Beef Cheek Tacos Confited in Beef Tallow

From Nacho (@nachocookin), co-founder of TALO.

A farmer friend handed us nine beef cheeks. Two per cow, kind of a rare cut, so I went straight for street tacos. Smoked them low, then covered them in liquid beef tallow until they fell apart. Rich, meaty, exactly what you want on a warm tortilla.

Watch it: Nacho's Beef Cheek Tacos reel on Instagram

Serves: 8–10 · Time: overnight season + 6–9 hrs cook

Ingredients

Beef cheeks

• 8–10 beef cheeks
• Liquid beef tallow, for coating and confiting
• Good Googley Moogley seasoning by Rafi Cooks (alternative: salt, pepper, garlic blend)
• 2–3 tbsp Mexican oregano
• 6–8 garlic cloves, smashed

For serving

• Corn tortillas
• White onion, finely chopped
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salsa verde
• Fresh lime wedges
• Optional: Cotija cheese or queso fresco

Directions

1. Trim the beef cheeks, removing the excess hard fat and silver skin while leaving the meat intact.
2. Coat each beef cheek with a thin layer of liquid beef tallow. Season generously on all sides with Good Googley Moogley until completely covered.
3. Place the seasoned beef cheeks in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight if possible.
4. Set up a Big Green Egg for indirect cooking with lump charcoal at 250°F. Add post oak for smoke. Place the beef cheeks on the grill and smoke until they reach approximately 180°F internal temperature and have developed a deep, flavorful bark.
5. Transfer the smoked beef cheeks to a deep oven-safe dish. Pour in enough liquid beef tallow to completely cover the beef cheeks. Add the Mexican oregano and smashed garlic. Cover tightly and place in a 275°F oven. Cook until the beef cheeks are completely fall-apart tender. Depending on their size, this will generally take 3–5 hours. Don't cook strictly by temperature. They're done when a probe slides into the meat with virtually no resistance and the cheeks easily pull apart.
6. Remove the beef cheeks from the tallow and let the excess drain off. Shred the meat while it's still hot and tender.
7. Warm the corn tortillas and fill with the shredded beef cheek. Top with chopped white onion, fresh cilantro, salsa verde, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
8. For an optional hit of acidity and saltiness to balance the richness of the beef, finish with crumbled Cotija or queso fresco.

How to cook with tallow here

Tallow does two jobs in this recipe. First, a thin coat of liquid tallow goes on before the seasoning. Then the smoked cheeks go into a full tallow bath in a 275°F oven (a confit) until they pull apart. TALO Squeeze pours at room temperature, so you can coat and fill the dish straight from the bottle with no melting step. If you're using the jar, melt the tallow first.

If you cook it, let Nacho know. He's always happy to see what you make.