Julie’s Steak Tacos

This taco recipe is my personal masterpiece.
I am always asked if these are “authentic” Mexican tacos. Tacos in Mexico are different from hamburgers in a fast food restaurant chain. They will all be a little bit different. Some will be better, and some worse. Some are great, some are no so great.

I think that my process for making tacos will be very familiar to anyone who’s ever had or made tacos in Mexico. So yes, these are authentic Mexican tacos.

People come to our house in hopes that I will be preparing these wonderful tacos.
I’ve been asked to make these tacos for the special dinner high school kids plan for the prom.
Whenever there is a special occasion in my family, everybody reminds me that I need to plan to make my tacos.

The meat I use in these tacos is New York Steak. I grill it, cube it, and grill it again. I only season the meat with a little salt. If the meat isn’t prepared on a grill outside, then I grill the meat in its own juices.

My salsa makes this meal complete. Making salsa is the sentimental part of this recipe, because of the smells that fill the house. My kids tell me that’s their favorite part of having tacos.

Mexican women take great pride in their salsa recipe and it is something that is very personal. Although I have taken inspiration from many special women in my life, I can honestly say that my salsa recipe is my very own.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Roma tomatoes.

Anaheim peppers

1 White onion

Limes

Salt

Good quality steaks

White corn tortillas

The tomatoes and the peppers must be grilled until the skins are black.

The onions needs the first layer peeled, and then I wrap it in aluminum foil. Then I put the wrapped onion in the oven at 350 degrees for about twenty minute.

Now take the grilled tomatoes and peppers and onion, and dice them finely. Make sure not to lose any of the juice. Put them all together in a dish, and add salt and one lime’s worth of juice.

Salt the steaks and lightly oil the pan, if you’re grilling on the stove. Grill the steaks and then cube them. You need little, smaller than bite size pieces. Then put the little cubes back in the pan for a light finishing.  

Put a handful of white corn tortillas in a zip lock bag and microwave them for a minute or two. Or, wrap them in a moistened dish towel. This makes the tortillas soft and pliable.

I load the tortillas with the cubed steak pieces, and then deliver them to the table. Two or three tacos for each person at the table. Each of us at the table spoons up as much salsa as we want on our tacos. I keep Tapatio hot sauce on the table so that people can spice up their tacos a little more if they want.

One of the keys in making these tacos is making enough.  People always want more.

Chiles Rellenos

People ask me to make Chiles Rellenos for them all the time. It’s a very popular Mexican Dish, and it’s hard to find in a restaurant.

I use Anaheim peppers for my Chiles Rellenos. I choose Anaheim peppers because they are mild, and when you serve Chiles Rellenos to a group, you never know who is going to like spicy food, and who isn’t.

I fill my Chiles Rellenos with a mixture of corn, sour cream, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper, and cheese.

People still worry that Chiles Rellenos are too spicy. I admit that this dish is always on the spicy side, but I still consider it mild. You can add hot sauce and chili to your own taste.

Later on we’ll explore a version of this dish with meat.

Start by grilling the Chiles on direct heat to sear the skin. Grill them till they are blackened.

Then put the chiles in a zip lock plastic bag to let them sweat. This will loosen the blacken skins.

Now run the chiles under cool tap water and rub the blackened skin off. Also, use your thumb to pull out the seeds from the inside of the chiles.

Next, heat a can of corn, or similar amount of any corn, with a couple large spoonful’s of sour cream.

Salt and pepper the mixture.

Crumble a cube of chicken bouillon over the mixture.

Now, spoon the mixture into the chiles and secure the tops with toothpicks.  

Place the now stuffed chiles in a backing dish and cover them all with shredded cheese of your own choosing.

Place in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese melts. You can also microwave the stuffed chiles until the cheese melts.

This is a very easy recipe, and people go NUTS for Chiles Rellenos. It’s always a fun occasion in our home when we have Chiles Rellenos.