Corned Beef and Mashed Potato Tacos

This is a dish in which the potatoes aren't center stage, but without which the meal is impossibly incomplete.

There's nothing more non-Irish than corned beef. Seriously. If you go to Ireland and walk into a pub or restaurant and ask for an "authentic" corned beef dish, they'll roll their eyes and probably ask if you'd like an "authentic" Bud Light to go with it. There is, however, nothing more Irish-American than corned beef. That is true. Irish immigrants co-opted corned beef from their Jewish neighbors on Manhattan's LES a century ago because of its similarities to Irish bacon and, of course, it tastes so damn good and is relatively cheap. Throw it in a pot with cabbage and potatoes and you've got yourself a delicious and affordable feast.

Thousands of miles away here in San Diego, Mexican food is our jam. And Mexican food is ubiquituous for the same reasons Irish immigrants became associated corned beef and cabbage: it's affordable and delicious.

Being Irish myself, St. Patrick's Day is kind of like Christmas Light for me and every year I usually throw a big party, often associated with San Diego's St. Patrick's Day Parade (largest west of the Mississippi!). That's how I invented Corned Beef and Mashed Potato Tacos several years ago. It was an appetizing way to fill up our bellies before heading to the parade and guzzling gallons of Guiness later in the day, all while paying homage to a famously Irish (American) dish in our most familiar local format: taco style.

You really can't mess up this recipe. But the key to making it pop is the serving sauce. Don't skip it. Your taste buds will thank you.

Sláinte and Gracias!

Ingredients

This will make a shit ton of tacos.

1 corned beef brisket ~3 lbs
Lots of Yukon Gold potatoes
1 purple cabbage
3 medium carrots cut into 3/4" pieces
Garlic
Corn tortillas
1 can Guinness
1 lemon
Butter

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or dill
1 - 2 tablespoons horseradish

Preparation

(Despite the large number of steps outlined below, this is actually a very easy recipe.)

1. Throw the corned beef and carrots in a crockpot, empty 1 can of Guinness and add water until the brisket is almost covered with liquid. Set it on low and cook for 8 hours.

2. At about the 7 mark start working on the other shit.

3. Boil a large pot of heavily salted water. Cut the potatoes in half and boil them until, you know, they're done (about 15 to 20 minutes). Drain the potatoes in a colandar and let the steam escape for a good 5 or 10 minutes.

4. Finely chop enough garlic to your liking for the mashed potatoes. Personally, I like 1 garlic clove per potato because I fucking love garlic. In a saucepan, melt some butter (about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per potato) and saute your garlic for about a minute and DON'T FUCKING BURN IT.

5. Remove the skin from the potatoes (I leave a little bit of skin for texture), bang the potatoes back into the pot you used to boil them in, toss in the garlic butter and some sour cream and mash those bad boys until you get them to a decent consistency. You're in charge here, do what you like: Some folks like their potatoes silky smooth, some like them clumpy. I don't give a shit how you like yours, there are no wrong answers. Personally, I like a few clumps. You can add milk or heavy cream, too. Really no wrong answers. Well, there is one wrong answer and that is to under-salt them. Don't do that. Lots of salt and pepper, folks.

6. Slice the purple cabbage into narrow finger-length strips and toss them in a bowl with fresh squeezed lemon and salt and pepper. Set aside for garnishing your tacos.

7. Make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, mix the sour cream with finely chopped fresh chives (or dill) and horseradish. Add salt and pepper to taste. This sauce is phenomenally tasty on corned beef.

8. Warm up the tortillas over a low burner on the oven range, flipping until they're evenly warmed and starting to bubble. MMMMMM fresh tortillas.

9. Build your tacos. Place a dollop or two of mashed potatoes on each tortilla, then top with small slabs of corned beef, two or three carrot pieces, a sprinkling of cabbage for some crunch and color, and lastly your dipping sauce which brings it all together in one goddam delicous mouthfeel of Irish Mexican culinary goodness.

10. Repeat as many times as you can. And naturally you bought more than just 1 Guiness so you should bust out those other Guinnesses and toast yourself for making the best damn Corned Beef and Mashed Potatoes west - and east - of the Mississippi.

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