Sure, you could use a fattier, more expensive piece of meat, like short rib or brisket or something, but that kind of seems like cheating. I used a bottom round roast that I cut into big cubes and seasoned with salt, pepper, and MSG, and left overnight to dry brine. There’s just so much more time to get it juicy and tender. But for my money, a meat that’s been stewing or braising all day beats a grilled meat every time. Some of you are going to ding me for using shredded beef instead of carne asada, and don’t get me wrong, I love a grilled, marinated flap, flank (pounded), or skirt steak. On top of that, it’s made entirely of very cheap, basic ingredients, which seems true to what a taco is supposed to be. This was the standard restaurant-style taco I grew up with in the Central Valley, so this is basically me trying to recreate a favorite food memory. Makes sense, right? Thus I chose the king-sized, semi-crunchy, shredded beef taco with lettuce. My guiding principle here was that when I make tacos at home, I like to make what I can’t get at a taco truck, and when I go to a taco truck, I like to get what I can’t make at home. If you’d rather have one of those than this, I’m not going to say you’re necessarily wrong. I’ve had 20 – 50 different types of street and taco truck tacos - carne asada, al pastor, fish, carnitas, birria, lengua, buche, tripas, etc - all varying degrees of wonderful. I have strong opinions about most things, but the taco is one area where if we disagree I won’t necessarily say it’s because you’re wrong and bad and you do bad things. My philosophy here was simple: I’m not going to out- authentico anyone - I didn’t do a study abroad in Jalisco, I didn’t learn any ancient recipes from a nice abuela in Guadalajara - so why try. Can he finally eek out a win with barbacoa? Will Zach surge into the lead with ground chuck? Or will Vince pull further ahead with shredded beef? It’s up to you, the commentariat, as we begin round three of this battle for the ages. Things are looking grim for our dear food editor. What we do know is that, as it stands now, Vince is way ahead on the leader board: Whose will reign supreme? This one looks close. We’re doing this thing again! Zach, Vince, and I have gone head-to-head-to-head on BLTs and mac & cheese, now we’re brawling over beef tacos.
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