Recipe: Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

So it's officially Taco Sunday at our home. Particularly, "Barbacoa Sundays". My boyfriend has been obsessed with rehydrating chilis to make sauces, so we just eat this all the time now! I have posted the recipe on multiple occasions, but this time we decided to pickle red onions and radishes for a nice garnish. I'll tell you now, it's amazing. The spiciness of the beefs with the bitterness of the pickled vegetables really provide a great juxtaposition of taste.

Recipe

1 medium red onion, sliced different sizes (mostly thin)
6 radishes, sliced thin
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar
5-6 black peppercorns
1 habanero (optional)
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
3 cups of hot water

Mix everything but the onions and radishes in a large mason jar. Put the onions and radishes in a colander and dump the hot water on it. Then put them in the mason jar. Refrigerate over night for best results.

Sunday Dinner: Barbacoa Tacos

The recipe is exactly the same as the Beer and Shot Taco. Just sub in with beef and add 1 lime to the beef once cooked. Also, you can follow the Barbacoa Recipe I posted before from around the blogosphere

Original - Beer & Shot Chicken Tacos (Modified - Braised Chicken Tacos)

So my boyfriend and I are on quite a Mexican Food kick due to this cookbook I bought him. Tacolicious has great recipes for tacos and salsas - including the one we made today. We adding some variation to our recipe but it tasted great nonetheless! I didn't add the EXACT recipe because I really want you all to buy this cookbook.

Recipe

3 lbs mix of chicken breast and thighs - browned in a dutch oven with 2 tbs of oil
1/4 cup oil
2 small onions, diced
2 whole jalapeños
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 ancho chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 chipotle chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
3 hatch chillies, (stemmed and de-seeded) toasted for 30 seconds on a pan for fragrancy
2 tbs salt
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs mexican oregano
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 1/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 of a lime, squeezed (optional)
2 tbs of the guajillo chili paste (featured in tacolicious) - optional


Add the oil, onion, jalapeños and cook for 5 minutes after the chicken is browned earlier. The juices will help brown the onions faster. Add the garlic, chillies, seasonings, tomatoes and broth and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. We added some jalapeño chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chilli powder and fajita seasoning mix for more taste. For a secret ingredient we added the guajillo chili paste featured in the cookbook.



Once simmered, blend the sauce. Put the chicken back in with the sauce and let cook for 2.5 hours. Add more oil if need be and half of a lime (preferable). Shred the chicken at the end and serve with your favorite guacamole and salsa.

I won't post the exact recipe of the guajillo paste because I really think that this cookbook is a great addition to a household. Although, I am sure you can google one ;) I do highly recommended purchasing the book for the correct recipe overall as we modified it to our liking!

We also ending up making homemade corn tortilla. Such a better taste than the processed store bought ones!

Recipe

2 cups Masa Corn Flour
1 1/4 cup water

Knead and roll into balls (should make 9)

Add a splash of water if the dough becomes dry and starts to crack during the rolling.

Flat out by putting sheets of parchment paper in between both sides.

Use a flat heavy surface to flatten the dough and use your hands to thin it out.

Heat for 50 seconds on each side using a skillet. No oil is necessary but we sprayed a little coconut oil at the beginning so nothing sticks.

Barbacoa Tacos

My boyfriend and I decided to make barbacoa tacos tonight mixing two recipes:

1. Serious Eats: Better than Chipotle Barbacoa

2. Gimme Some Oven: Slow Cooker Barbacoa

We used the slow cooker and cooked on high for about 4-5 hours. We added some orange zest, extra lime and habanero powder for spiciness (but that is up to you). 

Add some salsa, lettuce and cabbage to top it all off, and enjoy!