Steak Tacos

The folks at Tortilla Land sent me a very generous supply of their flour tortillas. 144 tortillas to be exact.

With a stockpile of tortillas like that, it's easy to see why I was immediately inspired to incorporate them into a meal. I decided to try them with a simple marinated flank steak filling, so that I could get a real sense of the tortillas before using them in more complicated preparations where their flavor and texture might be less noticeable.

Tortilla Land's tortillas are uncooked flour tortillas. I wasn't sure how much of a difference this would make. I watched the video on how to cook the tortillas, and you merely heat them for about 30 seconds on each side. I basically do this with regular flour tortillas to warm them. But unlike my usual flour tortillas, when I cooked the Tortilla Land tortillas, they started to puff up and I could just tell they were going to be better than regular tortillas. After the first bite, any remaining doubts I had disappeared. The texture is so much better than any flour tortillas I've had before. It's sort of chewy, in a good way, and the spots that browned from the heat are a little crunchy.

Steak Tacos (adapted from The Best Skillet Recipes)
Printable version
Makes 4 to 6 tacos

Ingredients

Marinade
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro
2 scallions, chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 small (or 1/2 of a medium) jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon lime juice from 1 lime

Steak and tacos
1/2 to 3/4 pounds flank steak, cut lengthwise into 4 equal pieces
Salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Black pepper
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
4 to 6 Tortilla Land flour tortillas
Sliced white onion, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation

Pulse cilantro, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin together in food processor until finely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses.

Add the oil, and process until mixture is smooth, (You may have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.)

Transfer 1 1/2 tablespoons of the herb paste to the bowl you plan to serve the steak in. Stir in the lime juice, and reserve until serving time.

With a fork, poke each piece of steak about 10 times on each side. Place the steak in a baking dish, rub all sides evenly with 3/4 teaspoons salt, and then coat them with the herb paste.

Cover the steaks with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

Scrape the paste off the steaks, and sprinkle all sides with the sugar and some pepper.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the steak in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until both sides are well browned. (Cook a few minutes longer to desired doneness if necessary.)

Transfer the steak to a cutting board, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Heat a griddle to 400 degrees.

Slice each piece of steak against the grain into 1/8-inch-thick pieces.

Transfer the steak slices to the bowl with the reserved herb paste, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the tortillas on the preheated griddle for 30 to 60 seconds per side, or until nicely browned.

Place some of the onion slices on each tortilla and top with a small scoop of steak. Squeeze some lime juice on top, if desired. Serve warm.

Even if I hadn't received these tortillas for free, I would still be raving about them. I really, truly enjoyed them and found them noticeably better than already cooked flour tortillas. I also absolutely loved the steak filling. The marinade smelled so good that as I was making it, Jeff worked over and noted that the smell reminded him of a Mexican restaurant. I think it was the cumin in there.

We tried some Sidral Mundet Mexican sodas along with the tacos. These were complimentary samples from the people at Sidral Mundet. The sodas came in apple and green apple flavors. The smell of the green apple soda immediately reminded me of apple martinis and green apple Jolly Ranchers. Jeff and I both liked the flavor of the green apple soda but found the regular apple soda a bit bland. We expected a stronger apple flavor. It was fun to pair the Mexican sodas with our Mexican dinner though!

These steak tacos are the perfect meal for a warm spring evening and would even be great for a Memorial Day crowd if you double or triple the recipe.

Have you tried Tortilla Land tortillas?