Tacos de Bistec con Todo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron comal or 12-inch skillet
• •Sharp heavy knife or small cleaver for chopping the meat
• •Wooden cutting board, preferably end-grain
• •Tortilla warmer or clean cotton cloth
• •Small ceramic bowls for the salsas and garnishes

Instructions

1. 1

   Slice the beef thin

   Put the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes before you cut it. Cold meat slices clean. Lay each piece flat and cut against the grain into slices no thicker than a coin. At the taquerias on Avenida Cuauhtemoc, the cook works from a slab that has been pre-sliced this thin, and that thinness is the entire secret. Thick steak does not become bistec de taqueria. It becomes a steak you cut up.

   If your butcher will slice it for you on the deli slicer, ask. Tell them milanesa thickness. Save yourself the trouble.
2. 2

   Season simply

   Toss the sliced beef in a bowl with the salt, pepper, minced garlic, and lime juice. That is the seasoning. No me vengas con atajos like bottled marinades or soy sauce. This is bistec, not fajitas. The point is the meat, the comal, and the salt. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you set up your station.

3. 3

   Set up the taquero station

   A bistec con todo taco is built fast and eaten faster, so everything has to be ready before the meat hits the comal. Dice the onion fine. Chop the cilantro. Cut the limes. Have the salsas in small bowls. Stack the tortillas under a clean cloth near the comal so they stay warm. If you are making the optional papas, dice and par-fry them in lard until tender and golden, then set them aside. The papas are how it is done at the taco stands by the Metro stations, a nod to the taco placero tradition.

4. 4

   Heat the comal hot

   Heat a heavy cast iron comal or skillet over medium-high until a drop of water hisses and disappears in two seconds. Add half the lard. Wait for it to shimmer. The pan has to be hot enough to sear, not steam. If the meat releases water and sits in it, your pan is cold. Pull it off and let it climb back up.

   La manteca es el sabor. Beef tallow works too. Vegetable oil does not have the flavor this taco needs.
5. 5

   Sear the bistec in batches

   Lay the beef on the comal in a single layer, do not crowd. Sear for about 90 seconds without touching it. The edges should color and the bottom should turn deep brown. Flip the pieces and cook for another 45 seconds. Total time on the comal is barely two minutes. Slide the seared meat to a cutting board and repeat with the rest of the meat and the remaining lard. Thin slices cook this fast. Do not overcook them or you will lose the juice.

6. 6

   Chop the meat fine on the board

   This step is what separates a taco de bistec from a steak in a tortilla. On the cutting board, chop the seared beef with a heavy knife or a cleaver into small uneven pieces, about the size of a corn kernel. The taquero in any decent puesto does this with two cleavers at once on a wooden block, the chop-chop-chop sound is the soundtrack of Mexico City after dark. Mix the chopped beef with any juices left on the board. If you are using the papas, fold them in now.

7. 7

   Warm and double the tortillas

   On a second comal or a clean spot of the same pan over medium heat, warm the tortillas one at a time for about 20 seconds per side. They should be soft and pliable, with a few small brown freckles. Stack them in pairs as you go and keep them under a cloth. Every taco gets two tortillas. The first one holds the meat. The second one catches the juice and the salsa when the first one gives up. Una sola tortilla no aguanta. This is not optional.

8. 8

   Build the taco con todo

   Open a double tortilla in your palm. Lay a generous spoonful of the chopped bistec down the center. Top with a pinch of diced raw white onion, a pinch of chopped cilantro, a spoonful of salsa, either verde or roja or both, and a squeeze of lime. Con todo means with everything: onion, cilantro, salsa, lime. That is the formula. A pickled jalapeno on the side if you want it. Eat the taco immediately, standing up if you are doing it right. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The thinness of the beef is the entire dish. If you cannot get your butcher to slice it for you, freeze the meat solid for 30 minutes and cut it on your sharpest knife. Thick beef makes a different taco, not a better one.
• •Two tortillas per taco. Not one. This is not negotiable and it is not about volume. The second tortilla is structural. It catches the juice when the first one tears. Every chilango knows this.
• •Bistec con todo is built and eaten in seconds. Do not plate them, photograph them, and walk to the table. They will be cold and the tortilla will be soggy. Build, hand off, eat. Build the next one. That is the rhythm.
• •If you cannot find hand-pressed corn tortillas, the small thin commercial corn tortillas labeled 'taqueria style' or 'street size' are the right shape. Avoid the thick gordita-style. They fight the taco instead of supporting it.
• •Two salsas at the table is the chilango standard: one verde, one roja. People who say they only like one are usually lying. Set out both and a small dish of pickled jalapenos and carrots and let the eater build to their own heat tolerance.

Advance Preparation

• •The beef can be sliced and seasoned up to four hours ahead and held in the refrigerator. Do not season more than four hours in advance or the salt will start to draw out the juice.
• •The salsas, both verde and roja, can be made up to three days ahead and kept refrigerated. They actually taste better on the second day.
• •Do not cook the bistec ahead. Reheated bistec is a sad meat. The dish is built and eaten in one motion, and the cooking time is barely two minutes. Wait until your eaters are at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)