I hosted poker night at my house and thought it would be fun to have "make your own tacos" night. While I was finishing up all the components for the tacos, my guests nibbled on fresh guacamole and salsa. I made beef and chicken tacos and a roasted corn salad. We had a 5 to 2 vote on the chicken over beef but both were tender and spicy!
Beef
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007
Ingredients
* 2 pounds beef shoulder
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* 1 large onion, sliced
* 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)
* 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 3 bay leaves
* Kosher salt
Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, or other heavy pot that has a tight cover, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the garlic and the beef to the pot, browning the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice crust on the outside. Add the onion and allow to lightly brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, plus 1 tomato can of water, spices, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 3 hours until the meat is fork tender. Let meat cool in the liquid. Shred meat and set aside.
Chicken
Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman
Ingredients
* 2 pounds chicken thighs (about 5 thighs)
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for cast iron skillet
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 5 or 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 2 teaspoons dried cumin
* 1 (26-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
* 2 limes, juiced
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Brown the chicken well on both sides. Remove chicken and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and saute onion, garlic, oregano and cumin for a few minutes. Stir in tomatoes, lime juice, sugar and salt. Add chicken back to the sauce bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from cooking liquid and let rest until cool enough to handle. Pull the meat from the bone and toss with the cooking liquid. Discard the bones and skin.
Simple Salsa:
* 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice (recommended: San Marzano)
* 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
* 1 Serrano chile
* 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
* 2 limes, juiced
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* Kosher salt
* Freshly cracked black pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
To make salsa, pulse all the ingredients, except the tomato juice, in a food processor. Add the reserved tomato juice if the salsa is too thick. Drizzle salsa with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside, allowing the flavors to marry.
