Jake Things / Recipe

Jake's
Steak Tacos

Steak seasoned with salt only, cooked hard in cast iron in batches, and chopped small, on a single corn tortilla with five toppings.

~3 lb
skirt or flank steak
~10
tacos, plus leftovers (there usually are)
2
pans: cast iron and nonstick
1
knife
1
cutting board
0
marinade. Salt only.

Overview

The taco

What goes on them Canon

  1. 1 corn tortillaOne per taco. No doubling up.
    01
  2. SteakChopped small, hot from the cast iron
    02
  3. White onionFinely chopped
    03
  4. JalapeñoFinely chopped, salted
    04
  5. CilantroRough chopped
    05
  6. Flaky saltA pinch on top
    06
  7. Lime juiceSqueezed over the top
    07

That's it. Built bottom to top.

What makes them good

Small, uniform onion and jalapeñoEven pieces make a big difference in the finished taco.
A hard crust on the steakHot cast iron, small batches, more color is better.
Chopped against the grainAfter it's cooked, so it stays tender.
Tortillas that never dry out or breakKeep the bag sealed. One tortilla has to hold everything.
No marinade.Take the steak out of the fridge, cut it, and cook it. It's tacos. There's no need to be fancy.
Optional, not canon OptionalA bottled Mexican lime crema. Usually skip it.

Before you start

Shopping list

Amounts are for a typical batch made with 3 lb of steak. Tap an item to check it off.

ItemAmountNotes
Skirt or flank steak~3 lbSkirt is better because it's thinner. Buy whatever amount you need.
White onion1 wholePre-chopped onion works but costs more.
Jalapeños2 med–largeMore or fewer to taste.
Cilantro1 bunch
Limes2–3Depends on how juicy they are, and on taste.
Corn tortillas10–12Per batch. Mission brand, yellow corn, 5–6 in. Must be corn.
Canola or vegetable oilPlentyFor the steak and the tortillas.
Salt (steak and topping)PlentyAny kind.
Salt (jalapeños)~1 tspFor the jalapeños.
Optional
Black pepperOptional
Bottled lime cremaOptionalNot canon.
Shredded Mexican cheeseOptionalOnly for leftover taco bowls.

Before you start

Equipment

The whole job uses one knife, one cutting board, and two pans.

1Large cutting boardWith a wet paper towel underneath so it doesn't slide
1Sharp knife
1Pair of tongsPlus somewhere to rest them while you cook
1Cast iron pan, for the steakThe bigger the better
1Nonstick pan, for the tortillas
3Deli containersOnion · jalapeño · cilantro and limes
1SpoonShared by the onion and the jalapeño
1Bowl, for the cooked steak
1Plate, for the raw stripsOptional. Paper towels on the counter work too.
∞Lots of paper towelsUnder the board, between the raw steak layers, ringed around the burner, and for oiling the tortilla pan
+Plates for serving

The game plan

Order of operations

Prep the vegetables first, then the meat, so a single cutting board covers everything. After that, cooking, chopping, and tortillas overlap.

  1. Vegetables: onion, then jalapeño (salted), then cilantro, into deli containers and into the fridge. Then the limes. Rinse the board between each one. Step 1 →
  2. Raw steak: butterfly it if it's flank, cut it into strips with the grain, and stack them between paper towels to come up to room temperature (about 10–15 minutes, longer if cutting takes a while). Step 2 →
  3. Pan: while you're stacking the strips, heat the cast iron with oil. Ring the burner with paper towels. Step 3 →
  4. Cook in batches: usually 5–10 batches, rotating strips through the pan. Step 3 →
  5. Cooked chop: start when you're between halfway and three-quarters of the way through the batches. Wash the board first. Step 4 →
  6. Tortillas: start about 5 minutes before the meat is done. Clear the paper towel ring first. Step 5 →
  7. Keep the steak warm: once everything is cooked and chopped, let the pan cool for a minute, then return the meat to it on low. Step 4 →
  8. Set out toppings and serve: the first 3 tortillas should be ready about when the meat is reheated. Step 6 →

Step 1

Prep the vegetables and limes

  • 1 board
  • 3 containers
  • 3–5 mm dice

Do all the vegetables before you touch the meat, so one cutting board covers the whole job. Set up the big cutting board with a wet paper towel underneath so it stays in place. Rinse the board between vegetables, and give it a good rinse after the jalapeño and after the cilantro.

OnionFirst

  1. Use 1 whole white onion.
  2. Fine-dice it, a bit smaller than a standard dice.
  3. Use any method you like. No technique is perfect, but small, uniform pieces make a big difference in the finished taco.
  4. Put it in its own deli container.

JalapeñoSecond

Use 2 medium to large jalapeños, more or fewer to taste. Uniform, small pieces matter here too.

  1. Cut off the stem.
  2. Halve it lengthwise.
  3. Core it: remove all of the seeds and all of the white pith.
  4. Cut each half lengthwise into long strips 3–5 mm wide.
  5. Once every jalapeño is in strips, turn the strips and cut across them into tiny cubes, about 3–5 mm × 3–5 mm.
  6. Put them in their own deli container.
  7. Right away, before they go in the fridge, add about 1 tsp of salt (any kind) and mix. The salt draws water out, softens the jalapeño, and seems to make it less spicy. They get really good as they sit in the fridge.

CilantroThird

  1. Wash and dry 1 bunch as well as you can.
  2. Depending on how lazy you're feeling, either pick the leaves off the stems or chop the stems in. Somewhere in between is fine (some stray stems, not all of them).
  3. Rough chop.
  4. Put it in its own deli container.
Into the fridge. Put all three deli containers in the fridge.

LimesLast

Cut 2–3 limes into wedges the juicier way. Don't cut through the middle from tip to tip, which leaves the pointy ends at the edges of every wedge. Instead, slice pieces off the sides around the center core, so the pointy ends stay together on one piece and the other pieces skip most of the pith. These squeeze out much more juice.

Not thisTip to tip through the middle. Every wedge gets a pointy end.
ThisSlice the sides off around the core. The pointy ends stay on one piece.

The limes go in the cilantro container.

Step 2

Cut the raw steak

  • ≤ 3/4 in thick
  • ~2 × 4 in strips
  • Rest 10–15 min

The steak gets cut twice: into strips with the grain now, while it's raw, and into small pieces against the grain after it's cooked.

Now: with the grainRaw strips run the same way as the fibers.
Later: against the grainCooked strips get chopped across the fibers (Step 4).
  1. Take the steak out of the fridge. No marinade.
  2. Trim it only if needed. Skirt steak usually doesn't need trimming, but cut off any big pieces of fat or bad silver skin.
  3. Thickness: no more than 3/4 in. Thinner is better.
    • Flank: usually too thick. Butterfly it or cut it in half through its thickness to get thinner pieces.
    • Skirt: usually thin enough already.
  4. Cut strips with the grain: 1–2 in wide by 1–6 in long, depending on how the meat falls. Ideally about 2 × 4 in. Small pieces are needed because you're cooking in batches. You'll end up with a lot of strips.
  5. Stack and dry: lay the strips on a plate, or on the cutting board, lined with paper towel. Stack them in layers with paper towel between each one, to keep them dry while they come up to room temperature.
  6. Rest: about 10–15 minutes at room temperature, longer counting cutting time. The exact time doesn't really matter.
  7. Salt: salt generously. Any kind of salt works. You can salt now or right before each strip goes in the pan, which is the usual way here. It's probably not the textbook method, but it works.
If the raw strips are on the cutting board, move them off before the cooked chop (Step 4), onto a pile of paper towels on the counter or a plate. For smaller batches, it's easier to use a plate from the start.

Step 3

Cook the steak in batches

  • Med-high to high
  • 3–5 min per side
  • 5–10 batches

Cook on medium-high to high heat in cast iron, 3–5 minutes per side, aiming for a hard crust and a mostly well-done middle that doesn't dry out.

Set upWhile stacking the raw strips

  1. Ring the burner with paper towels. Lay them on the stovetop and counter all around the burner you're using. Many batches of steak in hot oil throws a lot of splatter, and this makes cleanup easy. On an electric stove, it's okay to put them right up to the burner.
  2. Put the biggest cast iron pan you have on that burner.
  3. Add canola or vegetable oil, a little more than you think you need. The pan soaks it up, and skirt and flank are lean, so very little fat renders out.
  4. Heat to medium-high, or a little higher.
On a gas stove, keep the paper towels well away from the flame.

Cook

  1. Salt the strips (if you haven't already) and lay them in the pan by hand. Tongs aren't needed for raw meat.
  2. Cook 3–5 minutes, then flip with the tongs and cook another 3–5 minutes. Times depend on how much oil you use, how hot the stove is, the pan, and most of all how thick the strips are.
  3. Rotate: strips finish at different times. As each one is done, move it to the bowl, slide the rest of the pan over, and add new raw strips in the open space. Keep them cycling through.
  4. Rest: let finished strips sit in the bowl for a minute or two before the cooked chop.
  5. Add oil every so often as the pan dries out.
  6. Expect 5–10 batches, depending on how much meat you have, the pan size, and how thin the strips are.

Doneness

  • The goal is good color on every strip and cooked through. Well done is the target. A little medium is fine, but below medium means it hasn't cooked long enough.
  • More color is better. Even charred is fine.
  • Don't overcook to the point of super dry.
  • Test, test, test.
Salt only in the pan. Don't put any seasoning except salt on the meat before it cooks. Over this many batches, spices burn and gunk up the bottom of the pan. Other seasonings go on after the cooked chop (Step 4).

Step 4

Final chop of cooked steak

  • Start ½–¾ through batches
  • 3–6 mm pieces
  • Tongs + knife only

Start chopping when you're between halfway and three-quarters of the way through the batches. Keep cooking while you chop. The only tools here are tongs and the knife.

Reset the cutting board

  1. Move any raw strips off the board (onto paper towels on the counter or a plate).
  2. Wash the cutting board properly, not just a rinse, since raw meat was on it. Wash the knife too.
  3. Set it up again with a fresh wet paper towel underneath.
  4. Dry the top reasonably well so there's no standing water under the cooked meat.

Chop

  1. Using the tongs, take 2–3 cooked strips from the bowl and put them on the board.
  2. Hold the strips with the tongs and chop against the grain to keep them tender.
  3. Cut small: roughly 3–6 mm pieces, sized to taste. Don't make them all perfect cubes. A mix of tiny bits and bigger pieces feels better in a taco.
  4. Put the chopped meat back into the same bowl.
  5. Taste often. If a batch needs it, add more salt here. Black pepper is fine too. Garlic powder, onion powder, or anything else is up to you, but salt and maybe pepper is really all it should have.
  6. Repeat: take strips out to chop, add new strips from the pan, and put chopped meat back. Everything moves with the tongs.

Back in the pan to keep warm

  1. Once everything is cooked and chopped, turn off the heat and let the pan cool for about a minute so the meat doesn't keep cooking.
  2. If there's a lot of oil left, wipe the pan out.
  3. Put all the chopped meat back in the cast iron on low.
  4. It takes 2–3 minutes to warm through. The exact timing isn't important.

Step 5

Tortillas

  • Start ~5 min before meat is done
  • Med to med-high
  • 3 at a time, ~2 min per side

Start the tortillas about 5 minutes before the meat is finished cooking and chopped. Mission yellow corn, 5–6 in, one tortilla per taco. No doubling up.

Keep the bag sealed. This matters a lot. Keep the bag closed except while you're actually pulling a tortilla out. Even 10 minutes open dries them out and makes them brittle, and a taco on a single tortilla falls apart if the tortilla breaks.

Cook

  1. Clear the stove first: throw out the paper towel ring before you bring out the second pan.
  2. Heat a nonstick pan to medium to medium-high.
  3. Oil it with a paper towel, not a pour. Pouring is too much oil. Soak part of a paper towel in canola or vegetable oil, rub it over the pan, and keep it nearby for each batch.
  4. Put down 3 tortillas (most nonstick pans fit 3).
  5. Give each one a quick spin to coat it with the thin film of oil, then flip right away and spin the other side.
  6. Cook about 2 minutes, depending on heat. Flip and cook about 2 minutes on the other side.
  7. Done when: little spots of color are showing, they're just starting to crisp, and they don't stick to the pan at all. They should be starting to crisp up, not hard or crunchy.
  8. Re-wipe the pan with the oiled paper towel and do the next 3.

Timing and keeping warm

The first 3 tortillas should be done about when the meat has reheated in its pan. Each batch of 3 goes straight to someone's plate: the first 3 to the first person, who starts building, the next 3 to the second person. With more than two people eating, you'll need some way to keep tortillas warm.

Step 6

Set up and assemble

  • Serve from the cast iron
  • 3 tacos to start

Serve the meat straight from the cast iron. Each person builds 3 tacos to start.

Topping line

Take the toppings out of the fridge while the tortillas cook and set them in a row:

OnionThe one spoon lives in this container.
JalapeñoUse the same spoon (it goes back in the onion).
Cilantro + limesSame container, no spoon. Use your hands.
Sauces or salsasIf you're using them (not canon).

Build order

  1. 3 tortillas on the plate to start. You can do fewer for seconds, but you always start with 3.
  2. Steak: with the tongs, put a reasonable amount of hot meat on each tortilla.
  3. Onion
  4. Jalapeño
  5. Cilantro
  6. Flaky salt: a pinch on each.
  7. Lime: squeeze over the top. Juicy limes might need only one wedge for all three tacos. Dry ones might need one per taco.

The whole time

Cleaning as you go

Clean as you go. It's a big part of what keeps this manageable.

Paper towel ringCatches the steak splatter. Throw it out before you start the tortillas.
Done with a tool for good?Into the dishwasher right away.
Using it again, little or no raw meat on it?Give it a rinse.
Cutting boardRinse between vegetables, especially after the jalapeño and the cilantro. Wash it properly after raw meat.
KnifeWash it properly after raw meat.
TongsOne pair for everything. Raw strips go into the pan by hand, so the tongs only flip and move meat that's already cooking.

The next day

Leftovers

Leftovers become taco bowls the next day.

  1. Store everything in deli containers: meat, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.
  2. Put the meat in a bowl, optionally topped with shredded Mexican cheese, and microwave it.
  3. After microwaving, top it with the leftover onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.