The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Local Hanger Steak = Great Tacos

June 30th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Posted in dinner, Recipes

Finally, a summer meal on the deck

Hanger steak is not something you see every day in the supermarket. Like skirt or flank steak, it’s a fairly flat cut of meat that can be tough if not cooked properly. But it’s full of flavor. Anatomically, the hanger steak “hangs” from the diaphragm and helps hold vital organs to the spinal column. We get ours delivered from the beef herd at our local dairy, South Mountain Creamery.

Hanger steak is perfect for tacos. I season the meat simply with salt and pepper, letting it rest on the counter for an hour or so to come up to room temperature. Some chefs like to marinate their hanger steak. Try soy sauce and pineapple juice. Grill the meat over hot coals until it is just rosy in the center. Let it rest 10 minutes to redistribute the juice before cutting into moderately thin slices. On the side, I made a fresh pico de gallo with an heirloom tomato, green bell pepper, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro and a splash of lime juice. We cut up some ripe avocado as well.

Oh, and some El Tesoro tequila to wash it down.

How simple is that?

As you can see from the photo, daughter preferred hers cut into small cubes to construct a burrito like they do at Chipotle’s.

A little colby-jack cheese on that burrito?

She even cooked her own brown rice and opened a can of black beans for her burrito. This, she declared, was a healthy meal, full of protein. I had to play Debby Downer and point out that it was also full of starch. But all things considered, daughter has definitely gotten the message about eating more healthfully and is starting to have fun making better food choices.

Mom helps make a perfectly rolled burrito

And here’s what the finished burrito looked like. Daughter was planning to make one for the next day’s lunch as well.

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  • Pattie Baker

    Ed; I made homemade tortillas for the first time tonight. Have you done this? Simple, simple, simple.

  • Ed Bruske

    Pattie, we did this in my food appreciation classes. My recollection is, it wasn’t as simple as the Mexican ladies make it look. I prefer making tamales.