t try to move it, which will cause it to tear. Return the piece of plastic to the bottom of the tortilla press.
Cook the tortilla until it releases easily from the pan and its color has lightened and become opaque, 40 to 45 seconds; you don’t want the tortilla to brown or become freckled at this point.
Using a spatula or your fingers, flip the tortilla and cook it until the bottom starts to brown and freckle, 70 to 90 seconds more.
Flip the tortilla one more time and cook it until it puffs, 10 to 15 seconds. If the tortilla doesn’t puff on its own, gently poke it a few times near the center. Once it puffs, let the tortilla cook for 15 seconds longer, until fully set and soft.
Remove the tortilla from the heat and wrap it in a clean kitchen towel, or transfer it to a cloth-lined tortillero.
Repeat the pressing and cooking process with the remaining dough.
