Chile-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos

In 2006, three brothers — Jesse, Brian, and David Vendley — started hawking homemade tacos from a cart on the streets of Soho in Manhattan. In 2009, the trio opened Calexico in Brooklyn. Today the taco restaurant has expanded to five locations in Park Slope, Greenpoint, Red Hook, Manhattan's Upper East Side, and Bahrain.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best cut of steak for tacos?

Delicious tacos can be made from nearly any kind of steak, but carne asada is almost always made from skirt steak or flank steak. On occasion, flap steak or chuck steak are used. These are leaner cuts with big, beefy flavor that can easily be sliced and tucked into tortillas.

How do you cut skirt steak for tacos?

For this skirt steak taco recipe, you'll need one and a half pounds of meat. To prepare it for the marinade, you'll first cut the meat into roughly five-inch pieces. After the steak has been cooked and allowed to rest for 10 minutes, it's time to slice it into taco-sized pieces. To do this, turn the steak perpendicular to the grain on the cutting board and thinly slice it at a 45-degree angle with a sharp chef's knife.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

You can't have a taco without the filling, but the toppings are equally important for flavor, texture, and visual appeal. Here, the steak tacos are served with shredded cabbage, fresh pico de gallo, and avocado salsa, which is somewhere between salsa verde and guacamole.

Suggested pairing

Go for a spicy California red blend with these steak tacos.