Description
There are usually a couple of reasons you may have ended up with an overcooked steak — Maybe you’re new to grilling or pan-searing steaks at home and you cooked it a little too long (or way too long), or you went out for dinner and your rare or mid-rare steak showed up overcooked and more like medium to medium-well. Whatever the case, you can turn that overcooked steak into a delicious taco meal in 30 minutes or less. This is my favorite recipe to save overcooked steak whether it’s a porterhouse, ribeye, T-Bone, flank, or skirt.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Beef Taco Meat
- 1 overcooked grilled or pan-seared steak (10 to 11 ounces) (300g-350g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for the beef, plus more for sautéeing the onions (30g)
- 2 small onions (1 finely diced & 1 roughly sliced)
- 3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 carrot, julienned (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice (optional but recommended)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (9g)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- 6 corn or flour tortillas
- homemade salsa
- pico de gallo
- homemade guacamole
- shredded lettuce
- sour cream
- salsa verde
- your favorite hot sauce
- cilantro
Instructions
- Season and prep the overcooked steak. Slice the steak against the grain and give it a rough chop. Add the extra virgin olive oil and massage it into the meat well until it’s absorbed. Add the smoked paprika, sweet paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to taste, and toss it with meat to coat well. Set the meat aside.
- Sauté the onion and garlic (for the beef mixture). In a skillet set over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, add the garlic and diced onions, and sauté until the onions are translucent and the garlic is blistered and fragrant (about 4 minutes). Remove them to a plate while you cook the steak and carrots.
- Cook the caramelized onions and carrots (if using) for topping the tacos. With the heat still on medium-high, drizzle a little more olive oil and sauté the onions until tender and slightly caramelized (about 12 minutes). Add the julienned carrots, sprinkle a little smoked paprika if desired (it’s tasty), and sauté just until the carrots are tender but still crisp (about 5 minutes). Remove them to a platter while you cook the beef.
- Sear the steak. Add the seasoned steak to the hot skillet in a single layer and don’t move the steak for 2 minutes. Add the diced onion to the steak mixture, add a little freshly squeezed lime (or lemon juice) over the top, toss everything to combine, and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Add the soy sauce directly to the skillet so it sizzles, toss everything to combine, and sauté for 30 seconds more (everything should be sizzling at this point and smell amazing).
- Heat the corn tortillas & assemble the tacos. In a separate skillet, heat the corn tortillas with a little bit of oil. Fill the tortillas with beef and top with the carrot and caramelized onion mixture, and your choice of toppings like salsa, hot sauce, guacamole, lettuce etc. Serve immediately, and Enjoy!
Notes
- Adding the oil to the meat gives it back a little more moisture.
- A squeeze of fresh lime juice adds flavor and the acid helps to tenderize the meat.
- Adding guacamole and salsa will help add moisture to the tacos especially if your steak was really dry, to begin with.
- You may add a 1/4 cup (60g) of chicken or vegetable stock to the meat mixture and cook it for a few minutes until the desired consistency if you want to make the taco meat mixture saucier. You can even throw in 1 tablespoon (14g) of tomato paste as well which is delicious.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Tacos
- Method: Sautéed
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Tacos
