Saturday, December 9, 2017

Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos

[FTC Disclaimer:  We are proud to have Certified Angus Beef® Brand is a sponsor of Nibble Me This.]

Want to know why the beef in these fantastic Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos is so tender?


Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos recipe featuring Certified Angus Beef Tenderloin #bestangusbeef

It's tender because I used beef tenderloin for the meat, specifically a Certified Angus Beef® Brand beef tenderloin from our Food City.  I trimmed this butt section of a tenderloin into:

Recipe ideas for the chain from a Certified Angus Beef tenderloin #bestangusbeef
  • Left:  Tenderloin chunks from the "chain."
  • Center:  tenderloin roast
  • Right:  A mini-roast using the side meat (iliacus muscle).

The "chain" is a little strip of muscle (psoas minor) that is hidden in a bunch of connective tissue that runs along the side of a whole beef tenderloin. A lot of people might mistake that for scrap.  But a little knife-work and patience can produce delectable bits of steak that chefs often treasure for themselves. 

These "scraps" of filet mignon are just the thing for Fire Seared Beef Tips and Rice or in these Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos.

Street style beef tacos recipe featuring Certified Angus Beef tenderloin

Trevor's girlfriend came over, and I wanted to make them something to eat while they studied.  I grabbed my beef tenderloin chunks, a few things I had in stock, and made them these tacos.

Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos

Ingredients




  • 12 oz Certified Angus Beef® Brand beef tenderloin cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 2 teaspoons Nibble Me This Fajita Seasoning recipe
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons beef tallow or other high-temperature cooking oil
  • 1 sweet onion, sliced into thin wedges
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1 avocado, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup shredded Hatch chile cheese or other pepper jack
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 4 corn tortillas
  • 1 lime wedge

Instructions


  1. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  For a kamado style grill like I used, that was direct heat at 350°f.  I put a cast iron skillet in about 5-10 minutes before beginning to cook.
  2. Season the beef. Season with the Fajita Seasoning and salt while the skillet is preheating.   
  3. Saute the onions.  Add tallow or oil to the skillet and allow it to heat.  You'll know it's ready when you see the oil shimmers.  Add the onions and season them with the lemon pepper seasoning.  Allow onions to cook for 3 minutes, tossing or stirring frequently.  
  4. Cook the beef.  Add the beef chunks to skillet.  Allow this to cook for 5 minutes, tossing or stirring frequently.  Squirt with the wedge of lime, toss or mix, and remove from the grill.
  5. Heat the tortillas.  Place the tortillas in a foil packet and place in the grill for 1 minute.
  6. Make the tacos.  Divide the beef and onion mixture between the 4 tortillas.  Top with shredded cheese, avocado, and cilantro.  

Notes/Substitutions

  • NMT Fajita Seasoning - Certified Angus Beef° brand's Tex-Mex Rub recipe should work as well.

Just a few simple ingredients.

Trimmed Certified Angus Beef tenderloin
You usually don't immediately connect beef tenderloin with tacos.  I indeed wouldn't run out and buy a couple of filets just to chop up for tacos.  But this is a fantastic way to use the chain and scrap pieces when you trim a whole beef tenderloin.

You can use a store-bought fajita seasoning, but those run a bit saltier. Skip the 1/2 teaspoon of salt until the end, when you can taste a sample. 

I was doing this in a hurry.  If I had time to wait around, I might season the beef at least an hour before cooking.  That lets it do a bit of a dry brine.  If you can't season it at least an hour ahead, only season it immediately before it goes on the grill.

I don't think that I'll ever grow tired of the smell of onions in a hot skillet.

Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos recipe featuring Certified Angus Beef tenderloin
I like this little, steep-sloped cast iron pan.  The steep walls make it easy to toss the ingredients every half minute or so.

Beef tenderloin tips and golden sauteed onions
This smells so good at this point.  To check for doneness, I checked a few with a Thermapen, but I was really going by color and texture.  


It's hard to impress my son because he's always had my cooking.  But this really hit the mark, they loved these steak and onion tacos. 


Steak and Grilled onion tacos

Free Roast Perfect App

Switching gears a bit - it's time to get ready for that holiday roast, Certified Angus Beef is offering their Roast Perfect App for free in the Google Play and Apple App Store.


This free app for tablets or smartphones puts everything you need to pull off a perfect beef roast in the palm of your hand, including
  • Help with selecting a roast 
    • type of roast
    • how much you'll need for your number of guests
    • quality indicators
  • Store locator
  • Recipes
  • Tips
  • Roast timer based on type, weight, and degree of doneness



I would download your free copy now so you can start getting ideas for your special holiday roast.