Tacos de Suadero

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or wide clay cazuela
• •Large flat comal, cast iron skillet, or heavy griddle
• •Sharp heavy knife or cleaver for chopping the cooked meat
• •Fine-mesh strainer for the rendered fat
• •Slotted spoon
• •Tortilla warmer or cloth servilleta

Instructions

1. 1

   Understand the cut

   Suadero is not a name for a cooking method. It is a specific cut: the thin sheet of beef between the flank and the rib, with its layer of fat still attached. In Mexico the carnicero will hand you a flat slab the size of a notebook. Outside Mexico, ask for the bottom of the brisket plate, or the thin end of the brisket. If you cannot get it, use brisket with the fat cap on and add extra beef trim. What you cannot do is use lean stew meat. The fat is half of the dish.

   If your butcher does not know what suadero is, do not try to teach him. Ask for brisket with the most fat he has and add a pound of beef trim or short rib meat to make up the difference.
2. 2

   Build the simmering pot

   Cut the brisket into pieces about the size of your palm so they fit in the pot. Place the brisket and the beef trim in a heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or wide cazuela. Add the lard, halved onion, halved garlic, bay leaves, salt, peppercorns, the squeezed orange halves, and the chile de arbol if using. The lard should come about halfway up the meat. Set over medium heat until the lard melts and a few lazy bubbles rise around the meat.

3. 3

   Confit the meat low and slow

   Lower the heat until the fat is barely shimmering. You want the slowest possible simmer, a bubble every few seconds, not a boil. Cook uncovered for two hours, turning the pieces every 30 minutes so each side spends time submerged. The meat is ready when a fork goes in without resistance but the pieces still hold their shape. This is the moment Mexico City's taqueros call the meat 'rendida,' surrendered. No me vengas con atajos. The two hours are the recipe.

4. 4

   Rest and reserve the fat

   Lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and set it on a tray to rest for at least 15 minutes. Strain the rendered fat through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve it. You will need a few tablespoons for the next step and the rest is a treasure: it will keep in the refrigerator for months and it makes the next pot of beans or rice taste like a taqueria. Discard the spent onion, garlic, orange, and bay leaves.

5. 5

   Chop the suadero fine

   On a large cutting board, chop the meat with a heavy knife or a cleaver. You want pieces small enough to spoon onto a tortilla, about the size of a corn kernel. Chop the fat right in with the meat. Do not separate them. The Mexico City taqueros at the corner of Bucareli chop directly on the convex side of the comal in front of you, fat and meat going together in a steady rhythm. That texture, fine but not minced, is the signature of a real taco de suadero.

6. 6

   Crisp on the comal

   Heat a large flat comal, cast iron skillet, or heavy griddle over medium-high. Add two tablespoons of the reserved fat and let it shimmer. Spread a handful of the chopped suadero in a thin layer and press it down with a spatula. Leave it alone for two or three minutes until the bottom turns deep brown and crisp. Stir, press again, and let the other side catch color. The meat should crackle audibly. That sound is the dish telling you it is ready.

7. 7

   Warm the tortillas

   While the suadero crisps, warm the tortillas on a second comal or off to the side of the same one. They should puff slightly and pick up a few darkened spots. Stack them in a cloth servilleta to keep them warm. Use two tortillas per taco. This is not optional. The bottom tortilla catches the fat from the meat. The top tortilla is the one you fold. One tortilla alone will fall apart in your hand and the taquero in Roma Norte will laugh at you for it.

8. 8

   Build the taco

   Lay two warm tortillas slightly overlapping on a plate. Spoon a generous tablespoon of the crisped suadero down the middle. Top with diced raw white onion, a pinch of cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and the salsa of the house. In Ciudad de México the standard order is 'con todo,' with everything. Eat it standing up if you can. That is how it is meant to be eaten. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •If you have a relationship with a Mexican carniceria, ask specifically for 'suadero' and they will know what you mean. If you are working from a standard American or European butcher, the closest approximation is the deckle and the thin end of the brisket plate, with the fat cap fully intact, supplemented by short rib meat. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Save the strained beef fat. Refrigerated, it lasts for months. Use it to fry tortillas for chilaquiles, to start a pot of beans, or to crisp the next batch of suadero. The fat carries the flavor of the meat and it is more useful than most things in your refrigerator.
• •The salsa matters. Mexico City suadero is almost always served with a thin salsa verde cruda made from raw tomatillo, serrano, cilantro, and onion blended together, and a thin salsa roja made from chile de arbol toasted on the comal. Thick chunky salsa belongs on other tacos. These need to drip a little.
• •Two tortillas per taco. I will say it twice because outside Mexico people do not believe it. Two tortillas. The bottom one absorbs the fat so the top one stays clean enough to fold. This is not a serving suggestion. This is the structure of the taco.

Advance Preparation

• •The confited suadero can be cooked one or even two days ahead and refrigerated, submerged in its own strained fat. The flavor only deepens. Chop and crisp to order at serving time.
• •The salsas should be made the day they are served. Salsa verde cruda turns dull and loses its bright bite within hours of blending. Make it just before the table sits down.
• •The strained beef fat keeps refrigerated for several months and frozen indefinitely. Treat it as a pantry staple, not a byproduct.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)