Relishing It

As a blogger, I try not to write about dishes that other bloggers have recently covered.  Obviously, many of us are cooking with seasonal produce, so there’s going to be some ingredient overlap.  For other, more random foods that can be made everyday, I try to avoid imitation.  But every once in awhile, I come across something like these amazing tacos.  I first encountered these beauties on Pinterest, and knew I had to make them right away.  Aaand…they were incredible.  Really, really incredible.  So good that I figured I had to share them with you.

One of the strange paradoxes of Spring and Summer is that as the days get longer, our amount of free time for preparing meals gets shorter.  More time spent driving kids from one practice to the other.  More time trying to squeeze every last minute of fun out of warmer days.  These tacos are a nice solution to that time crunch.  You can put the meat in the crockpot in the morning or the night before.  As an aside, I find it odd that so many people think the crockpot is for winter cooking.  Who wants to turn on the oven in the middle of the summer heat?  I use mine as much, if not more, during the warm months.  And again, if you don’t own a crockpot, throw all the ingredients into a Dutch oven and braise.

These Asian-inspired tacos taste amazing. The ginger and garlic mixed in with the subtle, sweet flavors pair perfectly with the beef.  I made these mildly spicy  for my kids, but feel free to add extra sriracha sauce for more of a punch.  I love the pickled cucumbers and red onions.  It’s a quick extra step that shouldn’t be avoided.  The pickled flavors are the final perfect touch to this  meal.  Hope you enjoy!

The Recipe: Asian-Inspired Beef Tacos with Pickled Vegetables

2 – 2  1/2 pounds of grass-fed beef chuck roast

1/2 cup water

3  1-inch knobs of ginger, finely chopped

4 – 6 cloves of garlic, rough chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

For the Garnishes:

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

cilantro or green onions

lime wedges

about 1/2 cup white vinegar

To make the tacos:  In a small bowl, combine the water, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha sauce, brown sugar, and orange juice.  Place the chuck roast in a crock pot and pour the mixture over it.  Set the crockpot to low and leave on overnight.

In the morning, remove the chuck roast,  place on a plate, and wrap in aluminum foil.  If time allows,  place the liquid from the crockpot into the refrigerator or freezer for about a half hour.   The fat will harden and be easy to remove.  Otherwise, spoon out as much fat as you can.  Place liquid (don’t strain) into a small sauce pan and simmer until it has reduced a bit.  Re-season, if necessary.

Meanwhile,  place the sliced cucumbers and red onion into a small bowl.  Pour enough white vinegar over them so they are covered and let them sit for a bit to “pickle”.  After a while,  use two forks and shred the chuck roast.  Pour the reduced sauce over the meat.  Serve with tacos shells,  pickled cucumbers and red onions, cilantro, and limes.  Enjoy!

Source:  Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Thanks for stopping by Relishing It today!  See you soon.

Laurie