Learn to Taco About It

 Learn To Create Simple Delicious Tacos

One Taco Night- It began as a normal night in Mareno Valley California, with nine of us arguing about what we should have for dinner. You heard pizza in one corner and burgers in the other corner. As I started looking through the fridge I immediately saw the answer to the our problems. A pack of yellow organic tortillas, staring at me right in the face. I just smiled back, as ideas began turning in my head. What kind of meat would we cook?, does this fridge also have salsa, were there vegetables? if so  what kind? It would seem as a trip to the grocery store was in place. Everyone still did't know what was going on but as I started to leave I simply turned back and said "tacos"

No Experience Need- It doesn't take a fancy culinary degree to put together creative tacos ideas that manifest in your head. I recommend you lead from stomach and listen to what it is trying to say. Although I suggest you don't begin this quest with an empty stomach because then everything and anything will start sounding good. Make sure you make an evening of it. With that in mind choose a good lager beer to sip on, coupled with some guacamole and chips.The most important about this taco experience is a good playlist to dance to while you put these delicious ingredients together.

Inspiration- As I walk you through the steps try to come up with different variations of your own in your head. By this I mean if you want to use red onions instead of yellow go for it or cotija Mexican cheese instead of pepper jack by all means

Prep- First thing you want to do is prep your toppings. Remember to put some good music on to chop to. For this lesson we're going to do five toppings. Tomatoes, onions, cilantro, avocado, cheese and some limes.

Late Limes- Before you cut them, press your palm over them then roll them over a counter top so that you release all the juice from the center.
Tomatoes Talk- You want to dice them into small cubes, no bigger than nail as to not overwhelm the other ingredients.

Cilantro Celebrity- You want to chop the cilantro very small, almost mince (1cm) so you can add just a pinch to your tacos. This is the zest that I think every taco must have.

Onion Chat- Make sure to chop them slightly smaller than the tomatoes because they carry a strong taste therefore a small amount on your tacos is preferred unless your'e home alone and don't have a date go nuts.

Cheese Dilemma- This part is fairly simple, preferably you want to use blocked cheese so you get more of a fresh taste.For this occasion we'll use cheddar cheese because that was the one available at the time. You can use a grater or if your feeling adventures cutting them into thin slices will work also. With thin slices you can melt them slightly on the pan before you heat up the tortilla to give it a quesadilla feel to it. Pre-shredded cheese also fine so that it goes well with the other cool ingredients.

Avocado Maintenance- Start by finding the freshest avocados you can get your hands on. Since avocados carry a rich natural oil taste to them, you want to get peak avocados for your tacos. With avocado you can go two ways. The first is a smash style, start by cutting your avocado horizontally all the way around. Then you lightly smack the pit with the edge of your knife and the pit should pull out along with the blade. Next you scoop out the avocado and put it in a bowl. Add a couple pinches of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Finally you simply mash it all together but be careful not to mash it to much, you want have some small chunks of avocado pieces for texture.

Meat- For this part we're going to go with your most popular carne asada option. You want to go to your nearest Mexican meat market for this. They tend to have higher quality meat and better salsa options. If the area you live in doesn't have one then your local grocery will do just fine. A couple pounds should do the trick for the about 9 people unless you're feeding a football team in which case grab the whole stores worth. Make sure its already marinated carne asada because the markets tend to have 24 hour marinated meat on rotation so it will have absorbed all herbs and spices to the core. The alternative is you waiting 24 hours for it to marinade in which case you have a lot of time on your hand.

Meat Prep- This is very easy, simply unwrap your meat and leave it on your kitchen counter so that it gets to room temperature. Meanwhile chop a few cloves of garlic into mince size. Then cut up an onion into slices. Followed by some parsley and a stick of butter cut into small 1 centimeter pieces.

Cook- Make sure to use a cast iron skillet if your cooking it in house so that it keeps the juices from meat around the edges of the skillet. If your using a grill make sure to use charcoal or cherry wood if you can. This way the carne asada carries a mesquite taste to it. Once you put it on the grill or skillet let it cook for about 5-7 minutes before flipping it. Once you flip it place one cube of butter on that side along with a pinch garlic, onion, and parsley. This will keep the meat tender and add a rustic herb flavor to the meat. After about 8-10 minutes the meat should be done cooking. Cover it up immediately with aluminum foil to preserve the flavor and keep it warm. If your dealing with the skillet save the juices for an additional add on after you've cut the meat.
The Final Cut- When cutting it you can choose either cut it into slices or cubes. I prefer cubes so that each bite doesn't extra effort and you're guaranteed a piece of carne asada with each bite. Then add some of the juices from before for en extra level of flavor.

Tortilla Affair- Here you either use flour or corn tortilla. Make sure that if you use flour to coat it with light butter before applying it to the pan and that it heats up to a light crisp. This way you get a crunch to soft transition texture. If you choose corn tortilla, put some olive oil in a small dish and dab each tortilla on one side before putting on the pan. With the corn tortilla you want it to heat up one minute each side on medium heat. This way you maintain a fairly rough yet soft texture. In addition make sure you see a little char (black spot) on the tortilla before removing it.

Assembly Line- When putting your taco together either put the avocado or cheese or both on the tortilla first so that these ingredient round off each bite with a smooth texture. The other toppings on top shouldn't overwhelm the carne asada. Go light on the onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Even the amount of meat itself shouldn't be a lot. Put about 2 ounces per tacos but if your'e a straight T-Rex go with 3 ounces. Remember, you should always have a balanced amount of flavors in each taco so that your taste buds can recognize each ingredient equally.

Fin- So whatever is on your mind for dinner, lets taco about it