The Perfect Steak Tacos

Possibly the only steak tacos I'll ever cook again.

Prep
30 minutes
Cook
30 minutes
Total
60 minutes
Serves
4
people
The Perfect Steak Tacos
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Ingredients

Green Salsa: 

  • 5 tomatillos, stemmed and paper husks removed
  • 1 jalapeno, stemmed 
  • ½ white onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 whole medium avocado, peeled and pit removed
  • ½ bunch of cilantro
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 limes, juiced

Corn Tortillas: 

  • 2 cups (300g) white corn masa harina
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 cups (240mL) warm water

Steak Taco: 

  • 1 lb (454g) thinly sliced ribeye, or thinly sliced shabu-shabu beef *see note*
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste 
  • 1 lb (454g) quesillo (or Oaxaca) cheese, grated
  • ½ white onion, ¼” brunoise or very finely chopped
  • 2 limes, cheeked
  • 6-8 corn tortillas 
  • Green salsa, to taste 
  • ½ cup cilantro leaves, for garnish

Single-Taco Assembly

  • 1 corn tortilla
  • 1 handful of grated cheese, the size of your tortilla
  • 1 slice of beef
  • 1 spoonful of green salsa
  • A small sprinkling of white onion, to taste
  • 2-3 cilantro leaves, to taste
  • A squeeze of lime, to taste

Directions

Green Salsa:

  1. Char the tomatillos and jalapeno either directly over a stovetop flame or under a broiler in the oven until they are blackened all over. This will take 3-5 minutes of constant turning over a flame and probably around 6 minutes of regular turning under a broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam. 
  2. Peel off the blackened skin with a dampened paper towel and place the vegetables into a blender. Add in the onion, avocado, cilantro, a pinch of salt, and lime juice. Blend everything until the mixture is completely smooth. Taste the sauce and blend in more salt if needed. Transfer the sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3–4 days.

Corn Tortillas:

  1. Combine the masa harina, salt, and water in a bowl and mix by hand until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead together until it forms a smooth ball. Pinch off 40-50g pieces and place into a tortilla press lined with greased plastic wrap. Press until about ¼” (.6cm) thick and immediately place onto a preheated griddle set over medium heat. Cook for about 45 seconds then flip and cook for an additional 15-30 seconds. Remove cooked tortillas to a linen-lined plate, cover with another linen, and repeat with the remaining dough.

Steak Tacos

  1. Preheat a flat griddle set over two burners, set one burner to medium heat and the other to medium-high (or use two cast iron pans).  Once the griddle is hot, sprinkle a generous handful of grated quesillo (or Oaxaca) cheese directly onto the medium heat side, forming a rough circle about the size of a tortilla. As soon as the cheese begins to melt and bubble, place one tortilla on top of the melting cheese.
  2. While the tortilla is setting into the cheese, place one slice of thinly sliced beef in a single layer on the medium-high side (next to the tortilla). Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Let the beef cook undisturbed for about 1 minute so it develops a good sear and browns nicely. Flip, season to taste again, and cook for about 30 more seconds, or until browned. Set aside the cooked beef until ready to assemble. If there isn’t enough room to do this on the same griddle as the tortilla, I’d recommend doing this in two pans.
  3. When the cheese under the tortilla has turned golden brown and formed a crisp layer (a cheese skirt), carefully flip the tortilla over so the cheese side is now facing up. Place the beef slice onto the cheese-covered side of the tortilla to assemble the taco. Move the finished taco off the pan and set it aside. Repeat the cheese melting, tortilla placement, and beef searing process for each remaining tortilla and batch of beef.
  4. Top each taco with a spoonful of green salsa, a sprinkle of finely chopped onion, and cilantro leaves. Squeeze the lime wedges over the tacos once you’re ready to eat. Serve and enjoy.

*Note* Although we’re calling for 1lb (454g) of ribeye, the way I prefer to do it is to actually take a semi-frozen 2-3 lbs (907g-1.35kg) boneless rib roast, and slice off about 1lb on a meat slicer or with a very sharp thin knife. Now I will say this is very hard to do with a knife SO…. I would actually recommend, to those who don’t have a meat slicer (which is going to be most people, because who in their right mind has a meat slicer?), go to a local Asian grocer and purchase some of their thinly sliced beef for shabu-shabu. This stuff works just as well. The goal here is you want it to be very wide but sliced very thin so you get complete coverage. Worst case scenario you can always sort of fan out and layer a few pieces to make one larger singular piece. The point is you want VERY thinly sliced beef of any shape, whether you use one piece or multiple pieces for the taco is no issue.