Recipe: Tacos De Arrachera (Steak Tacos) by Sarah & Otis Frizzell

Recipe: Tacos De Arrachera (Steak Tacos) by Sarah & Otis Frizzell

8h prep | 30m cook

Last updated

The Lucky Taco food truck has been serving up fresh, authentic and delicious Mexican inspired food in New Zealand for 10 years. Owners Sarah and Otis Frizzell have written a cookbook filled with their famously fun and mouthwatering recipes, including Sticky Cider Ribs, The Lucky Burger, 'R' Rated Mac 'n' Cheese, and this recipe - Tacos De Arrachera.

Excerpt from The Lucky Taco: One night in Mexico City, we found a very unassuming taco stand where two brothers were cooking marinated skirt steak on what looked like a metal sombrero. The meat was cooked over the central dome, then dropped into the ‘rim’ to bubble in its own juices. They dipped the tortillas in the juices and heated them through over the dome, then added some chopped meat, a red and a green salsa and finely chopped onions. So simple. Yet one of the best things we’ve ever eaten.

This recipe is an edited extract from The Lucky Taco: by Sarah and Otis Frizzell, published by Penguin Books Australia. Photography credit: Victoria Baldwin.

Ingredients (Makes 12)

FOR THE STEAK

  • 1 tbsp canola oil, plus extra for cooking
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
  • 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1⁄2 tsp achiote paste
  • Pinch of ground white pepper
  • 80g sliced canned chipotles in adobo sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 600g diced skirt steak, sinew removed

TO BUILD

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1 cup smashed avocado or Avocado Crema (recipe from The Lucky Taco page 62)
  • 200g sliced red cabbage
  • 300g diced tomato or Pico de gallo (recipe from The Lucky Taco page 56)
  • 100g Salsa roja (store bought or recipe from The Lucky Taco page 45)
  • Handful of fresh coriander leaves
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges (you should be able to get 8 wedges per medium-to- large lime)
  • Chilli salt (optional)
  • Hot sauce (optional)

 It’s best to marinate the steak overnight if you can, but a few hours will do.

Blitz oil, lime juice, soy sauce, cumin, chilli flakes, achiote paste, white pepper, chipotles and garlic together in a food processor. Add diced steak, stir to combine, cover and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours. If you’ve marinated it overnight, take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking to let it come to room temp.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 80°C.

Place freshly cooked tortillas in stacks of six, and wrap up in a foil parcel. Place in warm oven. Alternatively, use a tortilla warmer.

Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan, and fry steak in two batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for a few minutes per side, until you get a bit of a golden-browned edge on each side.

To build, dollop smashed avocado or avocado crema on to tortilla, followed by six to eight pieces of steak. Add some red cabbage, diced tomato or pico de gallo, salsa roja, fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime. Top with a shimmy of chilli salt and some hot sauce for an extra kick.

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