Saturday, June 25, 2011

Ancho and Cocoa-Rubbed Skirt Steak Tacos


 A long time ago I saw a recipe in Gourmet magazine for carne asada using ancho chili powder, cocoa and cinnamon.  It sounded interesting enough that it stuck with me.  And tonight when I was trying to come up with a spice rub for some tacos I hit up Epicurious (which is my go-to website for finding recipes) until I found the recipe from the May 2009 issue of Gourmet for Ancho and Cocoa Carne Asada.  Score!  I roughly stuck to the proportions of the chili powder-cocoa-cinnamon spice rub and then decided to play around with the toppings.  We pickled some jalapenos and shallots, chopped up some avocado and cilantro, and charred up some scallions.  I love being able to throw different toppings together with tacos to see what I like best.  My favorite topping here was the quick-pickled shallot and jalapeno mixture because it really brightened up the tacos and gave them a lot of flavor.  The shallots actually absorbed some of the heat from the jalapenos, which was new and interesting.  For my last taco I threw on all of the toppings for a super taco and I think that one might have been my favorite combination - a little bit of everything. 

As for the skirt steak itself, I'm not sure that I was a fan of the chili powder-cocoa-cinnamon spice rub.  It was kind of gummy and mushy; it just coated the outside of the steak in a really strange way (and then your tongue) that I didn't find particularly appetizing.  I think it was the cocoa powder.  The steak was fine when you had it with the toppings, but I would never eat it alone.  Beyond the strange mouthfeel, I'm just not sure that the flavor was all that great.  I much preferred the Beef Tacos with Radish and Avocado Salsa (where the steak is seasoned with cumin, s&p) and other tacos we have made where the skirt steak was seasoned simply with s&p and served with some sort of salsa, like the Skirt Steak Tacos with Roasted Tomato Salsa.  I thought that the flavor of the beef itself really shined in those recipes and was augmented by the seasonings, whereas I thought the flavor here was obscured by the overpowering (and almost cloying) flavor of the cocoa powder in this recipe. 

Recipe after the jump!

Ancho and Cocoa Skirt Steak Tacos

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 lb skirt steak
vegetable oil for greasing grill, plus 1 tsp
6 scallions, trimmed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
8 flour tortillas (ours were labeled "fajita-size")
1 avocado, cut into slices
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
lime wedges

Stir together ancho powder, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.

Pat steak dry and coat with spice mixture. Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat.  Coat grill pan lightly with vegetable oil.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side, flipping once, for medium-rare.  Remove from heat, tent with tin foil and set aside.  Toss scallions in 1 tsp vegetable oil and season with s&p.  Grill until well-charred on all sides, about 3-5 minutes.  Chop scallions into 1-inch pieces.

Meanwhile place shallots and jalapenos in a small non-reactive bowl.  Add white vinegar, sugar and salt.  Stir to combine.  Set aside.  After shallots and jalapenos have pickled for 5-7 minutes, dump vinegar.

Let steak rest 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain at an angle.

Char tortillas lightly on the grill pan until warm and pliable, about 5-10 seconds per side.


Serve steak with warm tortillas, scallions, pickled shallots and jalapenos, avocado slices, cilantro and lime wedges.

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