chilorio tacos

Another recipe I chose to try as part of my experimenting with Food & Drink magazine were the Chilorio Tacos from the current Spring 2013 issue. I quickly read through the recipe first thing in the morning and realized that pretty much everything had to be prepared ahead of time which includes pickling red onions, making a chili paste and slow cooking beef. Luckily, it was all pretty straight forward and I was able to get it all done while Owen ate his breakfast (having said that, he usually takes half an hour to eat). I was already behind on the onions which indicated they needed to marinated 24-48 hours. So in order to speed up the pickling process I brought the recipe to a boil on the stove and then left it to marinate the rest of the day at room temperature, which luckily worked out perfectly.

It was great to come home to a practically completed meal. It almost felt too easy so I made a side of Cilantro Lime Rice to round out the meal.
 

This is definitely one of the best recipes I’ve ever made. Every element of the tacos were perfect, each topping setting off the other. This recipe was submitted to Food and Wine magazine from a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco toting them as the “The Best Tacos” and I had to admit, they are the best I’ve ever tasted. They taste so authentically Mexican I am still kinda surprised I managed it. This was a wonderful surprise and delicious Friday night meal. You really have to try them. Unfortunately the recipes from the current issue aren’t available online yet to link to. So I did a very abbreviated summary of the recipe, but the magazine is available now, for free, at all LCBO stores.

Meat
2 1/2 lbs beef chuck in one pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup water

Put all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on high. Once cooked shred beef and return to cooker along with prepared chili paste below. Heat till warmed through.

Chili Paste
5 ancho chilis, deviened and seeded
2 guajillo chilis, deviened and seeded
2 cups boiling water
6 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried orgeano
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt

Rehydrate dried chilis with water for 15 minutes. Drain and reserve liquid. Add chilis, and all other ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth. Add reserved liquid as needed if paste it too thick.

Lime Crema
1/4 c mexican crema / sour cream / plain yogurt
1/3 c lime juice
salt & pepper

To Finish
12 white corn tortillas, warmed
6 c chopped romaine / micro greens
Cilantro sprigs
Marinated Red Onions (below)

Marinated Red Onions
1 lb red onions slices
2 c white wine vinegar
3/4 c cilantro sprigs
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1/2 c fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least 24  hours (48 hours is best).