Two Tacos, Frijoles Charros, Green Chile Rice
Tacos are a mainstay around our house. They're quick, easy and tasty. For this TD I wanted to riff on the classic picadillo taco that I grew up with and then change it up a bit by adding another taco of cooks choice. I went with fried cod.
To make the picadillo: Take a 1.25 lb package of ground bison and crumble it into a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 small onion, diced over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp epazote, and 1 tsp guajillo chile powder for kick. Throw in 3 cloves of minced garlic and a couple dried chile pulla pods for good measure. Cook down until no longer pink and then remove from heat and set aside.
To make the fish: Take a pound of fresh fish and cut into 1 inch chunks. Rinse well under ice cold water and then drop the pieces of fish into a breading made with 1/2 cup corn meal, 1/2 cup flour and a spice rub consisting of 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp chipotle powder. Toss to coat and fry in 350 degree oil until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove fish and drain on a rack, sprinkle with a bit more spice if needed.
To make the frijole charros: soak one cup of black beans in lightly salted water overnight. Drain and reserve. Start sweating 1/2 an onion, diced in 2 tbsp bacon drippings in a saucepan with lid over medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp epazote, 2 cloves of garlic, minced and 4 oz of cooked chopped bacon along with a can of tomatoes. Once that's simmering nicely, add the beans and cover. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking, covered until beans are tender, about 30-45 minutes.
For the green chile rice: grill off a couple pablanos and jalapenos till nicely roasted. When the skins are blistered and the peppers are soft wrap them in a towel and set aside for ten minutes to steam. Remove the skins from the peppers and chop them. Portion out 1 cup of peppers and add them to 1.5 cups of water in a small pan set over medium high heat. When it comes just to a boil add 1 cup of rice. Turn heat to low and cook, covered for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.
Plate one of each taco, add some of the green chile rice and frijoles charros. Garnish with your choice of accoutrements. For the picadillo I added some onions and jalapenos pickled in lime juice and salt. For the fish tacos I used a quick slaw made with thinly sliced cabbage, onion and some of the leftover roasted jalas and poblanos. Both tacos were finished with a chunky guac made with 1 cup diced avocado, 1 tbsp minced onion/garlic/cilantro and dressed with the juice of 1 lime and a bit of salt.
and
Fish taco bite:
Picadillo taco bite:
Dude
Thank you.