Corned Beef Tacos

I love tacos! Not exactly earth-shattering news but something that needed to be said to understand why we messed with a family favorite. The thing I like about them is that the ingredients are up to you and, if you set up a taco bar, people can choose what they like to make their own variation.

As we looked at doing something different for St. Patrick’s Day, tacos came to mind because of the meat, cheeses and vegetables, and we thought corned beef could really change the flavor up. What I will say about our Corned Beef Tacos is that they are pretty set with the ingredients as we mix the vegetable toppings into a creamy slaw, but you can deconstruct this recipe any way you like and add additional toppings if you prefer. Get creative, there is really no way to go wrong. All we know is that these tacos were incredibly tasty and there were no leftovers.

Prepping the Ingredients

Start by chopping the parsley with a 7-5/8″ Petite Chef.

Using the same knife, thinly slice the cabbage for the slaw. If your cabbage is very large, you may want to cut the slices of cabbage in half.

Using a 5″ Petite Santoku, finely chop the caraway seeds. We don’t want the seeds to overpower the tacos, which is why we recommend finely chopping them for this recipe.

If your sauerkraut is already finely chopped, no need to do more prep work. However, if the sauerkraut is in strips, you’ll want to use the 7-5/8" Petite Chef to chop it into smaller pieces. Pro tip: Make sure your sauerkraut is thoroughly drained. You can use paper towels to gather some of the excess liquid. If you don’t do this step, your slaw will be runny. This is also a great time to grate the carrots.

For the corned beef, use the 7-5/8" Petite Chef to cut it into strips. Then cut the strips crosswise into smaller pieces. Using a rocking motion on the knife, further cut the meat until it is finely chopped. You want it to almost look like ground beef. 

Finish the prep work by slicing the top and bottom off the jalapeños and, using a 3″ Gourmet Paring Knife, cut each jalapeño in half. Remove the seeds, slice them into strips and then rotate and cut crosswise to dice.

Making the Recipe

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, parsley, mustard, balsamic vinegar, caraway seeds and salt. Once mixed thoroughly, add the cabbage, carrots and drained sauerkraut and stir until everything is combined. Set this bowl aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the oil and let it heat up. Add the corned beef and stir and cook until it starts to brown, approximately seven to nine minutes. Add the Guinness beer and cook until the beer is evaporated, around two to four minutes. Transfer the corned beef to a plate or bowl and wipe up the skillet with a paper towel.

In the same skillet, toast one side of the tortilla until it’s lightly golden, it should take one to two minutes. If you find it getting dark brown quick, reduce your heat. Flip the tortilla and sprinkle the toasted side with some of the cheese. Continue toasting until the cheese is melted, approximately two to three minutes. Remove the tortilla and place the tortilla into a tortilla holder, if you have one, so it bends properly (cheese on the inside) into a taco shell form while still warm. If you do not have a tortilla holder, you can achieve the same result by folding the tortilla in half and laying it on its side. Repeat this process with each tortilla. If your skillet fits more than one tortilla, you can do multiple at a time, just make sure they are not overlapping.

Arrange the tortillas onto a platter and, using a Stainless Teaspoon, fill each tortilla with the corned beef (it should resemble ground beef), followed by the prepared slaw.

Sprinkle each taco with jalapeños and serve immediately. As mentioned above, you can add additional toppings if you desire or make additional dressing to drizzle on top.

These Corned Beef Tacos were amazing. The corned beef carried a bit of the Guinness® flavor and because it was so finely chopped, took on the look of cooked ground meat. The secret to this flavor explosion is the sauce with the slight bite of the Dijon mustard balanced by the creaminess of the mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, with the vegetables added right in. The jalapeños added an additional kick, and our taste testers left no crumb behind. Tons of flavor and a different twist to taco night.