Smoky Creamy Smash Tacos: An Upgrade to Normal Smash Tacos!
This recipe takes the normal Smash Taco you have been seeing all over the internet and takes it to another level! You will want to try this!
Things to know:
What is a Smash Taco?
A smash taco (or smash burger taco) is a viral food trend that combines a smash burger and a taco. A ball of seasoned ground meat is pressed flat directly onto a small tortilla, seared on a hot skillet until crispy, flipped to toast the tortilla, and finished with cheese and toppings.
What is chorizo?
Chorizo is a flavorful pork sausage that comes in two main styles: Spanish chorizo, which is hard, smoked, and cured, and Mexican chorizo, which is fresh, raw, and heavily spiced.
Spanish Chorizo
Made with coarsely chopped or ground pork, garlic, and smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón):
Cured and air-dried or smoked, making it firm, sliceable, and safe to eat without cooking.
Served sliced on charcuterie boards, or added to soups, stews, and paella
Mexican Chorizo:
Made from fresh, raw ground pork (or beef) mixed with chili peppers, vinegar, and garlic.
Soft and crumbly, requiring thorough cooking before consumption.
Used as a filling for tacos, burritos, and breakfast scrambles.
What is annatto?
Annatto is a natural orange-red condiment and food coloring made from the waxy seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), which is native to tropical regions of the Americas. It imparts a bright yellow-to-orange hue and a mild, slightly sweet, nutty, and peppery flavor.
Are paprika and annatto the same?
No, paprika and annatto are not the same. Paprika is made from dried, ground red chili peppers (Capsicum annuum), offering a sweet, smoky, or spicy flavor. Annatto comes from the waxy seeds of the tropical achiote tree (Bixa orellana), providing a subtle, earthy, and slightly nutty taste used mostly for a bright yellow-orange color.
Ingredients:
1 8 oz. block of cream cheese
1 T minced garlic
1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork chorizo
2 T of your favorite taco seasoning (we used Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano)
11 flour or corn tortillas
oil for the griddle (we used our Annatto infused oil)
Your favorite taco cheese. We used chihuahua.
Your favorite taco toppings! We used shredded lettuce, sour cream, pico de gallo and salsa.
1. The day before…Taco Eve is you will…preheat your smoker to 180F and light a smoke tube filled with pellets.
2. Mix room temperature cream cheese, chipotles and garlic, then form the mixture back into a cube, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chuck it into the fridge for at least 1/2 hour.
3. Remove the compound cream cheese block from the wrapping, place it on a wire rack and chuck it into the smoker for 2 hours.
4. Remove the now smoked cream cheese from the smoker and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chuck it into the fridge.
5. On Taco Day, mix the ground beef together with the pork chorizo and taco seasoning. Mix until homogenous and form into 3 oz balls.
6. Preheat your griddle to medium heat. Place the balls one the griddle, them top with a tortilla and SMASH!
7. After about 5 minutes, place some more of the oil on the griddle, flip the tacos on top of the oil and apply cheese.
8. Put some more oil down on the grill and fold the tortilla over to get the taco shape. Flip the taco as necessary to get the desired crispiness of the shell.
9. Add your favorite taco toppings, serve and ENJOY!
Equipment used:
Yoder YS640S Smoker
Blackstone Griddle
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