Beer Chicken Tacos

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, which allows for great versatility. A taco is generally eaten without utensils and is often accompanied by garnishes such as salsa, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, onions and lettuce.

According to the Real Academia Española, publisher of Diccionario de la Lengua Española, the word taco describes a typical Mexican dish of a maize tortilla folded around food. The original sense of the word is of a “plug” or “wad” used to fill a hole. The Online Etymological Dictionary defines taco as a “tortilla filled with spiced meat” and describes its etymology as derived from Mexican Spanish, “light lunch,” literally, “plug, wadding.” The original sense of the word “plug” may have taken place among Mexican silver miners, who used explosive charges in plug form consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling. Interestingly, the taco predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. There is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish.

 Beer Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup Beer (I used Guinness Extra Stout)
• 1 tablespoon Chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoons Pepper
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
• Taco shells or Tortillas
• your favorite toppings: greek yogurt, avocado, cilantro, salsa, chopped onion, black beans, shredded lettuce, etc.

Make taco seasoning: In a bowl, mix together chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning into the beer.

Place chicken in the crockpot and pour in beer mixture. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Remove the crockpot lid and shred the chicken.  Taste and season with additional taco seasoning if desired, then let sit in the crockpot for another 15 minutes or so. Turn the crockpot off and toss in cheddar cheese right before serving. Once combined, make your tacos.

French Dip Sandwiches

A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef (or sometimes other meats) on a French roll or baguette. It is usually served au jus (“with juice”), that is, with beef juice from the cooking process. Although the sandwich is most commonly served with a cup of jus or broth on the side of the plate, into which the sandwich is dipped as it is eaten, this is not how the sandwich was served when it was invented.

Despite the name, this American specialty is almost completely unknown in France. The sandwich is not french at all. The name comes from the fact that it is made with a french roll – a medium sized white bread roll that resembles a baguette with a softer crust and makes good sandwiches in general – and it is dipped into beef juices as you eat it. Dipping does not make the bread soggy, much as dipping a cookie into a glass of milk does not make it soggy as long as you pick up the cookie and eat the milk-soaked bit immediately; prolonged soaking will cause sogginess, but that is why the sandwich is called a dip and not a soak.

Two Los Angeles restaurants have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip sandwich: Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet  and Philippe. The controversy over who originated the sandwich remains unresolved. Both restaurants were established in 1908. However, Cole’s claims to have originated the sandwich shortly after the restaurant opened in 1908, while Philippe’s claims that owner Philippe Mathieu invented it in 1918. Cole’s was the oldest restaurant or bar in Los Angeles to operate continuously since its opening at the same location. Its streak ended when it closed for remodeling in 2007.

If you’ve never had a French dip sandwich, you’re missing out. The sandwich starts out with beef that is roasted until extremely tender, which is then thinly sliced and put onto a not-too-crusty roll, either with or without cheese. The juice from cooking the meat is collected, seasoned and poured into a small dish. As you eat the sandwich, you dip each bite into the juices on the side, making the meat extra juicy and getting a huge boost of flavor.

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 – 3 lb. Beef roast
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 packages dry Onion soup mix
• 1 – 15 ounce can beef broth
• 6-8 Hoagie buns
• Provolone cheese

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste. Once the oil is almost to the smoking point, add the beef and sear on all sizes until nicely browned.

Place beef in crock pot. Sprinkle with dry onion soup. Pour beef broth over all. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove meat from crockpot and shred.

To assemble sandwiches: Split the hoagie buns and top bottom half with shredded beef. Top with cheese. Place open-faced hoagies (top half too) on baking sheet and broil just until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping. Serve immediately.