Grilled Tacos
Everyone has their own favorite taco shop. Maybe it’s that family run place down the road, or perhaps it’s that huge restaurant cantina all the way across town – but what if amazing tacos were only as far as walking out your back door? Killer tacos are certainly within reach and all you have to do is fire up your grill! In this blog, we’ll take a look at a few techniques and some handy tools to make grilled tacos even more delicious.
Why Grill?
It’s a silly question (in my opinion), but if you’re asking why grilling tacos makes them delicious, let’s go ahead and make some (tasty) observations.
- Grilling is one of the best techniques for cooking meat. Your grill has superior firepower compared to your kitchen stove, which makes getting a good sear an easy task.
- Grilling meats lets you add smoke flavor with a smoker box or pouch. This is definitely something that wouldn’t work in the kitchen!
- Taking cooking outdoors means less of a mess in the kitchen. This is one of my favorite parts of cooking outside because we all know the least fun part of cooking anything is cleaning up the mess afterwards.
Feeding an Army
Now that we’ve settled that debate, let’s look at what makes grilled tacos great. Your average kitchen stove has four burners, which allows you to cook a significant amount of food, but when you’re using the grill you’ve got a much more versatile cook space. You have the freedom of placing a pan anywhere on the grill (or on a side burner) while at the same time being able to cook a piece of meat directly on the grates next to it. Throw in a handy taco rack* 
Fresh Tortillas
Tacos start with tortillas, so if you’d really like to impress your guests consider buying a tortilla press. Tortillas are very easy to prepare and even easier to cook. Putting in a little extra time in making your own tortillas will really pay off in terms of flavor because there are a lot of people who still haven’t had a taco on a fresh, handmade tortilla. You can even make a bunch of tortillas up before you cook the meat and store them in a tortilla warmer
Ingredients
- ¾ C. hot water
- 1 C. masa harina (Latin grocery store or Amazon)
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Place masa harina in a bowl and add the water. Mix to combine. Dough should be wet but not sticky. If dough is too dry add more water (1/2 tsp. at a time) until proper consistency is reached.
- Roll dough into 8-10 equal sized balls.
- Place a small piece of parchment or plastic wrap into the tortilla press on both sides of the dough ball so that it’s easy to remove from the press. Flatten each ball into a tortilla and cook 1-2 minutes per side until just browned.
Taco Tuesday will never be the same once you try grilled tacos with fresh tortillas. Throw in a few margaritas and some flan for dessert for the ultimate fall fiesta!
*The Charcoal Companion Non-Stick Taco Rack has been discontinued and is now available in stainless steel.
