Adobo Grilled Steak Tacos

You can buy Adobo from any market, but making your own isn't that difficult and more than worth doing. There is such a richness of flavor and it is a rather simple process.

Here is a taco recipe using a homemade Adobo and grilled skirt steak.

Adobo Grilled Steak Tacos
Serves 4

1 1/2 lb skirt steak
8 flour tortillas
1 large red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, thinly sliced
2 lemons, cut into quarters

Adobo
3 cascabel chiles
2 guajillo chiles
2 pasilla chiles
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 allspice berries
2 cloves
5 garlic cloves
1 inch stick cinnamon
8 black peppercorns

Prepare Adobo by wiping the chiles clean and seeding then roasting chiles for 7 minutes on each side in a toaster oven (or at 350 degree oven.) Place all Adobo ingredients into a blend and blend slowly into a paste. Add a 1 tsp of water at a time to get the right consistency if the 1/2 cup of water does not make it smooth enough.

Rub Adobo into skirt steak and let it marinate for 1 hour or overnight. Cook marinated skirt steak over high heat on a grill. About 10 minutes per side to desired doneness. Remove from grill and slice into small 1/2 inch pieces.

Fill flour tortillas with steak, onion, cilantro, and thin slices of avocado. Plate 2 tacos and include a quarter slice of lemon.

Coffee Rubbed Skirt Steak with Onion Date Compote

Like food blogging, my watching Food TV also goes in spurts. In a recent channel surf I came across a show new to me called Aarti's Party where I watched an episode making the following recipes. I modified both a little to my taste and also felt the amount of the onion compote was a bit much in the original recipe. Depending on how many guests you can adjust. I found the recipe below made enough for 4 people.

Coffee Rubbed Skirt Steak
Serves 4

1 1/2 Tbls chili powder
1 1/2 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbl ground coffee
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 (1 1/2-2 pound) skirt or flank steak

Place all spices in a bowl that you'll then use to let the steak sit and marinate for 2 hours or overnight. Mix the spices together and then add steak and rub into all sides.

Heat grill and cook marinated rubbed steak to desired taste. It's a fairly thin steak so cooking on the grill for 10 minutes on each side is good for a medium to medium-well finish.


Onion-Date Compote

1 Tbl olive oil
2 medium onions sliced into thin half-moons
Kosher salt
3 dates, pitted and minced
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup water

Heat olive oil in small sauce pot. Add onions when oil is nice and hot on medium-high heat. Add salt and dates after a minute. Let it all cook until the onions become translucent. Add balsamic vinegar and water and cook on medium heat so that it is bubbling for a good 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid is gone. Serve with skirt steak.