Crispy Dominican Beef Tacos

These tacos are where my Dominican roots meet taco night. The beef gets seasoned the way my family always did, with adobo, sazon, garlic and sour orange, then slow cooked until it falls apart.

Crisping the filled tortillas is the step you don’t want to skip, that crunch against the tender beef is everything. Top them however you like and don’t be shy with the lime.

Crispy Dominican Beef Tacos

Ingredients:

• Olive oil

• 3 lbs chuck roast

• 3-4 short ribs

• Adobo

• 1 whole head of garlic

• Sazon completo

• Cumin

• 1 sour orange, sub 2 limes and one orange

• Dominican oregano

• Smoked paprika

• S + P

• Half an onion, halved.

For the Tacos:

• Corn tortillas

• Limes

• Avocado

• Cilantro

Instructions:

1. Place the beef in a Dutch oven. To make the marinade: In a pestle and mortar, smash the garlic and salt (use about 1-2 tbsp salt). Place it aside when the garlic and salt are mashed together and create a sort of paste.

2. In a separate bowl, juice the sour orange (or the substitute) and add the rest of the seasonings to the bowl as well. If you’re not sure how much to use, start with 2 tsp of the seasonings and adjust to your liking (don’t add more salt at the stage).

3. Take the garlic paste and rub the meat all over with it along with olive oil, next take the marinade and pour it over the meat, making sure it’s fully coated, cover it and let it marinade in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight

4. When it comes out of the fridge, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 300, add 1/2 cup of water to the dutch oven. Make sure that the top of the meat is exposed * about 1/2 inch.

6. Just before you’re ready to bake it, add the onion to the dutch oven. Cover and roast for 3 hours or until the meat is tender and can be pulled apart. When the meat is ready to be pulled apart, uncover it and raise the heat to 350. Let the top of the meat get crispy, it took an extra 20 minutes for mine to crisp up. When the meat is ready, remove it from the pot and don’t throw away the leftover liquid. Shred the meat and place it aside. Chop up some cilantro and have it ready to use.

7. Heat a nonstick pan on medium. Dip both sides of the tortilla in the leftover liquid and quickly place it on the pan. Assemble the taco by adding the meat then the cilantro. Fold it over and fry it until the taco gets crispy. Transfer it to a serving dish and repeat the steps with the remainder tortillas.

8. Serve the tacos topped with, avocado, lime and cheese, if using (preferably cotija)