The “aha!” moment when I thought to combine porcini and grilled beef with chiles came to me in Argentina, home of the world’s best grilled beef. Specifically, I was in Mendoza, the capital of Argentina’s wine country and settled by Italian immigrants in the nineteenth century—probably why beef with porcinis is such a common pairing there. This dish is delicious prepared outdoors over a wood-fired grill, but you can also cook it stovetop on a cast-iron griddle or ridged grill pan. Look for porcini powder at specialty food stores or buy dried porcinis and grind them yourself in a spice grinder.

　　

Ingredients

makes 8 tacos

　　1 tablespoon porcini powder (see headnote)

　　3/4 teaspoon smoked salt (page 163)

　　1/4 teaspoon chile powder (preferably morita or chipotle), page 151

　　1 pound skirt steak, trimmed (no more than one-quarter covered with a thin layer of fat) and pounded 1/3 inch thick

　　8 (5 1/2-inch) crispy yellow corn tortilla shells (page 17), for serving

　　Garnish: Roasted corn and sautéed porcini mushrooms

　　

Step 1

If grilling on an outdoor grill, preheat the grill.

　　

Step 2

In a bowl, combine the porcini powder, smoked salt, and chile powder. Rub over the meat on both sides. Grill the meat over high heat, about 2 minutes per side—you want it really rare and juicy. If cooking indoors on a cast-iron griddle or ridged grill pan, cook, turning once, over very high heat, about 4 minutes total.

　　

Step 3

Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice against the grain into 1/4-inch strips. To serve, divide the filling equally between the crispy shells, top with garnishes and salsa, and arrange in a taco holder. Or, lean the filled shells in a row, propped upright, on a platter. Eat right away. To build your own, spoon some filling in a crispy shell, top with garnishes and salsa, and eat right away.

　　Tacos by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Copyright © 2009 by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Mark Miller is the acclaimed chef-founder of Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has started and owned thirteen different restaurants on three continents from 1979 to 2008. He is the author of ten books with nearly 1 million copies in print, including Tacos, The Great Chile Book, The Great Salsa Book, and Coyote Cafe. Mark currently works in International Culinary Consulting and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Benjamin Hargett is a travel-loving chef who has cooked in Europe, the Carribean, Mexico, and the United States, where he worked with Mark Miller at the Coyote Café for many years.