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These alternative tacos are amazing. The filling is roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, poblano, and garlic tossed with rendered chorizo. It goes in a cheesy griddled corn tortilla and is topped with charred corn salsa and avocado ranch dressing to cool it down.

I got the idea from The Chef Show on Netflix. They went to Border Grill in Vegas, and one of the owners' prepared dishes was a sweet potato and black bean taco. I was instantly sold on the idea and wrote down my spin on it. The best part is the cheese crust on the inside of the taco shell. Pure genius. 

These tacos are fantastic! The roasted sweet potatoes tossed in the chorizo fat are glorious on their own. It's hard to quit "taste testing" them while cooking. The whole thing together is hearty and delicious. 

Enjoy! As always, see below the recipe for more tips and pics.

Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Tacos

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 02/07/2022

This amazing taco was inspired by The Chef Show's visit to the Border Grill in Las Vegas. Fajita seasoned, roasted sweet potatoes are tossed with chorizo, poblano, black beans, and garlic for a delicious taco filling topped with charred corn salsa and avocado ranch dressing. Perhaps the best part is the griddled cheese taco shells which are excellent. You can make the salsa a day in advance.

Ingredients

For the roasted corn salsa

• 4 ears fresh corn
• 1 poblano
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4  cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 ounce cotija cheese
• 1 ounce juice from a grilled lime 
• 1 teaspoon NMT Fajita Seasoning recipe or another fajita seasoning

For the filling

• 8 ounces Mexican chorizo 
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil or other  high-temperature cooking oil
• 1 poblano
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon NMT Fajita seasoning recipe or another fajita seasoning

For the tacos

• 10 yellow corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Oaxaca cheese
• 1 cup Mexican crumbling  cheese
• 1/4 cup cotija
• Cilantro for garnish
• 1 recipe ranch dressing
• 1/2 avocado peeled and diced 

1. Preheat your grill or oven. Set up a grill for indirect heat and preheat the grill/oven to 425°f. I u d a Bi Green Egg set up with a  ConvEGGtor heat shield.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes. Toss the diced sweet potato with 1 tablespoon of peanut oil and 1 teaspoon of NMT Fajita seasoning recipe. Place in the oven or grill until roasted through and fork-tender, about  40 minutes. Note: Border Grill only toasts theirs for 10 minutes, but we like the color, texture, and caramelization of the longer roast.
3. Prepare the salsa ingredients. On another grill, gas burner, or broiler, cook the corn until cooked through and slightly charred. Remove from heat. Use a sharp knife to remove the kernels and scrape the "milk" from the cobs. Discard the cobs. Roast the poblanos until the skin is charred and blistered on all sides  Place in a covered bowl for 5 minutes to steam. Cut open, scrape out the seeds, peel the skin using a knife blade and then dice.
4. Make the salsa. Combine corn, one poblano, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, cheese, lime juice, and fajita seasoning in a bowl. Toss to coat thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and add a pinch of salt if needed.
5.  Make the filling. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Wipe the skillet with oil and cook the chorizo until it is browned and the fat has re dered, about 3 4 minutes. A d the sweet potato, black beans, garlic, and seasoning and saute another 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently to get everything coated in the rendered fat. Remove from heat.
6. Prepare the cheesy taco shells. Mix together the three kinds of cheese. On a 400°f griddle, cook tortillas on one side for about 10 seconds and remove them. For each taco shell, place about 1 ounce (a heavy 4 finger pinch is what I used) of the cheese on the griddle and top with the other side of the taco shell. Press down and release with a spatula and then wait for 20-30 seconds until the cheese has grilled. Gently scrape under the cheese with a spatula and flip the shell over. The cheese should release giving you a corn tortilla with a cheese crust on the inside.
7. Make the tacos. Place a spoon of the filling on top of the cheesy side of the taco shell. Top that with a spoon of the charred corn salsa and a drizzle of the avocado ranch dressing. Eat up! 

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Total time: 20 mins.

Tags: cheese, sauce

Since I had the sweet potatoes roasting on one of my large Big Green Eggs, I fired up my BGE Mini-Max to grill the corn and poblano chiles. 

Searing off the corn and poblanos on a cast iron grate from Craycort. This is like the other grates from Craycort, just smaller for the Mini-Max, Smokey Joe, etc. I like that each half can be removed independently, making it easy to add fuel or wood.

Tip:  Curved tongs, usually for hot dogs and sausages, are excellent for handling corn on the grill without popping the kernels the way metal scalloped tongs tend to do.

Browning chorizo in an 80+-year-old skillet over hot red coals. 

I don't drain the grease after browning the sausage, I toss the potatoes, beans, garlic, and chiles around in it and let them saute a few more minutes. Perfection. 

My setup for the Big Green Egg for this cook was pretty basic. I used a ConvEggtor while roasting the sweet potatoes and for everything else, it was just the regular grill set up for direct heat.

This filling is fantastic for these tacos but if you leave out the chorizo, they would also go phenomenally well with jerk chicken.

There is a myriad of flavors going on with these tacos and I love it. We have made these three times this month.

Taco perfection!