Beef Cheek Tacos

Name: Beef Cheek Tacos
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 2 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 Juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 Juice of 1/2 orange; 1 Juice of 1 lime; 1 1/2 cup sugar; 1 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed; 1 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; 1 1/2 cup whole dried chiles de árbol; 1 1 1/2 whole dried guajillo chiles; 1 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro; 1 2 quarts water; 1 1 pound beef cheeks, cleaned (ask your butcher to do this for you); 1 1 1/2 tomatillos, charred; 1 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cilantro; 1 1 1/2 serrano chiles, with seeds; 1 1 1/2 jalapeños peppers with seeds, charred; 1 Juice of 1 lime; 1 2 1/2 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 1/2 cup roughly chopped scallions, charred; 1 1/2 cup natural rice vinegar (not seasoned); 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 1 8 to 10 corn tortillas; 1 Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 Chopped white onion; 1 Chopped cilantro

From the kitchen of Carly

Beef cheeks brined overnight in citrus, vinegar, and dried chiles, then simmered until fall-apart tender. Shredded into tacos with fresh cilantro, these deliver deep, complex flavors and melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them worth the wait.

Prep: n/a
Cook: n/a
Total: n/a
Servings: 4
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

4 servings

12 tablespoons kosher salt
1Juice of 1/2 lemon
1Juice of 1/2 orange
1Juice of 1 lime
11/2 cup sugar
13 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
11/2 cup red wine vinegar
11/2 cup whole dried chiles de árbol
11 1/2 whole dried guajillo chiles
11 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
12 quarts water
11 pound beef cheeks, cleaned (ask your butcher to do this for you)
11 1/2 tomatillos, charred
11 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cilantro
11 1/2 serrano chiles, with seeds
11 1/2 jalapeños peppers with seeds, charred
1Juice of 1 lime
12 1/2 garlic cloves, peeled
11/2 cup roughly chopped scallions, charred
11/2 cup natural rice vinegar (not seasoned)
11/4 cup vegetable oil
18 to 10 corn tortillas
1Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1Chopped white onion
1Chopped cilantro

Instructions

In a large pot, combine all the brine ingredients. Bring the brine to a boil, then remove from the heat and let it cool. Add the beef cheeks to the cooled brine (if you add the meat to the hot brine, the meat will cook instead of marinate). Place the pot in your fridge and marinate the beef cheeks, uncovered, in the brine overnight.
The next morning, set the beef cheeks (still in the brine) over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the beef cheeks are tender, about 1 hour.
Remove the beef cheeks from the pot, discarding the brine, and let them cool. Once the cheeks have cooled, roughly chop them into small pieces.
Combine all of the ingredients for the salsa in a blender or food processor and puree.
Heat the oil on a griddle or in a skillet and cook the tortillas over medium heat for 30 seconds to crisp up, then flip. Remove the tortillas and add the beef cheeks to the griddle or skillet, cooking for about 2 minutes, until the meat is caramelized. Season with salt and pepper.
To bring everything together, stack 2 tortillas on a plate and top with beef cheeks. Spoon salsa all over the beef. Garnish with onions and cilantro.