I love tacos. Since I began this blog, I have made many kinds of tacos, but mostly the Americanized version. Recently, I had the pleasure of trying more traditional Mexican tacos, and I love them! They are so fresh, simple, and delicious. One ingredient I love to cook with is fresh chorizo: it's a spicy and smoky sausage. I thought I'd make a simple taco with it. Braising the whole sausage links creates flavor-filled and moist slices of sausage, with sweet, jammy onions. Grilling corn tortillas over my stove-top flame makes them smoky and pliable, and adding fresh avocado creates a creamy bite. Serve with a salty cheese like cojita for a more traditional taco, or like I did, with parmesan (which was what I had in the house). If you can't find cojita, a crumbly feta is a nice substitute. |
For the Chorizo you'll need: 1 lb. fresh chorizo sausage 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 1 cup light Mexican beer, such as Modelo For the tacos, you'll need: soft corn taco shells three slices cooked chorizo some onions from the chorizo pan Thinly sliced ripe avocado Cheese, to taste Optional: some cilantro leaves, ripped over wedges of lime, to serve | To cook the chorizo, place the sausages and onion in a large high-sided pan. Add the beer, just to halfway up the sausages. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook, flipping the sausages periodically, until the beer has evaporated into a sort of glaze, the outside of the chorizo has browned, and the onions look soft and caramelized. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings and taco shells. Take the taco shells you will be using, and prepare a plate with a paper towel. Light the flame on your stove-top to medium low. Using tongs, place your first taco shell on top of the flame grate. Watch carefully. Depending on how darkly blistered you like your taco, you may need to flip quickly. Once the shell is to your liking, place it on the prepared plate. Try not to overlap cooked taco shells on the plate, as they could become soggy. Once the shells are prepared, you can keep them warm in a low (200 degree) oven, covered, or allow them to come to room temperature. Thinly slice your avocado, and grate or crumble some cheese. |