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Tacos de suadero

Beef brisket tacos

Tacos de suadero: Mexico City's beef brisket confited in fat and crisped on the griddle

Suadero is the soul of late-night taquerías in Mexico City, from Coyoacán to the Centro, where thin beef from between the belly and leg bubbles for hours in fat on a domed griddle called a choricera. It turns silky inside and crisp at the edges, then is chopped into tiny doubled tortillas with onion, cilantro and fiery salsa. At home, beef brisket or flank works well, slowly simmered then crisped; the fat is traditionally pork lard, or use beef dripping. Chef's tip: chop the meat small and crisp it in a hot pan just before serving, as taqueros do.
Total time
180 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
6
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Ingredients

Serves6

To serve

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Fresh ingredients (7)

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Method

0/4 done
  1. Step 1: Put the 2 ¼ lb beef brisket or flank, 2 tsp salt, 1 cup water, ½ white onion, 4 cloves garlic and 2 bay leaves in a heavy pot. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 45 minutes, until the water has almost evaporated.

    45 min
  2. Step 2: Add the 14 oz pork lard or beef dripping and keep the heat low so the fat just bubbles lazily. Cook uncovered for 1½–2 hours, turning now and then, until the beef is tender enough to cut with a spoon. Frying it hard at this stage is the mistake: it turns tough and stringy instead of silky.

    105 min
  3. Step 3: Lift out the beef and chop into small pieces. Heat 3 tbsp of the cooking fat in a frying pan over a high heat and crisp the meat in batches for 3–4 minutes until browned at the edges.

    10 min
  4. Step 4: Warm the 24 small corn tortillas (10 cm), stacking two per taco, and dip them briefly in the fat for a true taquería finish. Fill with the meat and top with 1 white onion, ⅔ oz fresh cilantro (coriander), ¾ cup salsa taquera or salsa verde and a squeeze of 2 limes.

    5 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
520 kcal
Protein
34 g
Carbs
34 g
Fat
28 g
Fibre
3 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does tacos de suadero take?
About 180 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 165 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?
Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of white onion?
2 shallots per onion.
What can I use instead of garlic?
½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.

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