photo by cfarivar

"Well if I owned the taco truck…"

Fajitas must have a common history with brisket - a not so fantastic cut of meat is prepared in a way that makes it edible, and when done well, coveted.  Trouble is, when you live in a sea of tacos, fajitas can get a little overworked.  Everyone sells them.  Within a 1/2 mile radius of my house I can get tacos from at least 20 different sources: from trailers to restaurants to Taco Bell.

They're so common that I think they tend to be reserved for large parties.  Fajitas really are a great way to feed a bunch of hungry folks and far better than burgers.  Large groups means leftovers.  In addition to using up the leftovers, its nice to have a fajita taco that doesn't feel like bologna and white bread - this is it.

This is another take on fajitas - one that stands on its own.  There's no reason you can't stick with the same sides, but these work pretty well as just tacos and no trimming.  These would make a great truck taco, but I can't say I have ever seen one.

Fajitas de Arbol

2 Tbsp oil

1 red onion

4 chilies de Arbol

1/2 cup peanuts

6 roasted green new mexican chili pepper, cut into strips.

1/2 tsp cumin

full steak of fajitas, completely prepared and cooked

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet


2. Cook the onion, peanuts, chilies de Arbol and cumin until the onion is translucent.


3. Add the chilis and cook for 1 minute.


4. Add the fajitas and cook until heated through.


5. Salt and pepper to taste.


6. Serve in soft corn tortillas, and only the serious keep the chilis.

photo by papalars

The taco truck is a standard in my part of the world.  They get in the way during your commute, pull over at entirely random times and make a huge proportion of the working world momentarily relieved with their appearance.  The ice cream truck for adults.  No telling if it’s a local thing, but the taco trucks in my neighborhood use very large blue ceiling vents in a loud call to action.  Their appearance varies, but their menus rarely does.

The two big tacos, so to speak, are carne asada and beef fajita.  Honestly, I am still trying to get carne asada down the way I like it.  Fajitas are pretty simple, so they're a good place to start.

I think fajitas  are best served with lots of condiments - the more the better.  Cheese and salsa are must haves, pico de gallo and avocado  are nearly mandatory.  From there you can include fresh and roasted peppers, sour cream, lettuce or cabbage, pretty much anything you can imagine on a taco.

The key to cooking fajitas is a really hot grill.  I only cook them on a hot charcoal grill, and usually cook about half of this recipe.  I love cooking with Texas Port, so if I cook fajitas I will most likely serve them with braised cabbage.

Fajitas

1 skirt steak.   Usually between 1-2 pounds

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup Texas port wine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp red chili

2 in grated ginger

Juice from 2 lemons

Directions

1. Combine entire marinade until fully blended.


2. Cover beef and marinate overnight.


3. Grill on a very hot grill until cooked through, usually about 10 minutes.


4. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, avocado,  fresh peppers and salsa

The invasion of Austin by mobile food vendors continues unabated.  The most creative menu item I have seen (so far) is the spicy brisket crepe.  While I'm not quite ready to tackle that one, it got me thinking about one of my favorite bar foods….

There is an ice house in north Austin that is fairly hard to find.  For starters its on a road that exists in 5 different parts of the city, none of them connected and this one only 1/4 mile long.  Its listed in the directory under "deer processing".  Compared to the din  of non-stop twitter marketing, this seems like a healthy and welcome ploy to keep customers from finding you.  Customers sit under decades old vines that have overrun a chain-link fence  carport.  Cars pull up next to the tables, so this is one of those places where its much more interesting to have a 1963 Buick Riviera than a brand new Prius.  The staff brings out buckets of beer on ice and everyone enjoys the Texas heat.

After a couple hours, a guy with a badly damaged eye will walk over to your table with a couple bags he dug out of his truck.  He will ask, way too softly, if you want to buy some tamales.  Spicy brisket tamales.  The correct answer, and I always use the correct answer, is yes.

One thing I am very much cheating on with this recipe is the brisket.  I have the advantage of living in a place where I can buy a whole brisket that has been fantastically smoked within a day of purchase.  An unfair advantage, perhaps, but it would be silly not to take advantage of it.  

This recipe makes far too many tamales.  You can cut the recipe in half, but you'll notice that if you do, you'll have half a brisket.  Not an entirely bad situation to be in, but be prepared.  When you start cutting down the filling, you have to start thinking about using canned enchilada sauce.  That's where I draw the line.  So I end up making batches of masa paste until I am done.  Since it takes all of 2 minutes to make the paste, and not everyone can make 60 tamales at once, it’s a reasonable way to go.  The filling will freeze.  I highly recommend you make the full 60 and share them with your friends.

Spicy Brisket Tamales

Corn husks

Filling:

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

 4 dried Ancho chilies, stem and seeds removed, cut into small pieces

2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

1 can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion

1 tsp cumin

2-3 lb smoked brisket, diced

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 Tbsp honey

Masa:

2 cups masa harina

2 cups warm water

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Rinse the corn husks and keep them wet.


2. In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a boil.


3. Reduce heat, add the chili pepper, onion and garlic.


4. Cook for 15 minutes, remove from heat


5. In a blender, puree the chipotle peppers with the stock mixture.


6. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil and cook the onion and cumin until translucent, about 5 minutes.


7. Add the beef and cook for 3 minutes.


8. Add the pepper mixture, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.


9. Add the tomatoes and honey; cook gently for 10 minutes. Set aside.


10. Mix the masa harina, water, butter, baking powder and salt into a thick paste.


11. Spread the masa to near the edge of the husk.  Make it about 1/4" thick.


12. Put about 2 tablespoons in the middle of the paste.


13. Roll the tamale up, and fold the end over by about 2"


14. Steam the tamales in a covered pot with a rack for 60 minutes.

 photo by Xosé Castro

There's a saying - the only thing better than owning a boat is having a friend that owns a boat.  The same goes for hunting.  Having friends that hunt, and hunt well (or hunt on stocked ranches) means the occasional gift basket in an Igloo cooler.   When it comes to venison, at least in Texas, its inevitable you'll get some sausage.

The concept of meat pies is common and worldwide.  The most common are the British and Australian sort.  Both are great, but the Australian meat pie is more common in my locale.  In fact, there is a company selling Aussie meat pies, including the Guinness meat pie that I want to eventually make.

Personally, I am not much of a sausage eater and don't have much in the way of sausage recipes (other than Chorizo).  I've used this recipe for sausage I had left over after a crawfish boil and made the same recipe with venison for a crawfish boil.  It may seem like a long time cooking time, but it works with sausage.  I make these into empanadas, but they would be good as meat pies also.  The empanadas seem the right size.  Although I have yet to make them, they would probably be very good with the masa harina based dough.

Venison Empanadas

Filling:

1/2 sweet potato

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 onion

4 ribs celery

3 cloves garlic

1 lb venison sausage, diced

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp red pepper (I use a hot Indian chili)

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1 1/2 tsp basil

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions

1. Dice the potatoes, boil for 25 minutes, strain and set aside.


2. At the same time, cook the onion, celery and garlic with the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.


3. Lower the heat, add the sausage and seasonings and cook for 15 minutes.


4. Turn the heat up and cook for 5 minutes more, until the meat is well done.


5. Add the stock and peas, scrape the bottom of the pan, cook for 5 minutes.


6. Add the potato, cook for 5 minutes more.


7. Finish using the Making Empandas recipe.
   

  photo by steveyb

On a trip to a call center in Buenos Aires I discovered my standard street food - the empanada.  Every day I insisted that lunch start with yet another trip to the empanada stand downstairs.  At a place that resembled a sparse McDonalds, I could get a variety of mostly meat pies, all made with a crispy crust and not terribly spicy filling.  On return I started making them myself and found out how entirely flexible they are.  Such a fantastic concept - not as much of a caloric investment as a meat pie and not as much of a time investment as a samosa.  In the years that have passed since my decision to pursue empanadas I have made them with too many different fillings to remember.

The first and most important decision with empanadas is the filling.  There are many choices and not many bad ones.  The decision that is going to impact how much time it takes to make your empanadas is whether you want to use frozen pre-made shells or your own dough.  There are some good examples in the Samosas post or you could use the one below.  There is an example of this recipe all the way back to the Joy of Cooking.

If I am in a rush or feeling lazy, I keep some frozen shells on hand from La Salteña.  I get them from my local Mediterranean deli/bakery.  They are made in Argentina and work perfectly.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.


2. Roll out a disc (or if going the lazy route, peel off a finished shell)


3. Put some water around the lip of the empanada, then add a scoop of filling to the middle of the shell.


4. Pull the dough over the filling and crimp the edge to close.  I use an empanada cutter, but I have seen some interesting empanada presses on Amazon.


5. Stretch a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and place the empanadas in rows.  You can use a lightly greased baking sheet if you like.


6. Cook the empanadas on the center rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and brush with some olive oil.


7. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the empanadas are golden brown, usually about 15 minutes.  Make sure that the dough is finished and not clear.  If you are making your own dough (below), I give the empanadas a second brushing with oil 5 minutes before they are done.

Empanada Dough recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1/3 cup cold water

1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.


2. Add the butter to the flour a small chunk at a time, smashing the butter into the flour.


3. Beat the egg with the water and vinegar. 


4. Add to the dough.  Stir until everything is mixed.


5. Take the dough and turn it a couple times to mix everything.


6. Cool in a refrigerator until ready.