Practically every other shop in San Francisco's Mission District features grilled steak tacos. On Sundays, we'd often sleep in until 10 a.m. and lazily work our way toward the corner of Mission and 25th to La Taqueria for an early lunch. Of course we'd always arrive at the exact same time as caravans of hungry families just getting out of church. Since the city boasts 423,468 automobiles and only 29 parking spots, it was a fierce game of strategy.
Three miles out from La Taqueria, you start scanning in a steady sweeping motion: left-center-right-center-left. You're not looking for parking spots — that's hopeless. You're searching for pedestrians returning to their cars. The primary target is someone who is strolling slooowwllly, belt buckle loosened, shirt stained by drippings and a satiated, dreamy look on her face. Of course she's dawdling, relishing a temporary moment of superhuman power: "I have a parking spot that YOU GUYS ALL WANT."
The game's afoot. Five cars follow this woman, each taking a different route, guessing which car is hers. "Look, she's wearing Manolo pumps from two seasons ago — that Mercedes SL600 is so not her car. Go for the Audi A3 with the big dent! Whoops — she's heading left! She stopped! SLOW DOWN!! Wait — she's walking between cars to the next aisle. HURRY! GO!!!" At this moment, each contestant jockeys to be as close to her as possible without inflicting bodily injury.
It's worth every single scratch, dent, ticket and tow. After finally scoring a spot, you proceed on foot, guided by the aroma of seared steak with hints of cumin and coriander. As you get closer to the door, you hear the cooks throwing meat on the flaming grill, each piece landing with a shocking sizzle. Finally, the prize: dos carne asada tacos con queso y aguacate, por favor.
I'm not going to replicate those tacos exactly; that would just cheapen my memories of fighting, praying and waiting three hours to park for two tacos. But I have created a recipe that uses the same cut of meat (skirt steak) and the same method (grilling), while introducing a spicy, smoky flavor with a chipotle en adobo marinade.
Chipotles are red jalapeños that are ripened, dried and smoked. On the Richter scale of chilies, they fall somewhere in the middle. Canned with adobo sauce — a mixture of spices, vinegar, garlic, tomato sauce and other chilies — the concoction becomes a mighty marinade for steak tacos. Make the marinade with a single pepper first; taste and add another if you like more heat. The canned product is found in the Latin foods section of most grocery stores.
Chipotle Skirt Steak Tacos
Serves four
2 lbs skirt steak
1/4 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Canned chili en adobo
1-3 chipotle peppers
2 tsp of adobo sauce
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Accompaniments: corn tortillas, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, lettuce, lime wedges, salsa
Purée one chipotle pepper plus two teaspoons of the adobo sauce with the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Taste and add more chipotle if needed. Stir in cilantro. Marinate steak for at least two hours. Grill medium rare. Cut the skirt steak into thin strips across the grain.
Just before serving, throw corn tortillas directly on grill for 30 seconds, flip, top with cheese, grill 30 seconds and remove. This melts the cheese and chars the tortilla edges just a bit for some crunch. Cooking also takes away some of the "rawness" that corn tortillas have when they are straight out of the bag. Serve hot.
