♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - In Mexico City, we search for the very best tacos.

We begin with a visit with Aidee Gonzales to learn how to make beef birria tacos.

These are flavored with three different types of chilies.

Then we demonstrate how to make a fresh tomatillo and serrano chili salsa.

And we finish up with one of our favorites, an ancho spiced pork and potato taco.

Please stay tuned.

- Funding for this series was provided by the following: - That meal.

You sautéed, you seared, and you served.

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- Tacos are ubiquitous to Mexico, but revered here in the capital, where street vendors sell endless varieties from dawn well into dark.

Ruben Orozco has worked as a butcher since he was eight.

For 16 years, he's run Tacos Ruben's, parked on a sidewalk across from a gas station.

There's a soccer match playing on a television hanging from the rafters of his canopy, and a dozen people lined up waiting.

His family works in unison to produce tacos suadero-- citrus-marinated beef cooked with tripe and chorizo fat on a sombrero-shaped comal.

The meat is finely chopped on a well-grooved cutting board and gets slid onto double-layered tortillas, along with onions, cilantro, lime, and a choice of four salsas.

All of it just a few pesos apiece.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (sizzling) ♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): ♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): - (laughs) ♪ ♪ - In our search for Mexico City's best tacos, we learned many lessons: the balance of flavors and textures, the interplay of fire and smoke, and the role of dried chilies, such as in the beef birria recipe taught to us by home cook Aidee Gonzales.

- (speaking Spanish): (woman speaking Spanish in background) - (speaking Spanish): (whirring) (group laughing, Gonzales continues in Spanish): - (speaking Spanish): GONZALES (in Spanish): (group laughing) ♪ ♪ - If you go to Mexico City, the street food's fabulous.

Obviously, lots of tacos.

This is beef birria taco.

We actually went to Aidee Gonzales's home, and she taught us this recipe, which has a lot of lessons and techniques which you can use for lots of taco and other recipes.

So, we're going to start with chilies.

Up until ten years ago, I really thought of chilies mostly as heat level.

Uh, but if you're in Mexico, that's not how they think about chilies.

They think about flavor.

Guajillos are particularly fruity.

I love these; they're not too hot.

Ancho chilies, of course, has a ton of flavor.

Chipotle chilies.

So you come up with a mix of chilies-- many of them are chilies you probably can't get here.

These are three you can get here, and that's why we've chosen them.

So when you're using chilies in cooking, they're there, as I said, for, for flavor and contrasting flavors and depth of flavor.

It's really not so much about heat.

So we've taken those chilies and we've seeded them, and now we're going to toast them in a skillet.

Which really will help to bring out their flavor.

And then a few crushed and peeled garlic cloves, as well.

(sizzling softly) So this'll take just a few minutes, as they start to toast on the outside.

You don't want to overdo it so they're burned, but you definitely want to get them toasted, and that's going to enhance the flavor of the chili.

We'll let them cool, and then we'll tear them up and use them as sort of a basis for a sauce.

So the chilies are toasted, as the garlic is cooked, as well.

So we're going to take the chilies and just tear them up into pieces.

And we're going to make essentially a, a chili sauce or purée with some spices and water.

And there are plenty of places online to get them.

A few bay leaves, some spices.

Ground cumin goes in, of course.

Cumin is used a lot in Mexican cooking.

Some thyme.

Allspice.

Very often, warm spices are used.

Oregano, salt.

And now we have two cups of water, hot water.

Make sure the top is on firmly.

(laughing): 'Cause you don't-- you don't want to get a chili facial.

So we'll start slow.

(whirring softly) (whirring quickens) (blender stops) I think that's good.

Yeah, that's great.

That has a ton of flavor.

You know, in Mexico, they very often cook their meat ahead of time, without seasoning.

Then the seasoning and the meat go together once the meat is cooked.

It's very often done in a pressure cooker, because it's quick.

But you can do that, as we did here, in a Dutch oven for about three hours, of course, in the oven.

We used beef and onions together, as well.

Again, you can do this ahead of time.

For the meat, we use four pounds of short ribs cut into one- to one-and-a-half-inch chunks, half a white onion cut up, two cups of water into a Dutch oven.

That goes into an oven-- 350 for about three hours.

So we're going to shred this, and I'm also going to take the liquid that was left from cooking the meat and the onions.

We've defatted it, skimmed it off, and now I'm just going to increase the heat.

We want to reduce this down to I guess about half a cup or so.

So now we have the defatted cooking liquid.

It's been reduced down to about half a cup or so.

We have the chili sauce.

Which we'll add.

And now we'll add the beef.

Which has been shredded.

So we're going to cook this over medium heat until you start to hear a little bit of a sizzle at the bottom of the pot.

It should take six or seven minutes.

(pot sizzling) So it's now cooked down.

We have a little bit of a sizzle here, which is nice.

And you can hear that in the pot.

(button beeps) I'm going to turn the heat off, move it off the heat.

Last thing is a little bit of lime juice.

Obviously, you want to add that at the end, so it's still bright, and now we'll build a taco.

So, I learned something about tortillas when I was in Puerto Vallarta not too long ago.

If you're going to use them for a taco, you want them to hold together, not fall apart, because obviously that's not... (laughs): It makes a huge mess.

So many commercial varieties of tortillas don't hold together well-- they tend to dissolve on you, especially with this kind of filling.

So you can get great tortillas online now, actually, and look for one that is actually going to hold together.

A blue corn tortilla, for example, tends to be a lot stronger.

So, there's the tortilla.

I'm not going to fill it too much.

A little bit of avocado.

And a little onion.

And a little bit of lime.

There we go.

So that's our Dutch oven beef birria taco.

We learned it at home in Mexico City.

And the secret is using three different kinds of chilies, each of which have a very different flavor profile, toasting them in a skillet, and making a chili base.

And it has a great fresh flavor.

So, Dutch oven beef birria tacos.

♪ ♪ (people talking in background) (sizzling) ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) ♪ ♪ (talking in background) - Okay.

(speaks Spanish) ♪ ♪ (chuckling) (speaks softly) ♪ ♪ - Today, we're going to make something hot, spicy, with a little bit of a twist.

Today's recipe comes to you from Mexico City.

This recipe was shown to us by Jorge Fritz and Beto Estúa of Casa Jacaranda cooking school in Mexico City.

This is our tomatillo serrano salsa.

Super-easy and very delicious.

Let's begin.

So for this recipe, I'm going to use tomatillos, which look like tomatoes, but they are not.

This is what they look like raw, and they're available in most supermarkets, mostly in the summer.

You want to look for bright green unbruised tomatillos, and you're going to take off the tops, this outer shell, and this is what you get inside.

They have a citrusy floral flavor that's absolutely stunning and delicious.

So...

If you're not able to get fresh tomatillos, you can use canned tomatillos.

You want to make sure you drain them before you use them.

We're going to use fresh ones today.

I'm going to chop them up roughly and add them to my blender.

In these go.

And next, the heat.

I have three serrano chilies here.

I'm going to stem them and seed them and then put them in.

One thing to remember when you're dealing with chilies is that the inside part is very spicy.

So just a little safety note for those of you who like to play with fire.

All right, in with the chilies.

Okay.

Next, in goes onion.

I have some white onion here.

A little bit of salt.

And that's it.

Three ingredients plus a little salt.

I'm going to blend this into a smooth paste.

This is a salsa cruda, which means it is a raw, uncooked salsa.

(whirring slowly) (whirring quickens) (blender stops) And that's it.

I blended it for about a minute.

Super-easy.

And into a bowl it goes.

So here, my salsa is ready.

Three ingredients, a minute in the blender-- super-super-easy.

This salsa is great with rice and beans, with tacos, and to cut the richness of any kind of meat or cheese dish.

I'm going to taste it today with some tortilla chips.

♪ ♪ Oh, yeah.

(laughs) That is hot and spicy, and very, very fresh, and so, so different from your standard-issue salsa.

So here's our tomatillo serrano salsa.

Serve it at your next party and you will definitely be the star of the party.

Highly recommended-- it's absolutely delicious.

♪ ♪ - At Tortería Nelly, we learn that a taco can just be a fresh tortilla sprinkled with salt.

At their window, you can smell the warm dough and pick up a kilogram for just 16 pesos.

This small shop can make 7,500 tortillas per hour.

Here, massive lumps of white masa get dumped into a 60-year-old machine that kneads the masa, then rolls it flat between stones before cutting out rounds.

♪ ♪ (machine grinding) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - Aside from the ingredients you already have in your pantry, you're only six ingredients away from making ancho spiced pork and potato tacos.

And I just told you what three of those ingredients were.

It just goes to show you that you don't need that many ingredients to make a filling and flavorful meal.

So, let's go ahead and get started.

Here I have some ancho chili powder.

And to that I'll be throwing in some cumin.

Along with some salt.

And of course, some pepper.

So we're not working with just any chili powder, we're working with ancho chili powder.

Now, ancho chilies are dried poblanos, and they have a little bit more of this sweet, raisiny, chocolatey flavor compared to other peppers out there.

Now, regular chili powder, there's all sorts of different chilies in there.

Not what we're looking for.

So let's go ahead and stir up this spice mixture, and then we're going to divide it in half between our potatoes here, as well as our pork.

Now, both of these ingredients are cut up into about half-inch pieces.

That way they cook nice and even.

So, half goes into our potatoes, and half into our pork.

You don't have to be exact about this, just make sure that everything's spiced.

Excellent-- we'll give it a stir.

Bring back any rogue pieces of potato that fly out.

We're just going to get right into cooking these potatoes.

I have a 12-inch non-stick skillet set over medium heat with a little bit of oil in it, and we're heating that oil until it shimmers.

Once we get that shimmering going, we're going to go ahead and throw these potatoes in.

And give it a little toss just to get it into a nice, even layer.

And then, we're going to pop a lid on it.

We're just going to let those potatoes cook until they start to brown around the edges, or you could pierce one with a knife.

So my potatoes are nice and brown.

So at this point that we can go ahead and throw in all that seasoned pork.

(sizzling) Along with some thinly sliced garlic.

And just like before, give this a little stir.

Especially that garlic-- we definitely want that seasoning everybody in the pan.

(sizzling) Get it into one nice, even layer, and then we're going to pop a lid on it.

We're going to let that cook for about six to eight minutes, or until that pork is cooked all the way through and lightly golden on the outside.

All right, our pork is thoroughly cooked, and as you can see, it has a nice bit of golden brown color to it.

I say we're ready to eat.

So... Oh, yeah.

That's nice stuff.

All right, let's build a taco, shall we?

So...

Here we go.

Now, you could top off your taco with all sorts of different things.

I'm going to go for some fresh cilantro.

Some red onion.

Pro tip: soak your red onion in cold water before you serve it raw.

That way, it gets rid of some of that extra bite.

And...

Some radishes.

And finally... Just a little touch of sour cream for me.

And a nice squeeze of lime.

This has got to be one of my favorite things to put out at parties, because you put the filling out, you put a bunch of toppings out, and everyone gets to make their tacos exactly the way they like it, and that's all it takes.

Like I said, you don't need that many ingredients to make a really flavorful, delicious meal.

These ancho spiced pork and potato tacos are perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Mm.

The spice really comes through, it's beautifully savory, and all those toppings just brighten it up and give it some crunch.

You can get this recipe, as well as all of the recipes from this season of Milk Street, at MilkStreetTV.com.

♪ ♪ - If you want a really great and quick education about tacos, the place to go is Los Angeles.

You've always said about L.A. is, you can get into very personal, specific regional areas and find your food.

- This is like nothing I've seen before.

- It's really the taco that has everything.

- You're getting the true L.A. experience right now-- we're five minutes away from L.A.X.

This is a backyard restaurant.

(conversing in Spanish) - I'm really excited for Chris to try la sazón de Sinaloa.

This is as L.A. as it gets.

- Great!

- Let's go eat.

- We've just arrived at Manousakis Winery.

We've come here to find out about the history, the wine.

- This menu that we created is an invitation to our real home.

This is how we would cook if you came to our house.

- Man, are those good.

- (speaking Italian): - (speaking Italian): - Mm!

- It's all about the good ingredients and the labor of your hands.

- I feel like we're doing surgery.

Scalpel!

(laughs) - In the neighborhoods of Fez, Morocco, there's a unique and fabulous approach to flatbread, it's called khubz, which is baked in a communal oven called a ferrane.

- (speaking Arabic): - In Bari, Italy, they let the dough proof for hours.

It rises, it collapses, and then rises up again.

- Sort of expands to... - You ever used to do magic tricks when you were a kid?

Is that what's gonna happen?

I'm here in Istanbul.

There's tons of people in the street, lots of food on the street.

It's a very exciting place to be.

- My father brought me here and his father before him.

So it's the culture and the heritage of your own.

- There you go, now I feel like I'm really cooking.

- This really is so much more than the sum of its parts.

- We're going to search for the pies of Yelapa: coconut pies, corn pies, chocolate pies.

- I explain to the people, this is the same pie for my mama for almost 44 years.

- You know, the beach, pies, and great cooks.

What more could I want?

- There is so much flavor, it's almost hard to believe.

- That has all the nostalgia in it that I could ever wish for.

- This is seriously one of my favorite things to cook for myself, for others.

Mostly for myself-- it's a good time.

- Are you gonna stop talking so I can eat... - I'm sorry.

(laughing) - I thought it added a certain je ne sais quoi.

- (laughs) - Definitely a big step up.

- When a dish is simple and it has complex flavors at the same time, that's the Holy Grail.

♪ ♪ All episodes and recipes from this season of Milk Street Television are available for free at our website, MilkStreetTV.com.

Please access our content, including our step-by-step recipe videos, from your smartphone, your tablet, or your computer.

- The new Milk Street Cookbook is now available and includes every recipe from our TV show, from fried shrimp tacos and Thai-style vegetable stir-fry to Mexican chicken soup and Swedish cardamom buns.

The Milk Street Cookbook offers bolder, fresher, simpler recipes.

Order your copy of the Milk Street Cookbook for $27, 40% less than the cover price, and receive a Milk Street tote with your order at no additional charge.

Call 855-MILK-177 or order online.

- Funding for this series was provided by the following: - That meal.

You sautéed, you seared, and you served.

Cooking with All-Clad.

Bonded cookware designed, engineered, and assembled in the U.S.A. for over 50 years.

All-Clad: for all your kitchen adventures.

♪ ♪