recipe box · Tacos & Tex-Mex

Taco Norteños with Bacon-Fat Flour Tortillas

Name: Taco Norteños with Bacon-Fat Flour Tortillas
Ingredients: 8 oz thin-cut smoked bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces; 2 tbsp plus ½ tsp vegetable oil; 1¼ cups whole milk, divided; 2 tsp baking powder; 1½ tsp kosher salt; 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface; 2 lb hanger steak, center membrane removed; Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 large onions, thinly sliced; 10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 4 serrano chiles or jalapeños, thinly sliced (or poblano); 4 beefsteak or vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces; ½ cup chopped cilantro, plus leaves for serving; 4 oz Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (about 1 cup); Lime wedges (for serving)

This recipe is one of my favorites.

Ingredients

Tortillas

8 oz thin-cut smoked bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 tbsp plus ½ tsp vegetable oil
1¼ cups whole milk, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

Filling

2 lb hanger steak, center membrane removed
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 serrano chiles or jalapeños, thinly sliced (or poblano)
4 beefsteak or vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup chopped cilantro, plus leaves for serving
4 oz Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
Lime wedges (for serving)

Steps

Cook bacon in a large broilerproof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, turning occasionally, until brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a small bowl and save for the filling. Pour off 2 tbsp bacon fat for the tortillas; set the skillet with the remaining fat aside for the filling.
Bring oil, ¾ cup milk, and the reserved 2 tbsp bacon fat to a simmer in a small saucepan (don’t boil); immediately remove from heat. Whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. Pour in the hot milk mixture and remaining ½ cup milk. Mix with your hands until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature 1 hour.
Divide dough into balls (see Notes on count) and roll out to 6" rounds on a floured surface, keeping the rest covered with a towel.
Heat a comal, griddle, or clean cast-iron skillet over medium. Cook tortillas until brown in spots and air bubbles form, about 2 minutes. Poke large bubbles with a fork, flip, and cook 1–2 minutes more. Stack and wrap in a kitchen towel to keep warm.
Season steak with salt and pepper. Let sit uncovered at room temperature 1 hour. Cook to ~120°F for medium-rare (see Notes for the stove-top + oven method). Rest 10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.
Heat broiler. Heat oil in the reserved skillet over medium-high; add onions and garlic, season, and cook until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chiles and cook until softened and onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until very soft, 10–15 minutes. Mix in steak with its juices, the bacon, and chopped cilantro; cook about 1 minute. Top with cheese and broil until melted and starting to brown, about 1 minute.
Spoon filling into warm tortillas, top with cilantro leaves, and serve with lime wedges.

From the margins

I lightly sprinkled Cheddar, because I don’t have Monterey Jack, and it was ok, but could have been better with Jack.
The tortillas were good, but very time consuming and hard to roll into circles. With 16 dough balls, mine were too small — I’d recommend 12, rolled pretty thin (or cut the edges of a gallon bag, slip the ball inside, and squish evenly with a cast iron pot).
I used 1.5 lb steak, 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 2 small-medium tomatoes and it was enough for three people. Four if used sparingly. Probably could have added another bell and onion. 8–10 small garlic cloves tasted right.
The hanger steak cooks much better with the membrane removed and cut into multiple strips. I did 2–3 min per side on the stove-top at med-high, then 5 in the oven at 400°F. The small one was 145°F and the larger one was 135°F when removed from the oven.
Slice the steak as thinly as you can, and it will be much easier to manage in the tacos.
I used 7 slices of fatty bacon and had excess oil. If you don’t do the tortillas, you could get away with 3–4 pieces of bacon. I removed the bacon grease and then used it to cook the steak, and later the veggies. I used no salt or pepper. I slow cooked the 7 slices in a 12in skillet, turning every minute or so — they came out perfect.
I forgot to crumble the bacon back into the mix!
It really fills the taco by itself, but I added a little fire roasted salsa for a nice touch. The tomatoes didn’t turn ragù-like for me, but that was preferred.

Source: bonappetit.com · youtube.com