Best Steak Tacos

By Shawn

Ingredients

• Herb Paste
• ½ c packed cilantro leaves
• 3 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• I medium jalapeno chile, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 3 medium green onions, roughly chopped (about 1/3 c)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ c vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice from 1 lime
• Steak
• 1 ½-1 ¾ pound flank steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise with the grain into 4 equal pieces
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
• ½ teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 6-inch tortillas warmed (cook over a medium gas flame or in a dry skillet until softened and speckled with brown spots, 20 to 30 seconds per side)
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Minced white onions
• Lime wedges

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1.FOR THE HERB PASTE, pulse cilantro, garlic, green onions, jalpeno and cumin in food processor until finely chopped, 10 to 12 1-second pulses, crapping down sides as necessary. Add oil and process until mixture is smooth and resembles pesto, about 15 seconds, scraping down sides of workbowl as necessary. Transfer 2 tablespoons herb past to medium bowl, whisk in lime juice and set aside.

2.FOR THE STEAK: Using dinner fork, poke each piece of steak 10 to 12 times on each side. Place in large baking dish; rub all sides of steak pieces evenly with salt and then coat with remaining herb paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

3.Scrape herb past off steak and sprinkle all sides of pieces evenly with sugar and pepper. Heat oil in 12 inch heavy –bottomed nonstick skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Place steak in skillet and cook until smoking. Place steak in skillet and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip steak and sear until second side is well browned, 2-3 minutes. Using tongs, stand each piece on a cut side and cook, turning as necessary, until all cut sides are well browned and internal temperature register 125 to 130 degrees on an instant read thermometer 2 to 7 minutes. Transfer steak to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.

4.FOR THETACOS: Using sharp chef’s knife or carving knife, slice steak pieces across grain into 1/8 inch thick pieces. Transfer sliced steak to bowl with herb paste-lime juice mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt. Spoon small amount of sliced steak into center of each warm tortilla and serve immediately passing toppings separately.