Slab Bacon Tacos With Burned Scallion Crema Recipes

SLAB-BACON TACOS WITH BURNED-SCALLION CREMA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the chile powder, ground cumin, brown sugar and black pepper together in a large bowl, and then add the bacon slices, tossing to coat them with the spice mixture.
• Arrange the coated bacon slices on a sheet pan, ideally one fitted with a wire rack. Roast in the oven until they are caramelized and starting to crisp at the edges, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, chop the bacon into large dice and keep warm. Reserve the bacon fat for another use.
• While the bacon cooks, make the crema. Put the scallions and jalapeño in a large dry sauté pan and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the scallions and jalapeño have blackened at the edges, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
• Put the scallions and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz them with the juice of 1 lime, then add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blitz the mixture until it is smooth and flecked with blackened bits. Season to taste with the salt and, if you'd like the mixture thinner, the juice of the second lime. Scrape into a bowl, and reserve.
• To serve, warm the tortillas in the dry pan, one or two at a time, and reserve them in a tortilla warmer or clean dish towel. Fill them with the diced bacon and a slash of the crema, along with quartered limes and, if you like, salsa, cilantro, mint and hot sauce.

CREAM TACOS: TACOS DE CREMA

Steps:

• Blanch the tomatillos in 1 quart boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and save 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Set aside, cool, and remove husks. Place tomatillos in a blender with the garlic, salt, and serrano chiles. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons cooking liquid and blend on high speed for 10 seconds. Set sauce aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Mexican sausage and fry until browned and completely cooked through. Transfer sausage to paper towels to drain and set aside.
• Simmer sauce for 5 minutes in a pan wide enough to dip tortillas. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over high flame. With tongs, dip 1 tortilla at a time in the hot oil for a few seconds to coat and heat and then dip the tortilla in tomatillo sauce. Place on a serving plate and fill with 1/12th of the Mexican sausage, 1 tablespoon minced onion, and 1/2 teaspoon minced cilantro. Roll the tortilla into the shape of an enchilada. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top with sauce, sour cream, strips of green chile, and a cilantro sprig. Serve immediately.

BACON TACOS

Steps:

• Bring water and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels, retaining the drippings in the skillet. Crumble bacon.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Combine beans and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix in a saucepan over low heat; cook and stir until warmed, about 5 minutes.
• Cook and stir the cooked rice and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix in the reserved bacon drippings until evenly coated, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Brush vegetable oil over each tortilla and arrange tortillas on a baking sheet.
• Bake tortillas in the preheated oven until warmed, about 5 minutes.
• Place black bean mixture, rice mixture, bacon, tomatoes, green bell peppers, and Cheddar cheese each in separate bowls; serve with tortillas.

BURNED-SCALLION CREMA

Steps:

• Put the scallions and jalapeño in a large dry sauté pan and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the scallions and jalapeño have blackened at the edges, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
• Put the scallions and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz them with the juice of 1 lime, then add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blitz the mixture until it is smooth and flecked with blackened bits. Season to taste with the salt and, if you'd like the mixture thinner, the juice of the second lime. Scrape into a bowl, and reserve.

SHRIMP TACOS WITH CILANTRO-LIME CREMA

Steps:

• Rinse defrosted shrimp under cold water, drain, and pat dry.
• Combine shrimp, chili powder, garlic, paprika, cumin, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coriander, and orange zest in a bowl. Mix well.
• Heat olive oil in nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until bright pink on the outside and the meat is opaque, 4 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the shrimp.
• While shrimp cooks, prepare crema by whisking together sour cream, zest and juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon cilantro, garlic powder, and 1 pinch each of salt and black pepper.
• Heat corn tortillas in either a pan or on a griddle over low heat, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Be careful not to let them burn. Set aside.
• Assemble tacos by spreading 1 teaspoon crema across each tortilla, adding 3 or 4 shrimp, 2 slices of avocado, a sprinkle of fresh red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Serve with sliced limes to squeeze on top and extra crema on the side.