While we truly miss being in the North Country these days, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I will readily admit we’re enjoying the heck out of Texas edibles.
We’ll always treasure good, simple, authentic Tex Mex (a weekly tradition of course, for less than burgers and beer to boot), the barbecue is shockingly good and diverse, and there’s even plentiful seafood from a surprisingly productive Gulf coast.
Another magnificent tradition of Texas chow is the art of melding just about any and every cuisine with the humble taco, most often improving both as is the case with these Korean Flank Steak Tacos.
Flank is an awesome workhorse on the grill – it’s relatively cheap, it’s vastly adaptable in terms of taking on diverse flavors from different marinades, and it has a deep, beefy goodness that shines when cooked medium rare and thinly sliced against the grain.
Combine the brawn of flank with a flavor-packed, spicy Korean-inspired marinade and taco dressings and you’ll be in taco heaven when you serve these after a quick turn on the grill.
Tacos are also great for entertaining as your guests can build their taco platter any which way they please – we can’t imagine any grilled beef taco without a smear of soft, tart goat cheese on the hot tortilla and a few crispy radish slices on top of what ever makes up the filling of the day.
Guarantee you can’t eat just one of these.
1 cup cilantro, chopped fine
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (generous) soy sauce
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium jalapeños, seeded, stemmed, minced
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
3 lb flank steak, trimmedTo finish the tacos
3-4 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
8-10 green onions, white and green, sliced on diagonal
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Great guacamole
Soft goat cheese
Thinly sliced radishes
18-24 fresh corn tortillas
Make a marinade. Combine the first 9 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine; reserve out ½ cup or so for serving the tacos. Pour the remainder over the flank steak in a large baking dish or resealable bag.
Let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature; even better for a day in the fridge.
Fire the grill; drain the steak and let it come to room temperature.
Grill over medium high heat for a total of 10 minutes, with a single turn half way (for medium rare, the only way to eat grilled flank). Pull it and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the napa cabbage, carrots, green onions and cilantro; slice the radishes and set the goat cheese out to soften a bit.
Grill the corn tortillas over the fire for a minute or so apiece (get ‘em hot and soft); cover to keep warm.
Slice the steak across the grain into thin slices; pile onto tortillas (with a smear of goat cheese on first), along with the cabbage mixture, guacamole, a drizzle of the reserved marinade and a sprinkle of radishes.
Hot damn. Enjoy.
