Are you a flour or corn tortilla kind of person? I like both, but you know what is also amazing? A tortilla made of CHEESE! I’ve got to give shouts to my friends over at La Bonita in Palm Spring, California for this idea. My wife and I went to La Bonita for lunch and when they told us about their cheesy tortilla tacos we had to try them. They were incredible! By the time we arrived back at home I knew this was something I wanted to recreate in my own way, so here is my Crispy Cheese Tortilla Beef Tacos recipe.
Before We get to the Cheesy Tortilla, Let’s Talk Beef
I’ve never met a taco I didn’t like. You can use chicken, pork, shrimp and even fried avocados for tacos these days, and I love them all. I decided to use hanger steaks for my Crispy Cheese Tortilla Beef Tacos and seasoned them up using some of my Gaucho Steakhouse Rub. If you’ve got this rub, you know just how delicious it is. If you don’t have it… you should get it! If you don’t have it and don’t want to get it, that’s okay. We can still be friends. For this recipe, just substitute your favorite steak rub.
I started by blending up the Gaucho Steakhouse Rub. I love the coarseness of the rub on a steak for the Crispy Cheese Tortilla Beef Tacos, but since the hanger steak was going to be sliced and turned into tacos I wanted the seasoning to be thinner. It helps more of the seasoning stick to the beef while it goes through the cooking and slicing process. I spread an even coat of seasoning across my three hanger steaks and headed out to the fire.
More Beef and Cheese Please
I tossed the hanger steaks on the grill and cooked them until they were a nice medium/medium rare. Then, I set them to the side to rest. We will want to slice the steaks before starting the crispy cheese tortillas. This is because we’ll place the sliced beef onto crispying cheese for taco assembly. I sliced the hanger steak into bite sized pieces, being sure to slice against the grain.
Now, it’s time to make the crispy cheese tortillas. I pulled the grill grate from the fire and replaced it with my plancha. I tended the fire a bit and let the plancha get nice and hot. Then, I gave the plancha a splash of oil and started placing small piles of cheese into five circles on the grill. Be attentive to this cheese, you don’t want to miss the sweet spot and accidentally let your “crispy” turn into “burnt”! Flip each cheese tortilla once it becomes golden brown in color on the bottom. Then add the sliced beef, red onion, sour cream and cilantro on top of the crispy cheese tortillas.
Time for Crispy Cheese Tortilla Beef Tacos
Once the cheese becomes sturdy enough to lift from the plancha, do so and set it on a serving dish. You should have a lovely, crispy on the outside but molten on the inside tortilla! Not only is the crispy cheese tortilla delicious, but the steak inside is amazing! It makes for one incredible bite after another. Best enjoyed with friends and family. Cheers!
Crispy Cheese Tortilla Beef Tacos
Ingredients
Steak:
- 2-3 Hanger Steaks or Flank Steaks
- 1.5 tbsp of Gaucho Steakhouse ground
- 1.5 tsp of Canola Oil
Taco Filling:
- 3 cups of Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
- 2 tsp of Chile Con Limon
- ½ of a Red Onion sliced
- 2.5 tbsp of Cilantro chopped
- 2-3 tbsp of Sour Cream
- 2-3 tbsp of Salsa Verde
- 2-3 Limes juiced
Instructions
- In a blender, add the Gaucho Steakhouse rub (or your favorite steak seasoning). Blend until smooth. Lather your hanger steaks in oil then season thoroughly. Set aside until ready to cook. In a bowl, mix the monterey jack cheese and the chile con limon.
- Preheat your grill to high heat for direct grilling (around 400F).
- Add your steaks to the grill and cook for about 4 minutes per side or until they are 125F internal. When done, pull the steaks off and rest for 5 minutes. When ready, slice the steaks against the grain and set aside.
- Preheat a skillet/plancha to medium high heat (about 375F). Add a little oil to the skillet, grab a handful of cheese and place on to the skillet. Pat the cheese down a little to flatten and repeat adding cheese to the skillet for your desired amount of taco shells. Cook the shells until they begin to caramelize on the bottom (about 2-3 minutes). Flip the cheese shells over and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
- Top each taco with steak, red onion, sour cream, salsa verde and chopped cilantro. Pull off the heat, serve and enjoy!
