Pro chef Saúl Montiel from Cantina Rooftop and home cook Gina are swapping recipes and hitting the kitchen to make tacos. We provided Gina with all the ingredients necessary to make chef Saúl’s gourmet $396 quesadilla recipe, sending only $20 worth of your typical, store-bought stuff back the other way. Will Saúl elevate Gina's modest materials into a fancy feast? Can Gina keep up with the demands of Saúl’s recipe? Which taco looks better to you?
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 I'm cooking with tequila today.
00:01 I might need a shot of this.
00:03 - Hi, I'm Saul.
00:05 I'm a professional chef.
00:06 And these are my $396 taco ingredients.
00:10 - Hi, my name is Gina.
00:13 I'm a home cook and these are my $20 taco ingredients.
00:16 Oh, oh no.
00:19 - This is the saddest tray I've ever seen in my whole life.
00:24 - This is a lot.
00:27 [upbeat music]
00:29 - So the dish that I was gonna make was
00:33 lamb barbacoa tacos de canasta.
00:35 - What kind of meat is it?
00:36 - With chiles and escabeche, avocado and tomatillo salsa.
00:40 - These I've never used before.
00:42 - With Gina's recipe, we have more simple ingredients.
00:45 But with a little love and lots of technique,
00:47 we can make it even better.
00:49 So if I have to guess, this will cost $19.87.
00:53 $20.
00:54 $150.
00:57 $396.
01:00 Very expensive taco.
01:02 So here we have Chef Saul's recipe book.
01:07 And if we flip through,
01:08 he's written down some ingredients for me.
01:11 I know nothing about tacos de canasta.
01:14 - Tacos de canasta.
01:15 It's a taco that's been sitting on a basket
01:18 for a long period of time.
01:20 - Basket, okay.
01:21 So high school Spanish has led me to nowhere.
01:23 So by covering them, they stay nice and warm
01:26 and soft and delicious.
01:28 - Let's start with our barbacoa marinade.
01:30 - We're gonna grab our chile anchos.
01:32 We're gonna get rid of the stems, the seeds.
01:34 We're gonna cut it into little pieces.
01:36 - Mezcal into our mixer.
01:39 - We're gonna put that into a blender
01:40 with garlic, oranges, chipotle in a can.
01:44 - And then a couple tablespoons of the sauce.
01:47 - Chicken stock.
01:48 Apple cider vinegar.
01:50 - Oh my God, here we go.
01:52 - Oh my God.
01:53 - Totally forgot to add these spices.
01:56 So let's do that.
01:57 - Cumin, ground coriander, Mexican oregano.
02:01 - Smoked cinnamon, cloves.
02:03 Oh, that changed the color.
02:06 - Make sure you try your marinade before you use it.
02:10 - Oh, that is very strong.
02:11 Definitely salty, savory, a lot of heat.
02:15 - So Gina was planning on making Korean tacos.
02:18 - So I was going to be making some very simple tacos
02:21 with things that I found in my fridge.
02:23 - I'm not gonna do that.
02:24 I'm only be making crispy Korean taquitos
02:27 with kimchi salsa fresca.
02:29 So now I'm gonna make the marinade of my meat.
02:32 Now, something that I do want to chop garlic
02:34 is add a little bit of salt.
02:36 This will help shred the garlic
02:38 and they will stick together.
02:40 So I have a beautiful garlic paste right here.
02:42 Now we're gonna do some onion.
02:44 I want this white part to be part of the marinade
02:46 and the green part, I want that to be part of the garnish
02:49 and also the sauce.
02:51 You have to use everything, there's no wasting.
02:54 Otherwise, food cost will be really high.
02:56 I was planning on making pico chiles for my tacos.
02:59 Now I have pico cabbage.
03:00 A little bit of juice, it's full of flavors.
03:03 Looks like a red chimichurri.
03:05 We're gonna add a little bit of sugar.
03:07 Now, what sugar is gonna add to my pork?
03:09 It's going to caramelize it.
03:10 So it's gonna add flavor and color.
03:13 And I don't know if I want to use salt.
03:15 I'm gonna use soy sauce instead of salt.
03:17 Pepper, a little bit of oil.
03:21 And it's gonna prevent it from sticking to the pan.
03:24 And now we're gonna add some nut flavor.
03:26 From sesame seed oil.
03:28 So it looks like I have a nice marinade here.
03:30 I wish I had lime or orange.
03:34 Pineapple juice.
03:35 Now it's time to add these thin slices of pork.
03:40 Make this meat happier.
03:43 - Continuing on with our lamb barbacoa,
03:45 we're gonna prep the meat.
03:46 Salt and pepper.
03:48 - Your next step is searing the meat.
03:50 - Gonna lift you up.
03:52 - Once you sear your meat,
03:55 that means that you bring in the flavors
03:57 of the lamb even better.
03:58 - Oh my God, okay.
04:00 Here we go, John.
04:01 - One of the reasons why we're using orange
04:03 is gonna cut a little bit of the gaminess from the lamb.
04:06 The reason why I put an onion underneath
04:08 because we don't want to burn the meat.
04:11 - Orange slices on top and then put the meat on top.
04:15 And then bay leaves, put it around.
04:17 And then my marinade.
04:19 - We're gonna cook it at 325 for three and a half
04:24 to four hours.
04:25 - Lamb has been cooking for four hours.
04:28 Whoa.
04:29 Now I'm going to look around for the bones and remove them.
04:34 - You're gonna pull the meat off the bone.
04:36 We're going to save some of the oil
04:38 to heat up our tortillas.
04:40 - Now I'm going to shred the meat.
04:43 Shredding is very easy 'cause it's so tender.
04:46 Meat is done.
04:47 - Now it's time to make kimchi salsa fresca.
04:50 First thing that I'm gonna do,
04:51 I'm gonna dice some scallions.
04:52 Normally I'll add an onion to my salsa,
04:55 so that will be my part onion.
04:57 And now, ajo, garlic.
04:59 So now, this lovely kimchi.
05:02 Gracias, Korea.
05:03 I'm gonna use some of sesame oil.
05:05 Little bit of salt.
05:06 And I'm gonna add a little bit of water
05:08 just to make my salsa a little smooth.
05:12 Oof, I just created something.
05:14 It's so delicious.
05:15 - All right, we're going to work on our chiles
05:20 and escabeche.
05:21 - This is very simple.
05:22 Once you do this, you can do this with any vegetable.
05:25 - Cauliflower.
05:26 Just gonna break it apart with my hands.
05:28 Fresno peppers.
05:30 I'm gonna poke holes in these.
05:31 - That's just to incorporate the vinegar
05:34 and everything inside the pepper.
05:36 We're going to blister these vegetables a little bit.
05:39 - Mexican oregano.
05:41 Coriander seeds.
05:42 Cloves.
05:43 And three peppercorns.
05:44 And a couple bay leaves.
05:45 And some thyme.
05:47 And salt.
05:48 Oh, it smells really good.
05:50 Pouring in some water.
05:52 Apple cider vinegar.
05:53 So it looks cooked,
05:56 and now we're gonna chill it in the refrigerator.
05:58 - Now I'm going to sear the pork,
06:01 add some kimchi to it, scallions.
06:03 I'm gonna add a little bit of oil.
06:04 It's gonna be some smoking here.
06:06 And we're not gonna touch it,
06:07 we're just gonna let it cook.
06:09 Now I'm just gonna dice some of this kimchi.
06:12 I'm gonna cook the onion right there.
06:14 I just want the onion to sweat.
06:15 Now I'm gonna add our kimchi.
06:18 Oh, look, that's what I was talking about.
06:20 Nice and caramelized.
06:22 You know what this reminds me of?
06:24 Fried tacos in Mexico.
06:25 Oh my God.
06:27 - All right, now it's time to make
06:28 our avocado and tomatillo salsa.
06:30 Gonna remove the papery husks off of the tomatillos.
06:33 And it's like unwrapping a present.
06:36 I have these peppers.
06:38 Next we have avocado, cilantro,
06:42 and yeah, go.
06:43 And then lime.
06:45 Oh, that's so much more easier
06:46 than doing an orange with your bare hands.
06:48 Can not forget the salt.
06:50 It's spicy, oh my God.
06:57 Well, that's really good.
06:58 Yeah, A plus.
07:00 - Now it's time to roll and fry our taquitos.
07:03 We're just gonna heat up the tortillas.
07:04 We wanna keep them nice and flexible.
07:07 And the reason why oil, it's to prevent them from break.
07:10 You fold them cold, they break.
07:13 So look, now you fold them, they don't break.
07:15 So I'm gonna grab a tortilla, a little bit of stuffing.
07:19 Push this tortilla all the way at the end.
07:20 I'm gonna pull it, and then we're gonna close it.
07:23 I want this tortilla to be very tight
07:24 because I don't want the inside to be dry.
07:27 And there you have my stuffed taquitos.
07:30 - Now we're gonna be making our lamb and potato filling.
07:33 - The reason why I choose roasted potatoes
07:35 is because they are large.
07:36 They're easy to peel, and it's easier to cut,
07:40 and have almost the same size.
07:41 - I'm going to salt this water.
07:43 I cook these until they're tender.
07:46 Potatoes are cooked, and I'm going to mash it.
07:49 Incorporate this potato into the lamb.
07:52 This looks so good.
07:53 That is delicious.
07:55 - Okay, Gina, so next step is cascabel oil.
07:59 And that oil is gonna keep the tacos soft and hot.
08:02 Tacos de canasta, they're meant to be traveled.
08:05 So we make those tacos here, and then we travel two hours,
08:08 and then we sell them there.
08:09 That's how they do it in Mexico.
08:10 - We're gonna move on to our oil.
08:12 Cut this onion in half.
08:14 Peppers, D stem and D seed.
08:17 - And then you're going to cook this on boiling water.
08:21 Until you see the onions cook,
08:23 and the pepper change the color, so it'll be more red.
08:26 - Going to spoon into the mixer.
08:29 Okay.
08:34 Then, heat up some lard.
08:37 Okay, so now I'm going to pour this mixture in with the lard.
08:42 - So now it's time to fry our taquitos.
08:45 I'm gonna be using vegetable oil.
08:48 How do you know these are done?
08:49 When you start seeing less bubbles.
08:51 Not enough bubbles, lot of bubbles.
08:54 It's ready to go.
08:56 Please do not eat the toothpicks.
08:58 That's crispy.
09:00 - And now it's time to fill our tacos.
09:02 I'm going to use some of this fat that I saved from earlier.
09:06 - What the oil is gonna do,
09:07 is gonna add flavor of the lamb,
09:09 and also it's gonna keep the tortillas nice and flexible.
09:12 - Now I'm going to fill the tortillas with the filling.
09:16 And then squish it.
09:17 Now we're going to fill our basket with tacos.
09:21 Here's our towel.
09:23 Plastic wrap.
09:24 And now we have parchment paper,
09:26 and this prevents plastic from melting.
09:30 So here's our first taco.
09:33 Going to layer them around the perimeter of the basket.
09:37 Then onion, thin layer of onion.
09:39 Then another layer of tacos.
09:43 And then another layer of onions.
09:46 Oil is ready, it looks like lava.
09:49 And now we're going to pour it into the basket of tacos.
09:52 And then I'm going to wrap it all up to keep it warm.
09:59 - Now it's time to play.
10:00 Now I'm going to dice scallions,
10:02 put it on ice so they're nice and curly and crispy.
10:06 - Let's take our salsa.
10:08 It's like a nice healthy dollop.
10:10 - Kind of looks like a mole.
10:11 We're going to serve a lot of taquitos.
10:13 - Now the grand reveal.
10:16 Ooh, okay.
10:18 I think three is a nice portion.
10:20 Pickled veggie peppers.
10:24 - Oh, it's Christmas!
10:25 My Christmas tree!
10:27 - And here you have it, my crispy Korean style taquitos
10:30 with kimchi salsa fresca.
10:32 - So here's my take on Chef Saul's tacos.
10:35 I hope he likes them.
10:36 Very curious to see what he's done with my ingredients.
10:39 Hello, how are you?
10:45 - Good, how you doing?
10:46 - Good to see you.
10:47 - Gina! - Yeah!
10:47 Ooh.
10:50 - Wow.
10:50 Yours look better than mine.
10:52 - This looks like a sculpture.
10:55 - Well listen, when it comes to tacos de canasta,
10:57 I think this is what I'm picturing.
10:58 - Oh. - This is what I'm thinking of.
10:59 Great job.
11:00 - I'm so glad.
11:01 - Everything looks on point.
11:02 - It took a very long time.
11:05 Cheers. - Cheers.
11:06 Mm, good job.
11:10 - That is yummy.
11:11 This was worth the effort.
11:12 - It's pretty good.
11:13 Enough meat, enough potato.
11:15 Vegetables are on point too.
11:16 - Yay.
11:17 I'm really excited to see what you make with my ingredients.
11:20 This does not look like $20.
11:21 This looks like, you know, $120.
11:24 - I wish I had more ingredients.
11:25 Like I always, I like to have a lot of ingredients.
11:28 I don't know why.
11:28 - Oh, I learned you like a lot of ingredients.
11:32 Okay, let's try it.
11:33 - Salud.
11:34 - Oh.
11:39 - Mm. - It's really good.
11:40 Wow.
11:40 - That's really nice.
11:41 And you said you didn't, you've never had kimchi before?
11:44 You should come to my mom's house.
11:45 - It's great.
11:46 - This is delicious.
11:47 - This has been fun for me
11:48 because I'm learning more about other cultures
11:51 and ingredients.
11:52 Cheers. - Cheers.
11:53 - Ta-da.
11:54 Look how much I got.
11:55 Yeah.
11:56 What?
11:57 - It was a long day.
12:00 [laughs]