Monday, September 3, 2007

Recipe - Beef Tacos (w/Tajin)

This recipe for beef tacos has validated me as a decent cook of Mexican food...and it's soooo easy! I made up the following marinade:

-1.5lbs of beef (a thin cut like skirt steak/brisket)
-1/4 cup of yellow onion, cut in thin slices
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp canola oil (I use olive oil for everything, I probably shouldn't)
-Black pepper to taste
-Salt to taste, though you might not need any
-2 tbsp Tajin (see below to learn more about Tajin)
Marinade the meat, preferably for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Make some guacamole...

-1 avocado (I prefer small Haas avocados)
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1 or 1/2 serrano pepper minced (the more seeds you leave the hotter)
-1 lime, squeezed
-2 tbsp yellow onion chopped (I don't put onion in mine...don't like it)
-2 tbsp Cotija cheese (parmesan is a good substitute)
-Salt and pepper to taste

Mash it all up!

Cook the meat to your liking on a very hot, oiled grill pan, make sure the onions get nice and brown. In another pan, make (folded) quesadillas with soft corn tortillas and, preferably with adobera cheese...remember that the beef goes in the taco so don't use too much cheese.
To make your taco, slice the meat, put some in a quesadilla followed by some guacamole. If you want more kick, add some red or green salsa.
This recipe yields about 4 servings of 3 or 4 tacos per person. Enjoy!

So, What Exactly Is TAJIN?
Tajin is actually pronounced "taheen" but 'til this day, I'm still calling it Tagine -- like the Moroccan dish, sometimes also spelled Tajin. Why is this, you might wonder! After all, I'm a native Spanish speaker. Well, I have unresolved issues, I guess. Yes, I'm talking about a love affair with an amazing Chicken Tagine I once had. The details escape me...I can't recall if I had it at a Moroccan restaurant in Montmartre, Paris or at a Moroccan-influenced French restaurant in the East Village of New York. Anyway, I digress...back to Mexican Tajin!

Tajin is a seasoning or at least I treat it as such. The bottle says that it is powdered Mexican salsa. That makes it a seasoning to me and therefore I gave myself full culinary license to use it as such. So I started cooking up a storm with it - beef tacos, chicken soup, grilled fish, chili, salad dressings -- you name it! Tajin is my secret ingredient. My weapon to charm every Mexican cooking mama this side of the border.

So what's the big deal? Well, according to Mexican eating laws, Tajin is solely used as a seasoning for fresh fruit. They put it in all fruit: mangoes, watermelon, pinneaple and so on (see the promotional picture). Apparently, Tajin doesn't get used to cook savory dishes. From what I can taste, since I haven't bothered to read the label, the powder has dried tomatoes, salt, lime juice, and spicy chiles. Do you see my point?

Well, I ain't liking it with fruit although I was happy to oblige when it was suggested as the "salt in the rim" for a tamarind margarita. OK, bring THAT on! That's the closest my Tajin has gotten to fresh fruit.

So, when some Mexican foodies taste my tacos and ask what's in them. First, I say that it's a secret ingredient...then I promptly reveal my secret with a smirk. They look at me in disbelief, even shock, then let out a chuckle, even a laughter, and keep on eating. I'll take that as a compliment.

You should be able to find Tajin at any Mexican supermarket in your town. Come on, admit it, every American town probably has at least one Mexican grocery store by now. Right?

For history minded folks, you might be interested in knowing that El Tajin is a fascinating pre-columbian city in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. There's actually a resemblance between the pyramids at El Tajin and the shape of a Moroccan Tagine clay pot. Check it out -- use your imagination:




In looking for the promo picture, I found the Tajin website and in their recipes, they do suggest it for savory dishes...go figure. It turns out that their Barbecue Beef recipe is very similar to mine. Alright then! Check out their website:

Until the next time, be well!

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