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
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb beef brisket or flankcut in 5 cm strips
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 4 cloves garlic
To serve
- 1 white onionfinely chopped
- ⅔ oz fresh cilantro (coriander)chopped
- 2 limesin wedges
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 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 minStep 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 minStep 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 minStep 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.
KrazyBadal
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.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Black bean tacos with lime slaw
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach
Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.
German