Chili Lime Tacos with Mango Salsa

Spring equinox approaches and the light is shifting — you notice it first in the afternoon, the sun staying a few minutes longer each day. I've always been attuned to the light. Growing up in New Mexico, the light is a specific character, the protagonist of every landscape, the thing that makes the desert beautiful instead of just hot. Denver light is different — filtered through more moisture, less transparent — but it still does something to the late afternoon that reminds me why light is worth paying attention to.

We're two weeks from Easter and the Las Cruces trip. I'm driving down Good Friday, which means I leave Denver at five AM and arrive at my parents' house before lunch and spend the afternoon helping my mother with the Good Friday posole while my father sits at the table and drinks coffee and occasionally offers commentary that is either helpful or mildly obstructive depending on the day. This is tradition. This is what Good Friday means in the Medina house.

Made barbacoa this week — beef cheeks braised in a slow oven with dried chiles, bay leaves, garlic, and orange juice, then shredded and served on warm tortillas with pickled onions and cilantro. Barbacoa is weekend food because of the time, but the yield lasts all week — tacos Monday, burritos Tuesday, fried into crispy pieces Wednesday and served over rice. The dish stretches like a budget and that's part of what I love about it. Food that feeds you for three days from one afternoon of effort. Efficient cooking is a form of intelligence.

Spring practice is going well. The freshman QB is getting better every week. I have a linebacker corps this year that could be the best I've had in Denver. I said none of this out loud on the practice field. I say it here, to the blank space of the internet, so that it can be found later and judged against what actually happens. Accountability is useful even when it's self-imposed.

The barbacoa this week reminded me how much I love the rhythm of weekend cooking — one long afternoon of effort that pays dividends for days. These chili lime tacos scratch that same itch. The pressure cooker does the patient work, the mango salsa brings the brightness that spring demands, and you’ve got yourself taco night with enough left over to reinvent on Tuesday. Efficient cooking, like I said, is a form of intelligence.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds flank steak or skirt steak
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
12 small flour or corn tortillas, warmed

For the Mango Salsa:

2 ripe mangos, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Season the meat. Combine olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Rub the mixture all over the steak and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
Make the mango salsa. Toss diced mango, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt together in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cook the steak. For the pressure cooker: place the steak with 1/2 cup water or beef broth in the pot and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then quick release. For grilling: cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes per side for medium, then rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Shred or slice. If using the pressure cooker, shred the beef with two forks. If grilled, slice thinly against the grain.
Assemble the tacos. Pile the chili lime beef onto warmed tortillas and top generously with mango salsa. Serve with extra lime wedges and pickled onions if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chili Lime Tacos with Mango Salsa — Weekend Food That Feeds You All Week