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Tri tip tacos with mole and grilled ramps

Ingredients

Tacos:

  • Ingredients serves ~ four
  • 1 sweet onion diced
  • 1 bunch cilantro picked and chopped
  • 2 limes cut into wedges
  • 16 + corn tortillas
  • 1 Certified Angus Beef Tri Tip 2-3#
  • Mole
  • Ramps *if you are not blessed with a ramp flush you can substitute scallions!*

For the Mole:

  • Chipotle in adobo sauce ¼ cup
  • Beef demi glace 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp
  • Roasted garlic 2-3 cloves to taste
  • Dark chocolate 1/8 cup
  • Lime juice 1/8 cup
  • Water ¾ cup
  • Tomato paste 1/3 cup
  • Light brown sugar 3 T + 1 tsp
  • Dates 2-3 finely chopped
  • Apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp
  • pinch ground Cinnamon
  • pinch ground Cumin
  • pinch ground Cloves

Cauliflower:

  • Ingredients: serves ~ four
  • 2 heads cauliflower
  • 8 oz mayonnaise
  • 8 oz crema substitute sour cream or crème fraîche
  • 8 oz Cotija cheese
  • 1 T adobo sauce from the chipotles, add more or less to taste
  • 1 T fresh lime juice add more or less to taste
  • 1 T chopped grilled ramps
  • 1 T chopped Cilantro

Instructions

For the Tri Tip:

  • Put your tri tip on a baking rack on a sheet tray. Season well with salt on all sides. Let sit at room temp for 30 minutes. This pulls water out of the meat and puts salt inside. (A quick cure.)
  • Pat dry. Rub with the mole sauce. Reserve the balance of the Mole for the Tacos.
  • Let sit for another 30 minutes. Light your coals in a chimney. When the top of the coals are white, dump your coals into the center of the grill, you can smooth them out to a tight circle. Put the rack on. Put the lid on. Let the rack heat for 5-10 mins. When the rack is hot, throw your meat on over the coals. Cook for 3 minutes with the lid on. Then rotate the meat 45° and cook for another 3 minutes with the lid on. Flip and do the same thing on the other side.
  • Remove the meat from the grill. Loosely tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes.
  • Reserve for carving.
  • Place everything in a blender. Let blend till warm and smooth. Pass through a chinois after blending.

For the Ramps:

  • Clean the ramps: rinse in water and allow leaves to dry. Use a damp towel to remove all residual dirt from the stalks. Cut off roots right at base of stem.
  • Drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
  • Place on a grill with the root base over high heat. You can protect the leaves by placing a tray underneath them. It is important to cook the base through whilst not burning the leaves to ash. Rotate frequently. Reserve.

Assemble Tacos:

  • Thinly slice the beef and put in the center of a tortilla. Top with warm mole, chopped grilled ramps, diced onions, Cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
  • Cut the cauliflower into 8ths. Put a skewer though the cores. Rub with oil & lightly salt.
  • Put on the grill and cook though both sides.
  • Meanwhile, mix all other ingredients. Have fun and make it more cheesy/spicy/mild/hot!
  • When the cauliflower is removed from the grill, SLATHER it in sauce! You can put it on a plate to serve, or directly inject it into your mouth.