How do you feel about tacos? I had the best tacos of my life not too long ago in Tijuana, they were beef birria tacos in the most perfect chili sauce-drenched tortillas and were the quintessential combination of simple street food meets restorative cuisine. But that happens every time I go to Mexico—just when I feel like I’ve eaten the best taco of my life, I find a new one I can’t live without. I fall more deeply in love with tacos each passing day. So when Laura Fuentes new book The Taco Tuesday Cookbook arrived at my doorstep I couldn’t wait to dig in.
Laura is the founder of MOMables which provides healthy meal plans for busy families and knows a thing or two about cooking meals that the entire family will love. She is a dedicated speaker, recipe developer, and all around talented, creative lady who might be as taco-obsessed as I am—and she has the book to prove it.
The cookbook has 52 taco recipes—one for every #TacoTuesday of the year! Not to mention, lots of good stuff to round out your weekly taco party, like salsas, drinks, and recipes for making your own tortillas. Many of the fillings can be made in the slow cooker and include a huge variety of taco options from breakfast tacos, vegetarian, and more.
If you’re a taco purist there’s lots of good recipes here for you, like Chicken Salsa Verde or Baja Fish Tacos. If you think outside the traditional taco box there’s lots of those too, like the Hawaiian Pork Tacos (pictured up top) and Barbecue Chicken Tacos (pictured above).
For me, I couldn’t resist these smoky slow cooker beef tacos. Here’s what Laura has to say about them:
Tender, braised beef falling off the bone is the star of these Mexican short rib tacos. Cooked low and slow in the oven or the slow cooker with Mexican chiles, these are about as satisfying as it gets. And, to me, they are the epitome of comfort food.
How To Make Short Rib Tacos on the Stove Top
I lost my slow cooker over Cinco de Mayo (don’t ask) so I made these in my trusty Le Creuset Braiser on the stove top. I browned the ribs as indicated in step 1 and transferred them to a large plate instead of the slow cooker. Then I poured off most of the fat from the pan and browned the onions.
After the onions were soft, and just started to brown, I deglazed the pan with and extra cup of beef stock, poured the chipotle sauce in the pan, and returned the ribs to the pot. I brought the whole thing to a boil, then reduced it to a low simmer. I covered the pot and let them cook over low heat for 2 hours or until they were falling off the bone. You could also stick them in a low oven (about 300°F, covered, for the same amount of time).
Then pick up the recipe in step 4.
Mexican Short Rib Tacos from Laura Fuentes' Taco Tuesday Cookbook
Recipe courtesy of Laura Fuentes from The Taco Tuesday Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 pounds beef short ribs, fat trimmed
- 1 can (6-ounce) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 tortillas
- 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced
- Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Begin to brown the beef ribs in batches until browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place them inside a large slow cooker once they've browned.
- In a blender, combine the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, garlic, tomato paste, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, cumin, salt, and beef stock. Blend until the sauce is homogenous. Transfer to the slow cooker and pour over the beef. Add half of the chopped onion, reserving the remaining half for serving, and the bay leaves.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low, until the meat is falling off the bone.
- Remove the ribs from the sauce. Remove any excess fat from the ribs; discard the bones and shred the meat. Using a large spoon, skim the fat from the surface of the sauce in the slow cooker. Transfer the meat back to the slow cooker and combine with the sauce.
- Serve the beef inside a tortilla and top with the reserved chopped onions, sliced guacamole, pico de Gallo, and a dab of sour cream.
Notes
This recipe calls for a slow cooker, see the blog post for instructions on how to make them in a Dutch oven.
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