Taqueria at Home Classic shredded beef tacos are known for their robust meatiness. So why do most recipes use a marginally beefy cut and throw a ton of meaty flavor down the drain?

j by Andrew Janjigian k

hen Americans think of meatier but still not nearly meaty enough. shredded meat tacos, we I took a step back. What about the cut tend to think of those of meat? Chuck roast is reasonably flavorful, filled with pork carni- but there are definitely cuts that are beefier, tas. But in Mexico, the saucy beef filling plus it took a full 5 hours of cooking to turn Wcalled carne deshebrada (which translates tender. Other popular choices, flank and as “shredded meat”) is also hugely popu- skirt steak, held promise in terms of flavor lar. A taqueria standard as well as a home- and are fairly quick-cooking, but because cooked favorite, it’s made by braising a they don’t have much marbling, they tended large cut of beef (usually , chuck to dry out. Ditto for brisket. So I turned to roast, or even flank or skirt steak) until a test kitchen favorite for braising: boneless ultratender and then shredding the meat beef short ribs. While not traditional to the and tossing it with either a rojo sauce dish, tasters agreed that short ribs delivered made with tomatoes and/or dried chiles the meatiest, richest filling yet. And or a verde sauce made with tomatillos. cutting them into 2-inch cubes reduced the My preference is for the robust rojo style, cooking time by half, to a comparatively particularly those versions that feature quick 2½ hours. Because short ribs are warm, earthy spices. Instead of having to fairly fatty, the filling was a little greasy, but seek out a good local taqueria every time trimming the meat well before cooking and I get a craving for this Mexican comfort skimming the cooking liquid before saucing , I wondered how hard it would be the meat were easy fixes. to make a great version at home. Depth Perception Getting Saucy My recipe was shaping up nicely: The flavor The handful of carne deshebrada reci- was much improved, it used easy-to-find pes that I found didn’t look complicated. ingredients, and its preparation was fairly They started with the same basic pro- Opting for beef short ribs over more traditional chuck roast cuts the simple. The meat required trimming before cedure: covering the cut of choice with cooking time by hours and delivers a seriously meaty, rich taco filling. cooking and shredding afterward, but it was water in a large pot, adding some flavor- hands-off for most of the cooking time. ings (onion, garlic, cilantro, and sometimes vari- down the drain. My goal was clear: I wanted a recipe I wanted to keep it that way, but I had to wonder if ous others), and braising the meat for several hours for this shredded meat filling that really emphasized I couldn’t develop even more meaty flavor. until tender. The meat is then removed, shredded, beef flavor. For the rojo sauce, I wasn’t sold on any I didn’t want to tack on the extra step of brown- and combined with a sauce prepared separately. particular style, but I wanted it to boast meaty depth ing the meat at the start, but I’d developed enough The sauce recipes showed more variation. Some and complexity. braising recipes to know that meat that isn’t sub- were as simple as canned whole or diced tomatoes Since discarding the cooking liquid was clearly merged in liquid will brown during cooking. My simmered quickly with onion and garlic, while detracting from my goal of meaty flavor, my first short ribs were just peeking above the liquid and others went on to add a mix of spices as well as move was to put the braising liquid to use in the thus barely browning. What if I gave the meat a lift dried and sometimes fresh chiles. Some sauces sauce. Having it pull double duty would not only so that more of it was exposed? I sliced an onion were pureed, while others were left a bit chunky. ensure more flavor but also streamline things by into thick rounds, arranged them in the pot with No matter the sauce used, one flaw was clear: For allowing me to skip preparing a sauce separately. the cooking liquid, and placed the chunks of short a dish known for its meatiness, the beef flavor was It made sense to swap out the water for beef broth. ribs on top. When I pulled the pot from the oven noticeably wan. One contributing factor seemed I wanted to add only as much broth as I’d need to about 2½ hours later and removed the lid, at first obvious: Once the roast or steak was cooked and adequately sauce the beef; my guess was that 2 cups glance I wasn’t hopeful about the results. The onion removed from the pot, the cooking liquid, along would be about right. I added it to the pot with the rounds had softened and sunk, taking the meat down

with all the flavor released by the beef, was poured meat (I went with a chuck roast for the moment), with them. But when I removed the meat from the T remblay along with diced canned tomatoes, chopped onion, sauce to shred it, I noticed that it had stayed afloat a little minced jalapeño, and garlic. At this point, long enough to develop really good browning, and See the Setup I opted not to use dried chiles, which allowed me the beef had tons of meaty flavor. What about the Video available free for 4 months to skip pureeing the sauce. I cooked the meat until sauce? I fished the onion slices out of the pot and at CooksIllustrated.com/apr14 tender before shredding it and returning it to the gave it a taste. It was certainly good and meaty—but

pot to toss with the sauce. The filling was definitely it wasn’t much else. C A rl photography:

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Beef Tacos Layout.indd 8 12/17/13 4:24 PM The Right Blend Giving Beef(iness) a Boost I wondered if broth really made the best choice for the cooking liquid, which was now incredibly meaty We found that many recipes for the shredded but lacking in depth and brightness. My recipe was beef taco filling known as carne deshebrada pro- really nothing more than a braise, and many braises duced results that weren’t actually all that beefy. use some form of alcohol to provide both traits that To improve meatiness, we used short ribs, one my sauce was missing. Wine didn’t seem appropri- of the most flavorful braising cuts we know, and ate for this Mexican braise, but beer did, and when cut them into 2-inch cubes for faster cooking. We I swapped in a bottle of good ale for most of the also propped up the cubes on onion rounds so broth, tasters found the sauce much improved. It that the exposed portions would brown during still lacked acidity, so I ditched the remaining broth the 2-plus hours of cooking—thus avoiding the Sliced onion lifts the short ribs above the braising liquid, in favor of cider . I also decided to swap out fuss of searing the meat before cooking. which delivers more browning—and more meaty flavor. the canned tomatoes for the concentrated umami- rich flavors of tomato paste. The switch to tomato paste whetted my appe- Shredded Beef Tacos 1. For the Beef: Adjust oven rack to lower- tite for a smoother sauce; without the chunks of (Carne Deshebrada) middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. tomatoes, the sauce was incorporating much more Serves 6 to 8 Combine beer, vinegar, anchos, tomato paste, garlic, thoroughly with the shreds of meat. For the next bay leaves, cumin, oregano, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ tea- batch, I gave the cooking liquid a quick whiz in Use a full-bodied lager or ale such as Dos Equis spoon pepper, cloves, and cinnamon in Dutch oven. the blender before combining it with the shred- or Sierra Nevada. If you can’t find queso fresco, Arrange onion rounds in single layer on bottom of ded meat. This sauce was better still, with a silky, substitute feta. If your Dutch oven does not have pot. Place beef on top of onion rounds in single unctuous texture. a tight-fitting lid, cover the pot tightly with a sheet layer. Cover and cook until meat is well browned Now that I was pureeing the sauce, there was no of heavy-duty aluminum foil and then replace the and tender, 2½ to 3 hours. reason not to use dried chiles. Recipes called for a lid. To warm the tortillas, place them on a plate, 2. For the Cabbage-Carrot Slaw: wide variety, from fruity, moderately hot guajillos; cover them with a damp dish towel, and microwave While beef cooks, whisk vinegar, water, sugar, and to mildly flavored, slightly spicy New Mexican reds; them for 60 to 90 seconds. The shredded beef also salt in large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add cab- to smoky-sweet anchos and earthy, raisiny pasillas. makes a great filling for empanadas, tamales, and bage, onion, carrot, jalapeño, and oregano and toss While each variety had its merits, anchos came out chiles rellenos. to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour on top. By the end of the cooking time, they were or up to 24 hours. Drain slaw and stir in cilantro plenty soft and easily pureed into the sauce, giving Beef right before serving. it the smoky, spicy kick it needed. 1½ cups beer 3. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to large Up to this point, I hadn’t been adding herbs or ½ cup cider vinegar bowl, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and set spices to the sauce. Traditional choices ranged from 2 ounces (4 to 6) dried ancho chiles, stemmed, aside. Strain liquid through fine-mesh strainer into only a little dried oregano to up to 10 different seeded, and torn into 1-inch pieces 2-cup liquid measuring cup (do not wash pot). seasonings. For increased complexity without going 2 tablespoons tomato paste Discard onion rounds and bay leaves. Transfer overboard, I settled on the warm notes of ground 6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled remaining solids to blender. Let strained liquid cumin, cinnamon, and cloves, along with dried 3 bay leaves settle for 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. oregano and bay leaves. 2 teaspoons ground cumin Add water as needed to equal 1 cup. Pour liquid in 2 teaspoons dried oregano blender with reserved solids and blend until smooth, Top This Salt and pepper about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to now-empty pot. For taco toppings, we usually stick with reliable ½ teaspoon ground cloves 4. Using two forks, shred beef into bite-size standbys like salsa, pico de gallo (chopped fresh ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon pieces. Bring sauce to simmer over medium heat. tomatoes, onions, and chiles), guacamole, and 1 large onion, sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds Add shredded beef and stir to coat. Season with salt cheese, but I felt that given the filling’s richness, a 3 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and to taste. (Beef can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; topping that was bright and added crunch would cut into 2-inch cubes gently reheat before serving.) provide perfect contrast. 5. Spoon small amount of beef into each warm To that end, I looked past Mexico to El Salvador Cabbage-Carrot Slaw tortilla and serve, passing slaw, queso fresco, and lime and homed in on curtido, a crunchy, tart cabbage- 1 cup cider vinegar wedges separately. carrot slaw with a spicy kick that’s a specialty of ½ cup water that country. While the slaw is often fermented to 1 tablespoon sugar develop flavor (a process that takes several days or 1½ teaspoons salt For Maximum Flavor, even weeks), I found that a quick version tossed ½ head green cabbage, cored and sliced thin Keep the Cooking Liquid together while the meat was braising and then (6 cups) Many recipes for carne deshebrada call for braising refrigerated for 1 hour had all the punch that my 1 onion, sliced thin the meat, shredding it, and tossing it in a sauce made tacos required. The key was marinating the shred- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded separately. Meanwhile, the braising liquid is thrown

T remblay ded vegetables, onion, and jalapeño in a fruity cider 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced out. We use a lesser amount of cooking liquid; vinegar–based pickling liquid before draining and 1 teaspoon dried oregano add dried chiles, tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and serving them. In addition to the curtido, a sprinkling 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro warm spices to it; and puree it—and all its meaty of crumbled queso fresco (or feta if you’re in a pinch) flavor—into a sauce. For depth and brightness, we introduced the right salty, creamy finish to the tacos. 18 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed forgo water (or even broth) as the braising liquid in With that, I had a carne deshebrada taco that 4 ounces queso fresco, crumbled (1 cup) favor of a combination of beer and vinegar.

photography: C A rl photography: burgoyne john illustration: could hold its own against the best of the rest. Lime wedges

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Beef Tacos Layout.indd 9 12/17/13 4:24 PM