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contest BEGIN! Taco Throwdown

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:dance: FIESTA CARNITAS De D3monic  :dance: ​
 
Fiesta Toppings:
 
Pineapple and Mango Salsa
  • ​1 cup Pineapple diced
  • 1 cup Mango diced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
  • 2 limes juiced
  • 2 serrano peppers diced
  • 1 habanero chopped
  • seasalt to taste.
 Combine ingredients in bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 
 
Pickled Red Onions and Serrano
  • 1/2 Red onion sliced thin
  • 1 limes juice
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 oranges juice
  • 1/2 tbsp seasalt
  • 1 serrano sliced thin
​​Blanch onion in boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove from water and place in non reactive bowl.
Combine remaining ingredients and toss coating onions and serranos in mix.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 
 
Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa
  • 7 Tomatillos Husked, washed and quartered
  • 3 Serranos halved and de-seeded
  • 1 Habanero de-seeded
  • 1/2 cup cilantro
  • 1/2 cup white onion
  • 1 Avocado pitted
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • Lime juice to taste
  • Seasalt to taste
​Add tomatillos, peppers, garlic, cilantro and onion into food processor. Pulse until coarse puree.
Remove and place in non reactive bowl. Add olive oil, lime juice seasalt and avocado. Mix by hand until creamy and smooth.
Cover and refrigerate until ready for use. 
 
Meat and Marinade.
  • ​6lb Pork loin
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds toasted
  • 1 tsp coriander toasted
  • 1 tsp oregano (Mexican if avail)
  • juice of 2 oranges and 1 lime
  • 1 tsp of White wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
  • 2 tsp Anchiote paste.​
​Add orange juice, lime juice, oregano, white wine vinegar, garlic and anchiote paste to small pan and simmer until paste is dissolved. Stir in finely ground toasted cumin and coriander. Allow to cool and work marinade into meat. Cover and place in refrigerator. Allow to Marinade 12-24 hours. 
 
When ready to cook preheat smoker to 250 degrees.
Add meat and smoke over cherry wood for a minimum of 5 hours
 

 
Remove from smoker, transfer to casserole dish and cover with foil. Cook in 350 degree oven until meat pulls apart and shreds easily. Time may vary. 
 
Bonus Pic:
 

 
Tortillas
  • ​3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp seasalt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup warm water.​
​Combine flour, salt and baking powder in mixer. With dough hook attached mix dry ingredients until well combined. Add oil and water with mixer running at medium speed. Mix for 1 minute stopping to scrape sides as needed. 
Transfer to well floured surface. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and flatten by hand. Cover with kitchen towel for 15 minutes and allow to rest. 
After rest roll dough into "round" tortilla shapes.
Place dough into well heated pan, allow to brown for around 1 minute or until bottom gets some brown spots. 
Flip and cook for another 30 seconds. 
Remove from pan and repeat steps for remaining dough. 
 

 
Sides
 
Cilantro Lime Rice
  • ​1 cup Jasmine rice
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro chopped
  • 2 Limes zested and juiced​
  • 1 tsp kerrigold butter
  • 1 tsp seasalt
​Combine water, lime juice, butter and sea salt. heat to a boil.
Add rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. 
Stir in lime zest and cilantro. 
 
Refried Beans
  • ​1 can refried beans
  • 2-3 strips bacon cooked and chopped
  • 1 small can diced chilis
  • 1 tbsp garlic chili sauce
  • 1 tsp Toasted Cumin
  • 1 handful Cojito cheese
Add beans, chilis, bacon , garlic chili sauce and cumin to small sauce pot over low heat. Simmer while meat cooks in oven stirring frequently. 
Remove from heat and add handful of cheese. 
serve 
 
Plate and Serve!
 

 
Enjoy! - This one was my favorite.
 

 
Edited to fix formatting issues when posted.
 
tctenten said:
Spectacular D3. Is that a boneless pork loin? My wife has been bugging to try one on the smoker. Nice job!
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Yea it was boneless. 6.5lbs for only $11 bucks. You could smoke it all the way until finish but propane is expensive to be running it all out on one meal. If it was electric heck yea i'd rock it to finish. There's tons of meat left over too. I individually vacuume seal several meals worth. To reheat just fry up a few pieces of bacon and sautee the meat in the bacon grease. Honestly tastes better as left overs. Bonus you get to top it with bacon yo!
 
11094716_10203954938342395_465874347_o_zps7ryoiwvp.jpg



My kingdom for a decent knife.

11087608_10203954940062438_976022341_o_zpsgryyqrb1.jpg



This is tougher than I thought

11103787_10203955108426647_488327960_o_zpsyw7c8w66.jpg


Taco taco taco


11105746_10203955154707804_299608103_o_zpsiifie7k4.jpg




I'll call this creation EXTENDED STAY


GROUND BEEF

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

SMOKED PAPRICA

OREGANO

CILANTRO

RED ONION

A PINCH OF LAWRY's TACO MIX

GARLIC

SALT & PEPPER

SERRANO

CORN

ROMANO TOMATOES

LIME

RICE

LETTUCE

MEDIUM CHEDDER CHEESE

WATER

CORN TORTIILLAS


This is my first attempt at a throwdown.

I needed to cook for the family. We are in a extended stay hotel room. Space is tight. Tools are minimal. Knife is steak knife. My budget was very limited.

I took some of the groundbeef and added it to the full package of breakfast sausage. To this I added a pinch of Lawry's taco mix, a pinch of smoked paprika, oregano, and cilantro. I cut in two serranos, 1/4 red onion, a large clove of garlic, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime. I browned and watched the greasy goodness create its magic. The corn was added to roma tomatoes, onion, serrano and garlic for a side salad and white rice completed the plate.
 
Ozzy2001 said:
Lol I was 15 when Regulate came out. I had the worst case of chicken pox and that video was on MTV constantly. Love that album.
Those look great. Love the picked onions. Salsa looks tasty as hell too.
Click to expand...
 
My favorite bites was the tomatillo avocado taco with some the rice and a few of the pickled onions on it. I would be happy with a plate full of those. 
 
I was in 7th grade I believe when that song was out and my step brother was in Highschool. it was the only thing he listened to in his little ford hatchback with 15 in the back. LIKE THE ONLY THING. Burning holes through the "above the rim" soundtrack. lol
 
geeme said:
This is a prep post, but I'm titling it TALES OF A TACO (shell), as this is much harder than I hoped it would be.
 
These taco shells are made of 100% havarti cheese, and nothing else. (You can use other types of cheeses, you just have to experiment… a lot.)
 
If using a soft cheese like havarti, it's easiest if you put it in the freezer for a while. Also put a ring mold (such as a cookie cutter) into the freezer. Note you'll want to put them back into the freezer between shells. Use a microplaner to shred your cheese. Wipe the ring mold and your CI (or non-stick pan) with a very thin layer of oil and preheat the CI to a low heat. Put the ring mold into the CI, sprinkle the cheese inside, spreading it to the edges, then remove the ring mold. You may turn the heat up to no more than medium-low in the process. Keep in mind it is better to start with a lower heat then slowly raise, and you'll see why.
 
This is my first attempt, while the cheese is still soft.  
P1010911.JPG

 
 Still the first attempt. The cheese has turned a pale golden color and the bubbling has slowed almost to a stop. The surface looks less oily/wet - almost dry, but not quite. Use a thin-edged spatula to remove and drape the cheese over the round handle of a wooden spoon suspended between two cups to shape it. 
P1010912.JPG

 
Well, it was pretty, only it was cooked too well as it cracked as I tried to bend it over the handle of the spoon. So note that these harden within seconds after leaving the heat. Note also that you have to wipe out as much oil from the cheese between shells - you only want a very, very thin layer in the pan.
 
This was the start of attempt number two. The CI was too hot so very large bubbles formed around the outer edge, basically making it not work to hold fillings. Plus I zoned about removing the ring mold until it was quite hot, and so on and so forth, so let's just say this one got tossed. 
P1010913.JPG

 
 Anyhow, this was the third attempt - finally a success! I turned the heat off between the second and third. CI retains heat well, so while it cooled a tad, it was just enough.
P1010914.JPG

 
I'll be making more of these in the morning. Note that once they cool, they can be stored for up to 5 days at room temperature. 
 
Edit: I did sprinkle some cayenne in the cheese with my first attempt.
Click to expand...
 
Have mercy!
 
A taco shell made out of cheese.
 
G.
 
I get you. 
 
Thats like taco erotica.
 
And now I'm VERY horny!
 
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