Sonoran Carne Asada Tacos

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 2 ½ - 3 hours

Did someone say crispy and super loaded tacos? Yes, please! These tacos are packed with flavor, stuffed to the brim and have a nice crunch to them. This recipe is courtesy of Pati Jinich, a Mexican chef, who lends her expertise to NY Time Cooking. Of course, we tweaked a few things due to our pantry and preferences, and you can too!

Ingredients

Tacos (~20 min)

• ¼ large white onion, for cleaning the grill

• 1 lbs chuck, sliced into steaks for grilling

• 1 lbs top sirloin, sliced into steaks for grilling

• 2 tsp salt, or to taste

• Frijoles de Fiesta

• Salsa de rosa, hot + a handful of finely chopped tomatoes of choice (optional, to thicken salsa)

• Chile Verde Guacamole

• 8-12 flour & corn tortillas

Frijoles de Fiesta (2 hours)

• 1 lb dried pinto beans

• ½ large white onion, chopped

• 1 tbs salt

• 1 whole canned chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tbs sauce

• 3 tbs butter, vegetable oil, or lard

• 1-2 cups of grated cheese (asadero, quesadilla, oaxaca)

• Cotija cheese for garnish

Chile Verde Guacamole (~10 min)

• 1 fresh anaheim chile, charred, de-skinned, and minced

• 3 tbs of white onion, finely chopped

• 2 tbs, or more, of cilantro leaves and steams, finely to coarsely chopped

• 1 tsp salt, or more to taste

• 3-4 large ripe avocados

• Lime juice, optional, to taste, but not traditional for this region

Process

Refried Beans

1. Rinse, and place the beans into a large pot and cover with 7 cups of water. Add in the onion and put on high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to medium, and partially cover and cook for 1 hour.

2. Remove the lid, add the salt, and partially cover and cook for another 15-30 minutes. The beans should be completely cooked through and tender, while the liquid is tinted from the pintos.

3. Add in the adobo peppers, and sauce.

4. Using an immersion blender, or taking batches to a blender, puree the beans and pepper mixture.

5. Cook for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bean mixture is thicker. Stir in the cheese and cook for another 10-15 minutes, while still continuously stirring. Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the pan.

6. Plate up, and garnish with cotija cheese.

Guacamole

1. Roast the anaheim chile, making sure to flip occasionally, until the chile appears wilted, and the skin is charred and wrinkly. Place the chile in a plastic bag and close it. Let it steam and sweat for 5-10 minutes.

2. While you are letting the chile sweat and cool, add all other ingredients into a large bowl, and mash and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Once it is cooled, remove the skin, and seeds and steam. Finely chop the chile. Add into the bowl, and mix again. Add more cilantro as garnish, optional.

Taco Assembly

1. Start your grill on high heat.

2. Clean and season the grill using tongs, and your quarter onion to rub the individual grates.

3. Place the meat. Generously season the top side of the meat with salt.

4. Grill for 4-5 minutes. You’ll want the bottom of the meat to have seared, and you can see grill marks. Flip over and continue to grill for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the finished meat onto a plate and let it rest for 5 minutes.

5. Dice the meat in small bite size pieces on a cutting board, and place back onto the plate.

6. Meanwhile, toast the corn and flour tortillas on the grill. You can gage their crispy-ness by using the tongs to tap the tortillas, and by looking for grill marks/browning/puffing up of the tortillas.

7. Set up your assembly line on the table, ensuring the beans are hot, the guacamole is fresh, and the salsa is spicy.

8. To eat, take a warm flour tortilla, spread refried beans generously in the middle, add the meat, salsa and guacamole. Enjoy!