Todo lo hacemos taco⦠Por Leticia Gongora, CYMDP
Recuerdo una plÔtica con un amigo extranjero que me comentaba que en México todo lo hacemos taco, no pude reconocer en qué sentido lo dijo, sin embargo, yo sentà orgullo. La comida mexicana es una de las mÔs versÔtiles del mundo, la manera en que podemos convertir la sazón popular en un platillo de restaurante, ”es fantÔstico! Y el taco es una bella muestra de ello.
El taco se ha consolidado como un emblema de MĆ©xico, no importa a que parte del paĆs vayas siempre vas a encontrar una infinidad de estilos y combinaciones que tienen su propio sello.
Mi familia y yo nos dedicamos a vender productos cĆ”rnicos y del mar desde hace muchos aƱos en Carnes Y Mariscos del Puerto y la gran bendición ha sido poder comer de nuestros propios productos. De hecho, se ha convertido en casi una regla para nosotros; si a nosotros no nos gusta, no se vende. A mi padre y a mĆ nos encanta cocinar, por lo que cualquier excusa que nos permita probar una nueva carne o un nuevo pescado en la cocina, la disfrutamos. Haciendo una confesión pĆŗblica, debo reconocer que la mayorĆa del tiempo rompemos todas las reglas posibles a la hora de cocinar; porque no somos profesionales, si no simples amantes de la buena comida. Pido disculpas a todos los chefs del mundo por eso.
Hace unos dĆas como tributo al taco, hice uno, no es porque yo lo haya hecho, pero de verdad quedó buenĆsimo, segĆŗn los comensales de mi casa, quienes siempre son los degustadores estelares.
El taco es de esas comidas tan sencillas de elaborar, que hay lugares que inclusive escatiman su elaboración, de tan simple que puede llegar a parecer. Hay tres cosas que en lo personal considero son importantes en un taco: El sabor de una buena proteĆna bien marinada o sazonada; la abundancia, un buen taco es abundante y por supuesto, la tortilla.
Mi taco de New York premium comenzó buscando en la alacena que ponerle, Āæte ha pasado que llevas toda la semana sin ir a hacer despensa y te acuerdas justo cuando vas a cocinar?, pues asĆ me pasó. Ya descongelados mis dos piezas de New York, las lavĆ© con limón y despuĆ©s piquĆ© ajo lo mĆ”s pequeƱo que pude (no sĆ© si lo logrĆ©), despuĆ©s agreguĆ© unas gotas de jugo sazonador y digo literal unas gotas porque era lo que quedaba en la botella, lemon pepper en polvo y listo. Lo dejĆ© en el refrigerador hasta el dĆa siguiente. Nunca es mi intención cocinar por partes, pero en general tengo muy poco tiempo para hacerlo.
Al dĆa siguiente, hice un chimichurri muy a mi estilo que no sabrĆa decirles si en verdad le podemos llamar chimichurri. Pero, asĆ como en MĆ©xico todo hacemos taco, en la penĆnsula de YucatĆ”n a todo le ponemos habanero. AsĆ que piquĆ© lo mĆ”s fino que pude la cebolla morada, pimiento rojo y lo dejĆ© en agua caliente porque a mĆ me gusta que se cocine un poco. DespuĆ©s le retirĆ© el agua, corte habanero, le exprimĆ limón, le puse dos puƱos de perejil picado, sal con ajo y aceite de oliva virgen. AhĆ lo dejĆ© mientras me disponĆa a hacer la carne.
En esta parte voy a pedir otra disculpa pĆŗblica a los amantes de la carne, pero en mi casa si hay algo que amamos son los bordes doraditos esos que casi parecen chicharrón. Y para mi taco no considerĆ© otra cosa mĆ”s deliciosa que la grasa del new york bien dorada. En lo que pensaba todo esto, dejĆ© una sartĆ©n a fuego alto, le rocĆe un poco de aceite para que el trozo de mantequilla que posteriormente procedĆ a derretir con ajo picado, no se quemarĆ”. Esta parte requiere de una estrategia minuciosamente calculada, porque todo sucede muy rĆ”pido, casi al mismo tiempo me dispuse a poner los New Yorks a fuego medio y dejarlos ahĆ para que se doraran por fuera y digo doraran para no decir que dejĆ© que los gorditos de la grasita quedarĆ” bien negritos y que por dentro estuviera suave la carne, lo cual no requiere de tanto tiempo si la sartĆ©n estĆ” muy caliente.
Cualquiera podrĆa decir, es un taco, Āæpor quĆ© tomarse el tiempo de hacer todo eso por un taco? Precisamente por eso, poque es un taco y el taco merece todo nuestro amor y respeto.
Una vez picada mi carne y el chimichurri listo, seguà con mi parte favorita. El ensamblado del taco; puse una sartén a calentar, pasé la tortilla por el aceite que quedó en la sartén de la carne, me dispuse a calentar y dorar ligeramente la tortilla para derretirle queso arriba. Acomodamos la carne y le pusimos harto chimi con habanero.
De dos cortes de New york salieron cuatro hermosos tacos. Asà llegamos a la parte final y mÔs importante, pues es en donde estÔ el detalle que hace que este maravilloso taco se lleve los aplausos.
Al final nos paramos alrededor de la barra de la cocina a lamentarnos por haber hecho sólo dos piezas, cuando valĆa la pena haber cocinado mĆ”s. ĀæPero les cuento algo? Es justo en ese momento cuando puedo resumir lo que significa cocinar y compartir para nosotros, porque es cuando la palabra amor y familia toman verdadero significado, cuando puedes coincidir unos minutos despuĆ©s del trabajo de todo el dĆa y sentirte orgulloso de deleitar esa cena juntos. Tan sólo por esta razón puedo decirles que esos tacos de New York valieron toda la pena. Ā Ā
We make everything into a taco…
Originally written in Spanish and English by Leticia Gongora, CYMDP
Edited by the XPM Team.
I remember a conversation with a foreign friend who told me that in Mexico we make tacos out of everything. I don’t remember in what sense he said it, but I felt proud. Mexican food is one of the most versatile in the world, the way we can turn a common seasoning into a restaurant dish is fantastic! And the taco is a beautiful example of it.
The taco has established itself as an emblem of Mexico, no matter which part of the country you go to, you will always find an infinite number of styles and combinations that have their own local style.
My family and I have been selling meat and seafood products for many years at Carnes Y Mariscos del Puerto and the great blessing has been eating our own products. In fact, it has become almost a rule for us; If we don’t like it, we don’t sell it. My father and I love to cook, so we enjoy any excuse that allows us to try a new meat or a new fish in the kitchen. A public confession: I must admit that most of the time we break all possible rules when it comes to cooking; because we are not professionals, but simple lovers of good food. I apologize to all the world chefs for that.
A few days ago as a tribute to the taco, I made one. I’m not saying it just because I made it, but it really turned out great, according to the foodies at my house who are always the stellar taste testers.
The taco is one of those foods that is so simple to prepare, but as simple as they may be, there are places that still skimp on its preparation. There are three things that I personally consider to be important in a taco: the flavor of a good protein that is well marinated or seasoned; abundance, a good taco is generously filled, and of course, the tortilla.
I started my premium New York strip steak taco looking in the cupboard for something to put on it. Has that happened to you that you haven’t gone to the grocery store all week and you only remember just when you’re about to cook? Well, that’s what happened to me. After defrosting my two pieces of steak, I marinated them in lime and then I chopped garlic into the smallest pieces I could (I don’t know if I managed it). Next, I added a few drops of seasoning juice and I literally say a few drops because it was what was left in the bottle, plus lemon pepper powder and voilĆ !Ā I left it in the fridge until the next day. It is never my intention to cook in batches, but in general I have very little time to do so.
The following day I made my own version of chimichurri, which is so much my own recipe that I couldn’t tell you if we can really call it chimichurri. But, just as in Mexico we all make tacos, in the Yucatan peninsula we put habanero peppers on everything. So I chopped the red onion and red pepper as finely as I could and left it in hot water because I like to cook it a little. Then I drained the water, cut the habanero, squeezed in lime, added two fists of chopped parsley, salt with garlic and virgin olive oil. I let it rest there while I was preparing the meat.
At this point, I am going to extend another public apology to meat lovers, but in my house if there is something we love it is those golden edges that almost look like pork rinds. And for my taco I did not consider anything more delicious than the well-browned fat of the New York strip steak. While I was thinking about all this, I put a frying pan on high heat, sprayed a little oil on it so that the piece of butter that I proceeded to melt with minced garlic would not burn. This part requires a carefully calculated strategy, because everything happens very quickly. Almost at the same time I got ready to put the steak over medium heat and left them there so that they browned on the outside. I say browned, but it doesn’t take much time if that pan is very hot. I’m careful not to let the fat burn, and I make sure the meat will be tender inside.
Anyone could say, “it’s a taco, why take the time to do all that for a taco?” That’s precisely why – because it is a taco and the taco deserves all our love and respect.
Once my meat was minced and the chimichurri ready, I continued with my favorite part. The taco assembly. I put a frying pan on to heat and I passed the tortilla through the oil that was left in the meat pan and lightly browned the tortilla to melt the cheese on top. We arranged the meat and we put a lot of chimi with habanero on top.
Four beautiful tacos came out of those two New York cuts. Thus we come to the final and most important part, because this is the detail that makes this wonderful dish applause worthy.
In the end, we stood around the kitchen counter lamenting that we only made two steaks, when it was so good that we wished we cooked more. But can I tell you something? That moment is exactly how I summarize what cooking and sharing means to us, because it is when the words love and family take on true meaning. When you can meet a few minutes after working all day and feel proud to enjoy that dinner together. For that reason alone I can tell you that those tacos were totally worth it!
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