Pressure Cooker Brisket Tacos

I make an oven-braised brisket about twice a year, for Passover and Rosh Hashanah. While I love the classic method, I've wanted to experiment with brisket a bit more. Brisket typically comes as a very large cut of several pounds which I cut into three pieces. We usually have one of these at each holiday and freeze them in the meantime. The other thing about brisket is that it takes a very long time to cook: over 4 hours with my usual method. As such, I wanted to use the Instant Pot for my first experiment. 

I've previously done both pulled chicken and pork (also with the Instant Pot) recipes for use with tacos, nachos, potatoes, and so on. Brisket is also perfect for this because it needs to be cooked low and slow. In just an hour on high pressure, the meat becomes fall-apart tender. This sort of dish is highly customizable to taste. I seasoned similarly to how I would do ground beef tacos, with the addition of a poblano chili and soy sauce for some extra depth. I also used some Mexican oregano here, which I recommend picking up at a Latin American market if you can find one. Some Asian stores also stock Mexican herbs and spices.

We used about 1/3 of the meat from this recipe for a few rounds of tacos and froze the rest for later in two quart bags. For the tacos themselves, I used corn tortillas (heat on both sides in a dry nonstick pan and keep in a tortilla warmer), cotija, corn salsa, and sour cream. Guacamole is a welcome addition if available. This recipe turned out well, especially for a first attempt. In my pulled pork recipe from three years ago, I discussed some apprehension I had coming up with Instant Pot recipes. I'm happy to report I've developed some good instincts for what's going to work in the pressure cooker. The most important tip I've learned is when using the sauté setting to brown meat, it is imperative to deglaze and fully clear anything stuck to the bottom before sealing. If the Instant Pot detects burning on the bottom, it will shut off, so be careful.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla

Back when I was a student at Carnegie Mellon, one of my favorite campus dining options was a place in the University Center called "Si Señor." Most people tried a wrap or a taco and dismissed it as a subpar Chipotle imitation. My friends and I, though, considered ourselves real connoisseurs of the lesser known offerings further down the menu, from Buffalo wings to lamburgers to a fried frankfurter covered with onions and peppers. The "Pittsburgh wrap" filled with French fries (in the style of Primanti Brothers) was another classic item. Over the years, the menu grew with various pieces of paper taped to the wall. Sadly, Si Señor closed shortly after I graduated, but the memories live on over a decade later. 

Among all these items, the Buffalo chicken quesadilla stands as my overall favorite, most frequently ordered meal, and the one I most wanted to recreate all these years later. There is no shortage of recipes for such a thing online, including one from the Frank's RedHot website. Like everything they did, the Si Señor version is a little different. The chicken (also available in a wrap if so desired) was bathed in a creamy, pale-orange sauce and was relatively mild. The quesadilla was made from an enormous tortilla, folded into a square envelope and crisped on a flattop, held down with a trowel. It was served cut in half with a choice of side and a small brownie known as a "sweet treat." Although not exactly the same, my version does capture the spirit of the original. 

As a student, I always wondered what exactly went into the Buffalo chicken and a few months back, I went digging using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. I managed to dig up a 2006 menu from the CMU website with the description: "Buffalo Chicken ~ marinated in hot sauce, baked and tossed with light mayo, blue cheese and spices. (hot)." With just this and my memory, I created this recipe, which turned out rather well. The only change I made is adding more Frank's to the final sauce to crank up the Buffalo wing flavor and make it a little spicier. I typically ordered the quesadilla with what the old menu calls "Morelia" hot sauce, so I think this works well. The leftover chicken (this recipe makes way more than is needed for one quesadilla) is also good cold as a chicken salad. Try adding a little celery. For the quesadilla itself, I went with the more typical half-moon form factor. The traditional cheese to use for quesadillas is Oaxaca from southern Mexico, but anything that melts well is good. I used Chihuahua cheese, which originates in northern Mexico (the brand I use, VV Supremo, is from Wisconsin and can be found at Sam's Club). Mozzarella is a good substitute if neither are available. 

Guacamole

I love guacamole (who doesn't, really?), and we've made it occasionally over the years, mostly using Alton Brown's recipe. I had been mostly satisfied with that and grocery store offerings, but a video by Kenji Lopez-Alt recently put me onto using a mortar and pestle to make guacamole the traditional Mexican way. Kenji is a big proponent of the mortar and pestle, and explains that it can extract more flavor from the aromatics by crushing them. Ariel got me one for our anniversary, so guacamole was a natural first experiment. There was part of me that wondered how much of a difference it would make, but when I tasted this guacamole, I was blown away by how delicious it was. 

In preparation, I did some research on what should go into a guacamole. Rick Bayless has a good discussion of how he makes it in his restaurant. Douglas Cullen's article on Mexican Food Journal was also helpful. The traditional Mexican style is quite simple, with just onion, hot peppers (serranos seem to be the classic choice), cilantro, and lime being the common additions to the avocado. As far as I can tell, the other typical additions made their way into guacamole north of the border.

My version here is definitely not traditional, but it's still very tasty. I didn't have any cilantro or hot peppers, so I used parsley (from the garden) and garlic instead. This would also be a good route for people who don't like it as spicy or are averse to cilantro. I also added in some diced tomato, which is definitely optional. Tomato adds some texture and color contrast, but doesn't make or break the guacamole. We used the guacamole as an accompaniment to mahi-mahi tacos. 

Esquites (Elotes in a Bowl)

Fresh vegetables are usually the basis of side dishes in our house, whether that's roasted Brussels sprouts or broccoli, or a salad. As such, vegetables have been the biggest culinary challenge during the pandemic. Since we limit our grocery store trips to every two weeks, any fresh vegetables we have left in the second week usually don't look too great. This is where frozen and canned products have to step in. These are the kind of things "foodies" tend to frown upon, sometimes for good reason. While some frozen vegetables are pretty hard to salvage, others can come to life with a little creativity. Peas, of course, are the staple frozen vegetable, but I've recently started experimenting with corn.

Ariel and I really fell in love with farm fresh sweet corn several years ago. One of the delights of summer in West Lafayette was buying a dozen ears off the back of a truck in the Pizza Hut parking lot. Unfortunately, once corn season is over, what shows up in the grocery store is a real disappointment, and when you can get it, it needs to be eaten immediately. Mexican-style elotes are one my favorite ways to make corn, but they rely on having good-quality corn, access to a grill, and a willingness to get mayo and cream in your beard. The solution: esquites, which are essentially elotes in a cup or bowl. One way to do this is to simply grill some corn and then cut off the kernels. Kenji has an interesting alternative, where he cuts the kernels off of raw corn, then cooks them in a wok. I had this in the back of my mind when trying to come up with a good side a few weeks ago and figured I would give it a go with frozen corn. The result was surprisingly delicious. Not as good as fresh corn by any stretch, but still really, really good. 

Everything in this recipe has a long shelf life, so it's perfect for pandemic cooking, as well as scratching the elotes itch in the winter. Cotija is a great cheese to have on hand. Like other hard, salty cheeses, it lasts for weeks in the refrigerator. The proportions and ingredients can easily be adjusted to taste. For example, I used sour cream because it's easily accessible, but Mexican crema can be used if available. If you have some fresh herbs from the garden, like chives or cilantro, go for it, but they're far from necessary. I served the esquites with adobo chicken quesadillas and a margarita. 

Grilled Adobo Chicken

Grills usually come to life when the weather warms up, especially in places where the winters are cold. I actually don't use the grill as much as I used to, which may be partially due to having a better indoor stove than our last house. It's also because I've discovered I can do a lot of "classic" grilled foods (burgers and steaks, particularly) better in a cast iron pan. That being said, there are quite a few dishes I always prefer to do on the grill. Boneless chicken thighs are probably my favorite thing to grill. They do well cooked to a high internal temperature, which gives ample time to develop browning on the grill. Taking out the bone allows more even cooking that doesn't take forever. My most common ways to prepare them are breaded cutlets and this marinated Mexican-styled chicken that's perfect for tacos, quesadillas, and the like.

We call this dish "adobo chicken" because it uses chipotles in adobo sauce, along with some of the sauce, in the marinade. It has nothing to do with the classic Filipino dish "chicken adobo," which is a vinegary chicken stew. Chipotles in adobo are a great product. You can take a few out with a little sauce to add a little Mexican flavor to anything, while reserving the rest in an airtight container, where they will last for months. Chipotles are smoked jalapeños, and as such are quite spicy. I remove the seeds to tone down the heat. Avoid touching your face after working with hot chili peppers of any kind. 

This chicken would be perfectly good as-is with some rice and beans, but we often use it as an ingredient. We made quesadillas with homemade tortillas from The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy. Making tortillas was easier than I expected, and are much better than the grocery store bagged ones. It's not something I would do all the time, but they are a nice treat if you have some lard on hand.

Tacos for the Busy Weeknight

I've written before about certain dishes that can be adapted to whatever ingredients you happen to have -- fried rice, frittata, hotdish, and so forth. Tacos are another versatile food that can use just about anything. That being said, the classic version is good, too, and the ground beef taco is as much an American favorite as, well, General Tso's Chicken. 

One great thing to have come out of No Free Lunch is that I now have a convenient repository of recipes, which I refer to often. The chicken kebabs from last summer are one I go back to a lot. Whenever we make tacos, Ariel always makes me cook the meat because I won't let her buy taco seasoning packets. Every time, I explain that it's not that complicated and the taco-ey aroma is really just cumin. I end up cooking the meat anyway. Well, now there is a recipe and we can all taco!

This is the part where I usually talk about exotic ingredients, but sometimes you don't need any. One of the great things about this recipe is that other than the beef, all the ingredients are things I always have in my kitchen, and you should, too!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef (leaner is better; I used 90% lean)
• 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Pinch black pepper
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat oil in medium frying pan on medium heat, stirring frequently. Saute onion for a few minutes, until slightly softened. Turn heat to medium high and cook until onions are lightly browned. Add beef, garlic, and all spices and herbs. Break up the beef and stir thoroughly to distribute seasonings. Cook until all beef is browned. If using fattier beef, you may want to drain some of the grease here. Stir in tomatoes and cook a few more minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, and your choice of accompaniments.

Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)

Although I've wanted to make these for a long time, this recipe was inspired by eating a delicious cup of Mexican street corn from a food truck in Michigan City last weekend. The timing was good, as the local farmers selling sweet corn in the Pizza Hut parking lot have just set up shop. Now that I've tried it, I'm convinced this is a fantastic way to eat corn. As the name suggests, elotes are a street food in Mexico. Of course, they are also quite a mess to eat, so the version in a cup, known as esquites, are also an option. You could simply follow this recipe, but cut the kernels off and mix in the coating ingredients. Either way, making street corn is very easy and a great way to shake up your corn-eating experience.

I bought two new ingredients for this recipe. Crema Mexicana, or Mexican cream, is a cultured cream mostly interchangeable with the French crème fraîche. Compared with sour cream, the flavor is milder and the texture is looser.

Cotija is a hard, crumbly Mexican cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese is salty, and squeaks a little when biting in, kind of like cheese curds. It can be crumbled by hand. If unavailable, substitute another hard, crumbly cheese. A lot of recipes use parmesan. If doing this, I would definitely try to get a good, strong Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy. I found both of these ingredients in the regular supermarket. The crema was located with some other Mexican products, such as tortillas and queso fresco, while the Cotija was in the cheese section.

Ingredients

• 4 ears corn
• 1/4 cup crema Mexicana or crème fraîche
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• Chili powder to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled cotija or parmesan
• 1 lime, quartered into wedges

Instructions

Remove husks and hair from the corn, but leave the stem attached. This will act as a handle once the corn has been dressed. Preheat the grill and brush oil on the grate. Grill the corn on a relatively high flame with the cover down. Turn occasionally until all sides are browned. 

While the corn is cooking, mix the crema and mayo together. Once the corn is done, spread the mixture all over the corn. Dust with chili powder, then sprinkle the cheese all over. You may want to press the cheese in so that it sticks to the cream. Finally, squeeze the lime on the corn.

Shrimp Fajitas

A few months ago, we picked up a bag of "Argentinian Red Shrimp" from Trader Joe's, noticing that, at only $9 a pound, they were priced well below the other varieties available. As it turns out, the things are delicious. They have a stronger flavor than most shrimp and can easily become the star of any dish. Last weekend, we took home 4 pounds for long-term enjoyment.

This dish is a nice way to let the shrimp speak for themselves. You can, of course, use whatever shrimp you like and have available.

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen shrimp
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lime
• Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Black Pepper
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Tortillas and your choice of accompaniments

Instructions

Defrost the shrimp ahead of time. The easiest way to do this is to put them in a bowl, fill the bowl with cold water, and let it sit on the counter for a while. Once defrosted, peel completely and de-vein as needed. Dust the shrimp with cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, then squeeze the lime over it. Toss to coat and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and saute until softened and lightly browned. Add garlic and shrimp, cook until shrimp is just cooked through. You can also add the juice from the marinade.

Serve with warm flour tortillas and your choice of accompaniments. Avocado, chopped cabbage, and corn salsa are shown in the picture. This recipe will make about six fajitas.

Fish Tacos with Salsa Verde

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my dear readers. While some of you might have been expecting something more along the lines of Guinness Stew today, I've chosen another way to celebrate the spirit of the day - salsa verde. This serves as the sauce for these tilapia tacos. Two tilapia fillets will give you about 6-7 tacos.

Ingredients

Fish Tacos

• 2 tilapia fillets
• 6-7 small corn tortillas
• 1/2 lemon
• Chopped tomato
• Sliced cabbage
• Crumbled queso fresco
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Smoked Paprika
• Ground cumin
• Flour
• Olive oil

Salsa Verde

• 10 tomatillos
• 1 poblano pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1/2 lime
• 15-20 sprigs cilantro, stems removed
• 3/8 sweet onion, roughly diced

Instructions

Fish Tacos

Slice the tilapia fillets down the center. Dust each side with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin. Squeeze a bit of lemon on them. Put flour on a plate or shallow bowl and press each fillet into the flour. Coat both sides. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan, medium-high to high. Sear the fillets on both sides and set aside.

Next, prepare the tortillas. With a little hot olive oil in the pan, lightly fry the tortillas on both sides, to make them pliable and hot. Don't cook them long enough to make them crispy. Chop up the tomato, and slice the cabbage into strips. Assemble the tacos. Break up the fish and put a line of fish on each tortilla. Add a little tomato, cabbage, and crumbled queso fresco. Spoon a bit of the salsa verde on the tacos, and fold up.

Salsa Verde

Remove the husks from the tomatillos. Place the tomatillos, garlic, and poblano pepper on a sheet pan. Broil until the tops of the tomatillos are blackened just a bit. Flip them over, and do the same. Rotate the pepper until each side is blackened. You'll want to remove the garlic early (be careful, as one of mine exploded). The pepper should take the longest; remove the tomatillos when done.

Let everything cool off a bit. Peel the garlic. Remove the really black parts of the tomatillo skin, being careful to not lose the juice and seeds. Peel off the whole poblano skin and remove seeds and stem.

Combine the tomatillos, pepper, garlic, cilantro, and onion in a blender. Squeeze the lime in. Pulse until everything is integrated and the salsa smooths out. It should be thick, but not chunky. This salsa recipe will make an entire bowl of salsa, much more than the several spoonfuls you'll need for the tacos.

Mexican-Style Meatballs

This recipe was inspired by meatballs Iron Chef Bobby Flay made on the Food Network a couple weeks ago. The sauce is my own invention. The meatballs use Mexican-style chorizo sausage. This is a distinct product from the chorizo of Spain and Portugal. Unlike the Iberian versions, Mexican chorizo is not cured and must be cooked before eating.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 links Mexican-style chorizo
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Olive oil

Sauce

• 1 1/2 red bell peppers
• 2 red finger chiles
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• Water
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Crumbled queso fresco

Instructions

Meatballs

Decase the chorizo and mix the three meats together. Mix in egg, cumin, paprika and garlic powder. Slowly work the breadcrumbs into the meat mixture. Form into meatballs about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides, then add chicken stock, cover, and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the stock is partially absorbed.

Sauce

Place the peppers in a baking pan and broil until blackened on all sides. Let cool for a few minutes. Peel off the blackened skin and remove stems and seeds. Place roasted peppers, garlic, and onion in a blender and puree. Add the pepper puree, tomato paste, a little olive oil, and some water to a pan. Cook on high until the strong raw onion and garlic taste goes away and is replaced by slight sweetness. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To compose the dish, top each meatball with sauce and crumbled queso fresco.

Black Bean and Egg Tostadas

Eggs are an all-day food. Don't let anyone tell you differently. This meal was partially inspired by a visit last year to Chicago's fantastic Frontera Grill, where I ate corn masa cakes with egg, chicken, and chorizo with black beans and queso fresco. I've adapted this idea into tostadas. There are two keys to making great tostadas. First, you need to make sure the tortillas get crunchy, enough to be able to easily break them with a fork or with your teeth. No one wants a tough, rubbery tortilla. The second is to make sure everything stays hot to the moment it hits the plate.

Ingredients

• 3 corn tortillas
• 1/3 small onion, diced
• 1 cup canned black beans, mostly drained
• 3 eggs
• Black pepper, salt, garlic powder to taste
• Queso fresco
• Vegetable oil
• Butter

Instructions

Since this dish has three components that need to be prepared, set the oven on warm to start out. Pour a shallow layer of oil into a large frying pan, and heat on medium-high to high heat. You need the oil very hot, but not to the point where it starts to pop. Fry the tortillas on each side until they are crispy. Do not undercook the tortillas, or they will be tough instead of crunchy. This has been the downfall of many Chopped contestants. It is normal for the tortillas to puff up while cooking. Set the tortillas on a plate in the oven to keep warm.

Empty out most, but not all of the oil. Keep just enough to saute the onion. Cook until softened, then add beans. When I say "mostly drain" the beans, I mean keep a little of the juice from the can to add some moisture to the beans. Use a potato masher to smash up the beans. They don't have to be perfectly smooth; in fact, you probably want to retain some texture. Heat for a few minutes, and mix in salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Set the beans in the oven to keep warm, as well.

Grease up a non-stick frying pan with butter, and crack the eggs into the pan. Cover and cook until the whites become fully firm. To assemble the tostadas, spread the bean-onion mixture over each tortilla. Top with an egg, and crumble queso fresco all over it.

Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo is a traditional Latin American dish, found all over the Spanish speaking world. I really like how cooking everything together infuses the flavors very well. This gives it an almost stew-like quality, without having to spend hours cooking. Arroz con Pollo calls to mind the flavors of paella, a dish which no doubt shares some roots. As is often the case for a dish which I have no previous experience making, I looked around the internet for ideas, and came up with this simple and easy version.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 6 chicken legs or thighs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Olive oil

Rice

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Olive oil

Instructions

Mix together the dry rub ingredients, and coat the outside of each piece. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan, medium high heat. Cover then pan and brown the chicken on all sides. It doesn't need to be cooked through at this point. Once the outsides are cooked, set aside. If your chicken pieces are especially big, you may want to spend a little extra time here to make sure they are cooked through at the end.

Add a little more oil, turn the heat down, and cook the onion until softened. After a few minutes, add the garlic, too. Add the rice to the pan, and more oil if needed. Toast the rice for a few minutes, until opaque. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, and oregano. 

At this point, I switched from the saute pan to a bigger pot to prevent it from overflowing. If your sauté pan is big and deep, you may not need to. Bring the whole thing to a boil and submerge the chicken, as well. Once boiling, back the heat off to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Check on the rice. Be careful of grains getting stuck to the top parts of the chicken and not cooking properly. If you find the rice is too firm, add a bit more stock and cook a little longer.

Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over the rice. Negra Modelo is a tasty Mexican dark lager that is quite appropriate for this meal. And if the guys over at BeerAdvocate have anything to say about it, avoid the lime.