Grilled steak tacos with roasted hot sauce and charred corn & feta salsa

Tacos are famously Mexican, but I perfected this recipe in Argentina, where they know a few things about grilling steak. It's got a hot sauce, if you like it fiery, and a mild sauce to cool the mouth.

Grilled steak tacos with roasted hot sauce and charred corn & feta salsa. Credit: Nico Reynolds: All Fired Up

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Hot sauce

• 4 jalapenos
• 2 onions
• 1 bulb garlic
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 zucchini (courgette)
• 1 red capsicum (pepper)

Salsa

• 2 corn cobs, husks and silk removed
• ½ block feta
• Handful chopped basil
• Handful chopped mint
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steak

• 3 striploin steaks
• Sea salt
• 75 g unsalted butter
• 2-3 sprigs thyme

To serve

• Soft corn tacos
• Small herb leaves, optional

Resting time: 10 minutes.

Instructions

1. For the hot sauce: Wrap the garlic up in tinfoil with a drizzle of oil and place on the barbecue grill for about 15 minutes.
2. Roast all the sauce veg (still whole) until soft and slightly charred using the indirect side of your barbecue where the heat is low.
3. Once charred, remove the stalks from the veggies and seeds from the red pepper. Remove peel from onions. Roughly chop the veg, then crush your veggies together in a pestle and mortar to make a nice sauce, making sure to keep some texture. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, for the salsa: Char the corn over a high heat for approximately 10 minutes and allow to cool before slicing the kernels from the cob.
5. Finely dice the red onion and combine it in a bowl with the lime juice, then leave to sit for 5 minutes.
6. Crumble the feta into a large bowl and add in the chopped basil, chopped mint and cured red onion and toss to combine.
7. Meanwhile, for the steak: Remove the steak from the fridge, season generously with sea salt and pat dry then rub a layer of olive oil over the meat and season with some more salt.
8. Sear the steak over a high heat for 4-6 minutes on each side. For medium rare, bring the steak to an internal temperature of 52°C; for well done, 71°C.
9. Place the steak in some tin foil, add the butter and thyme, wrap up and leave to rest for 10 minutes to let the meat relax and the meat juices redistribute throughout the meat.
10. Once rested, slice the steak against the grain then mix the cut meat in with the buttery resting juices.
11. To assemble: Toast the corn tortillas for 15 seconds each side on the grill. Spread a layer of the roasted hot sauce over your tortilla then add the meat and top with the corn salsa.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.