Tag: Latin American
Smoked Pit Beef Tacos
Smoked Pit Beef Tacos
What’s better than tacos? Not much. The meat used in these particular tacos comes from a brined, then smoked chuck roast. This beef can be used in numerous recipes for fillings, sandwiches, nachos, etc.
Ingredients
- smoked chuck roast
- corn or flour tortillas
- cilantro/onion/green onion mix
- smoked tomatillo salsa
Instructions
- Shred the smoked chuck roast.
- Top the tortillas with the beef, cilantro/onion/green onion mix, and the tomatillo salsa.
Smoked Pit Beef
Smoked beef sandwiches!? Fuck yeah, smoked beef sandwiches. They are extremely easy to make as long as you have time and patience. This is better than any smoked beef you can get from a restaurant or smokehouse for a fraction of the price. I’ve seen smoked beef go for as much as $25-$30 per lb, when the chuck roast I purchased was only $3.99lb.Once brined, the chuck will take 2 hours per lb to smoke in order for the meat to shred; exactly like a pork shoulder. To achieve this, use a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. You will want the temp to get to 205-210 degrees. Once finished, let the chuck rest for at least 20 minutes. The beef is great on a sandwich or even used as taco meat.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast
- black pepper
- paprika
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 6 shallots sliced
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Place the chuck in a gallon sized storage bag with the brine. Brine the chuck for 1 day.
- Pat the chuck dry. Season all sides with black pepper and paprika. Let rest at room temperature for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the chuck in the smoker.
- The chuck will take about 2 hours per lb. Monitor the temp with a probe thermometer. In order for the beef to shred, you will need to reach an internal temp of 205-210 degrees.
- Once finished smoking, pull from the smoker and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Slice or shred the beef.
Smoked Tomatillo Salsa
I really like tomatillo salsa and wanted to see what it tastes like with the ingredients smoked. The answer: even better! The ingredients take no more than 2 hours to smoke in your smoker. It’s ready to use as soon as you purée the ingredients in a food processor. The salsa will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb tomatillos
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 jalapeños
- 2 green onions
- 1 head garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wood Chips
- mesquite wood chips
Instructions
- Place the tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeños, and green onions on your smokers rack.
- Place in a preheated 250 degree smoker for 2 hours.
- Let the ingredients cool.
- Add the smoked ingredients along with the cilantro, vinegar, and salt to a food processor.
- Purée until smooth.
Green Chorizo
Green Chorizo
I never heard of green chorizo until very recently. I was shopping at my favorite Latin market, El Burrito Mercado, in their meat department. I stumbled across packages of green chorizo that they make in house. Sure, why not. Let’s try it. So I bought a few links and cooked them up at home. To quote the great Ric Flair, “Wooooo!” They were unbelievably flavorful and spicier than I expected. A lot more spicy than any red chorizo I’ve had. So, being a sausage maker, I had to learn how to make them.Green chorizo gets it’s color from all of the green ingredients: roasted poblanos, serranos, cilantro, parsley, and green onions. All of these ingredients get chopped in a food processor until a chunky green paste is formed. The paste is then mixed into ground pork. And just like that, you have bulk green chorizo. If you want the sausage stuffed into casings, you will need a sausage stuffer. The green chorizo is great with eggs and even better in tacos.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 5 lbs ground pork
- 4 poblano peppers
- 4 serrano peppers
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 head garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar vinegar
- pork casings for making links
Instructions
Bulk Green Chorizo
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the poblano peppers on a rack on a baking sheet.
- Broil for 6 minutes a side until the pepper is charred.
- Place the peppers in a bowl with a cover for 10 minutes. This will sweat the skins off of the poblanos.
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are turned into a chunky paste.
- Pour the green mix over the ground pork.
- Mix thoroughly.
Green Chorizo Links
- Pipe the green chorizo through your sausage stuffer. Use pork casings for regular sized links and lamb casings for breakfast sized links. Twist to 6” long.
- Let the links sit for 2 hours before cutting.
Green Chorizo Tacos
- Place the bulk chorizo in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Brown for 8 minutes.
- Serve on corn tortillas. Top with onions, cilantro, and your favorite salsa.
Johnny Cakes
Johnny Cakes
Unlike the cornmeal pancake version that you may be familiar with, Belizean-style johnny cakes are dense baking powder biscuits with a slight coconut taste. They contain flour and no cornmeal. Johnny cakes are typically served for breakfast with eggs, sausage, and fried beans. They also go great with Belizean stewed chicken, soaking up all of the red recado sauce.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp butter melted
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- milk for brushing
Instructions
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Mix in the wet ingredients.
- Knead for a minute.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Portion the dough out to 6 equal dough balls. Slightly flatten.
- Using a fork, gently prick several sets of holes on the top side.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the top side with milk.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
