TACOS DE ALAMBRE RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving grease in the skillet. Crumble the bacon strips once cool.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, and stir in the ground beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the ground beef is crumbly and no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid.
• Scrape the beef mixture into the skillet of bacon grease. Crumble the bacon into the beef, and stir until thoroughly combined. Keep warm over low heat.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a clean skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Place a tortilla into the pan, and place a generous spoonful of the meat filling onto the lower half of the tortilla. Cook until bubbles begin to form in the tortilla, then fold over the meat. Continue cooking until the taco is crisp and lightly browned on each side, 1 to 2 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and meat mixture. Top the tacos with diced tomatoes and shredded Monterey Jack cheese to serve.

Steps:

• Start by chopping up 4 slices of bacon into 1/4" sized pieces. Add bacon to a skillet over medium heat, stirring regularly.
• As the bacon is cooking you can give the beef a thorough salting on both sides. These short ribs were already sliced thin, but I did quickly pound them down to ensure even cooking.
• Once the bacon is cooked set it aside for later. There should be plenty of bacon drippings left in the pan that we'll use to cook the remaining ingredients. I usually spoon off about half of the bacon drippings into a ramekin and set it aside for the onion and jalapeno.
• Add the beef to the pan. These short ribs needed just 1-2 minutes per side to reach medium rare (I used a little over medium heat). Once the beef is cooked you can set it aside and cover with foil. Note: I cooked the beef in two batches.
• Finely chop a single small onion. Rinse, de-stem, and finely chop three jalapenos. Add the remaining bacon drippings to the pan along with the chopped onion and jalapeno. For a milder batch you can use less jalapeno or even a green pepper.
• Cook the onion and jalapeno for a few minutes over medium heat until softened. Chop up the meat into bite-sized pieces and add it back to the pan along with the bacon pieces. Once everything is up to temp it's ready to serve.
• Top with your choice of fixings. For this batch I used 2 Roma tomatoes, plenty of Queso Fresco, freshly chopped cilantro, and a big squeeze of lime. Serve immediately next to a stack of corn tortillas.
• You can optionally serve your Tacos de Alambre with Salsa de Aguacate. To make the Salsa de Aguacate, combine the following ingredients in a blender or food processor: the flesh of a ripe avocado, 1/4 cup water, juice of 1 lime, 4-5 sprigs of cilantro, 1/2 peeled garlic clove, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Combine well and taste for seasoning.   If it's not combining readily simply add additional splashes of water.
• Be sure to warm up the corn tortillas before serving. For big groups you can either put the tortillas in the oven for a few minutes or cover them with a damp paper towel and nuke them for 60 seconds. For smaller groups I like to put them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until they are warm and slightly crispy. More info on warming up corn tortillas.