Flank steak is dry rubbed, seared and then slow-cooked all day long in a crock-pot with taco spices, beef broth, lime and tomato paste until it’s fall-apart tender. I cooked this for my Mexican Inspired Dinner Party – the day before – so that all I would need to do was heat it up before the party. My crockpot kept it warm for me until we were ready to eat, without drying it out. I ♥ my crock pot.
In Mexico this steak is called “ropa vieja” meaning old clothes or rags, because of its stringy appearance. But don’t let the name throw you off, that’s as far as the resemblance goes. As it slow-cooks it soaks up all those incredible seasonings and the broth itself to render the most incredibly juicy, moist and melt-in-your mouth delicious steak that I have ever tasted. In my entire life.
Puffy tacos are made my deep frying corn tortillas until puffy pockets of air form. Light and crispy, they are a cross between a soft taco and a crunchy taco shell, yet un-like either. They are indescribably delicious and shed a whole new light on what I’ve come to know as a taco. Everyone at the dinner party loved them.
I like my shredded steak tacos unadulterated. Truly all that is needed is a dollop of fresh, crisp, clean-tasting crema to fully enjoy these. And maybe a bit of cool, crunchy lettuce. The steak can be used for puffy tacos, soft tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, tostadas, to make chili, nachos or even sandwiches.
Link to Puffy Tacos Made from Scratch Recipe
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Thanks for posting. I made the meat for dinner last night. It's a little more effort than usual with the crock pot, but easily the most flavorful meat I have made so it was worth it.
Wow. I made these for a dinner party and people were sad when I ran out. The tacos were amazing and the meat was wonderful. Very tender and spicy and excellent. Thank you for a great recipe!