street taco make ahead pack
June 2, 2017 12:55 AM Subscribe
hi gang. i have some fixings for street tacos and i would like to make the entire process to be a make ahead and then throw it together in 5 minutes type of deal. let's assume i have a protein at the standby and lime juice (maybe hot sauce too) at the ready. my flavor pack includes chopped onion, radish, serrano or jalapeno, bell pepper, minced garlic and cilantro as the base. all of this will go in the freezer in some configuration. i would like it to be as crisp and flavorful as possible when coming out.
difficulty level: no salt. none added. all items must be as salt free as necessary from the start too.
and now the questions and the beg. can i store that entire flavor pack in the same freezer baggie (or do i need a glass/plastic container) without issue? cilantro is very tricky for me and more goes in the trash that makes it into my meals. will any of these items benefit from preprocessing (radish yes? blanching?) i'm not a huge greens fan on these things, but would it benefit from a little cabbage and would that be simpatico in the flavor bag?
corn tortillas (yes very low salt ones) will probably just come out of the fridge, but i understand you can freeze them with parchment paper in between each as long as you let them defrost for a day or so before using.
ideas and suggestions for different flavor pack material or approaches to this are very welcome. fresh materials like avocado or different cheeses are probably out due to spoilage or salt concerns (maybe some paneer tho!). i have been looking into a few sauce/salsa recipes that might work too, but at some point this isn't about making the ultimate make ahead tacos but making things easy on me.
difficulty level: no salt. none added. all items must be as salt free as necessary from the start too.
and now the questions and the beg. can i store that entire flavor pack in the same freezer baggie (or do i need a glass/plastic container) without issue? cilantro is very tricky for me and more goes in the trash that makes it into my meals. will any of these items benefit from preprocessing (radish yes? blanching?) i'm not a huge greens fan on these things, but would it benefit from a little cabbage and would that be simpatico in the flavor bag?
corn tortillas (yes very low salt ones) will probably just come out of the fridge, but i understand you can freeze them with parchment paper in between each as long as you let them defrost for a day or so before using.
ideas and suggestions for different flavor pack material or approaches to this are very welcome. fresh materials like avocado or different cheeses are probably out due to spoilage or salt concerns (maybe some paneer tho!). i have been looking into a few sauce/salsa recipes that might work too, but at some point this isn't about making the ultimate make ahead tacos but making things easy on me.
I'm trying to understand the limits of your situation--do these things have to be frozen, or is merely stored in a sturdy ziplock acceptable? You're going to have a hard time with the crisp and fresh aspect of it if things must be frozen.
If the freezer isn't a hard and fast requirement, I would probably quick pickle your onion, radish, and cabbage--vinegar has no sodium, but will add that punch of flavor that you're going to be missing otherwise. You could easily chuck them all in a bag or tupperware and take them to your destination, and the vinegar acts as a mild preservative, which might address some of the need for freezing. I definitely wouldn't freeze the cilantro unless you're going to, say, blitz it with oil and basically add cilantro oil to the tacos--frozen herbs become, in my opinion, unpleasantly wet and soggy.
If the freezer is a requirement, it might be worth considering making some sort of salsa verde--tomatillos aren't on your list, but making your own salsa verde isn't difficult, and it could encompass most of the flavors on your list. Sauces tend to hold up much better than plain frozen veg do, since the loss of crispness from cellular wall rupture won't be as noticable.
posted by mishafletch at 1:46 AM on June 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
If the freezer isn't a hard and fast requirement, I would probably quick pickle your onion, radish, and cabbage--vinegar has no sodium, but will add that punch of flavor that you're going to be missing otherwise. You could easily chuck them all in a bag or tupperware and take them to your destination, and the vinegar acts as a mild preservative, which might address some of the need for freezing. I definitely wouldn't freeze the cilantro unless you're going to, say, blitz it with oil and basically add cilantro oil to the tacos--frozen herbs become, in my opinion, unpleasantly wet and soggy.
If the freezer is a requirement, it might be worth considering making some sort of salsa verde--tomatillos aren't on your list, but making your own salsa verde isn't difficult, and it could encompass most of the flavors on your list. Sauces tend to hold up much better than plain frozen veg do, since the loss of crispness from cellular wall rupture won't be as noticable.
posted by mishafletch at 1:46 AM on June 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: not to thread sit but this is what i am trying to accomplish. i need to put together an easy meal plan that fits my dietary issues (no salt at all. very limited fluids) for each week, for as long as i can keep waking up in the morning. i can put about 30 minutes into a task, an hour tops, before i am completely fatigued and need to rest for at least twice that time afterwards. so i need to make as much in bulk as i can at a time, and have that last as long as i can make it last. but of course, if it isn't tasty to some degree, i won't want it later on which throws me off of the meal plan and will absolutely lead to bad decisions which would have very adverse consequences.
so spending 30 minutes on prep for a (series of the same) meal that i can only reasonable hope to get 10 days from the fridge is not nearly as appealing as spending 30-1hr on say a casserole or some pasta dish that is going to freeze well for months and i get three times the meals.
the taco idea is just one of the meals i am trying for this, because i like the flavors quite a bit and the 'pull the ingredients out and get them ready' time factor is minimal (regardless of fridge/freezer).
posted by lescour at 2:05 AM on June 2, 2017
so spending 30 minutes on prep for a (series of the same) meal that i can only reasonable hope to get 10 days from the fridge is not nearly as appealing as spending 30-1hr on say a casserole or some pasta dish that is going to freeze well for months and i get three times the meals.
the taco idea is just one of the meals i am trying for this, because i like the flavors quite a bit and the 'pull the ingredients out and get them ready' time factor is minimal (regardless of fridge/freezer).
posted by lescour at 2:05 AM on June 2, 2017
Cilantro is tricky to freeze, but I have had some success. What works for me is to first separate the leaves from the stems.
The stems just get trimmed, rinsed, and patted dry, then bundled and tucked into a plastic bag. If I'm cooking something that I want to taste like cilantro but I don't care about the leafiness, I can take the stems out of the freezer and cut little slices off the bunch's end and use them like any other finely diced aromatic. For example sometimes I make coconut cilantro rice, which is just cilantro stems, garlic and a little onion in the pan till translucent, then I toast the rice in there with a little salt, and add equal amounts chicken stock and coconut milk and cook like normal rice.
The leaves are different because they so easily turn blackish and weird. I chop them up and mix them in just enough neutral oil to bind it into a chunky leafy paste, spoon that into a plastic bag and spread it out really flat and thin. That goes into the freezer and I can snap off a piece of it as I need it. The cilantro never has that really fresh grassy flavor, and the oil makes it a bit hard to work into vinegar based things, but it works the best of everything else I have tried. Usually I use this by adding a piece at the very end of making a sauce or stew and just heating it through. I have also melted it onto a buttery pasta, and worked it into warm salsas with stuff like grilled corn.
Mishafletch (heeeey) is totally spot on with salsa verde. You could make all manner of yummy sauces and freeze them into portions as you like. I love doing roasted red onion, tomatillos, poblanos and garlic, then blending them with cilantro, toasted cumin seeds, a touch of sugar and chicken stock and reducing it down by about half. You could freeze this in ice cube trays and microwave a cube of sauce per taco. Of course you can also buy sauces like these, although they are pretty simple and your salt requirements might be a barrier.
Bell pepper is difficult to freeze because it is so watery and its cell structure is fragile. But if you break that cell structure down first you can get some tasty results. Just slice peppers thinly and put them in a nonstick pan. Lightly drizzle with oil just enough to coat, spread the peppers out, set the heat to medium and don't touch them! Come back in three to five minutes depending on your stove and pan heat conduction and check if there is browning. If not, give them a couple more minutes. Then toss and repeat until the peppers have begun to wilt and have delicious browning on the cut edges. You can also do this with sliced onions, but onions take longer to cook so do them in separate batches. When you freeze this cooked veg, the cell structure that the freeze would have broken is already broken through heat, leading to a similar texture when you heat them back up. Freshen with lime juice or vinegar.
For packing things I think you need a compartmentalized approach. Keep different elements discrete by wrapping them in plastic or foil, and then tucking everything together into one larger bag at a later date when things have been freezed already. Otherwise reheating is going to be a mess since things need different heating methods to be delicious.
Cheese freezes really well, if you have a low salt variety you like you can grate it and freeze it, just put it in a container with a lid and give it a shake every five hours or so the first day it is in the freezer so the grated bits don't clump up. Then move the portions of cheese you want into your packages.
On preview I see that your goals are more difficult than I had been picturing. I've done quite a bit of helping friends who struggle with fatigue and disability to get yummy food into themselves, so let me ruminate and I will come back with further suggestions.
posted by Mizu at 2:10 AM on June 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
The stems just get trimmed, rinsed, and patted dry, then bundled and tucked into a plastic bag. If I'm cooking something that I want to taste like cilantro but I don't care about the leafiness, I can take the stems out of the freezer and cut little slices off the bunch's end and use them like any other finely diced aromatic. For example sometimes I make coconut cilantro rice, which is just cilantro stems, garlic and a little onion in the pan till translucent, then I toast the rice in there with a little salt, and add equal amounts chicken stock and coconut milk and cook like normal rice.
The leaves are different because they so easily turn blackish and weird. I chop them up and mix them in just enough neutral oil to bind it into a chunky leafy paste, spoon that into a plastic bag and spread it out really flat and thin. That goes into the freezer and I can snap off a piece of it as I need it. The cilantro never has that really fresh grassy flavor, and the oil makes it a bit hard to work into vinegar based things, but it works the best of everything else I have tried. Usually I use this by adding a piece at the very end of making a sauce or stew and just heating it through. I have also melted it onto a buttery pasta, and worked it into warm salsas with stuff like grilled corn.
Mishafletch (heeeey) is totally spot on with salsa verde. You could make all manner of yummy sauces and freeze them into portions as you like. I love doing roasted red onion, tomatillos, poblanos and garlic, then blending them with cilantro, toasted cumin seeds, a touch of sugar and chicken stock and reducing it down by about half. You could freeze this in ice cube trays and microwave a cube of sauce per taco. Of course you can also buy sauces like these, although they are pretty simple and your salt requirements might be a barrier.
Bell pepper is difficult to freeze because it is so watery and its cell structure is fragile. But if you break that cell structure down first you can get some tasty results. Just slice peppers thinly and put them in a nonstick pan. Lightly drizzle with oil just enough to coat, spread the peppers out, set the heat to medium and don't touch them! Come back in three to five minutes depending on your stove and pan heat conduction and check if there is browning. If not, give them a couple more minutes. Then toss and repeat until the peppers have begun to wilt and have delicious browning on the cut edges. You can also do this with sliced onions, but onions take longer to cook so do them in separate batches. When you freeze this cooked veg, the cell structure that the freeze would have broken is already broken through heat, leading to a similar texture when you heat them back up. Freshen with lime juice or vinegar.
For packing things I think you need a compartmentalized approach. Keep different elements discrete by wrapping them in plastic or foil, and then tucking everything together into one larger bag at a later date when things have been freezed already. Otherwise reheating is going to be a mess since things need different heating methods to be delicious.
Cheese freezes really well, if you have a low salt variety you like you can grate it and freeze it, just put it in a container with a lid and give it a shake every five hours or so the first day it is in the freezer so the grated bits don't clump up. Then move the portions of cheese you want into your packages.
On preview I see that your goals are more difficult than I had been picturing. I've done quite a bit of helping friends who struggle with fatigue and disability to get yummy food into themselves, so let me ruminate and I will come back with further suggestions.
posted by Mizu at 2:10 AM on June 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: (also the fluid issue would be just fine if the amount of sauce was equivalent to that little container you get at the taco trucks with your meal. i generally used 1 of those for every 2 tacos before.)
posted by lescour at 2:30 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by lescour at 2:30 AM on June 2, 2017
corn tortillas (yes very low salt ones) will probably just come out of the fridge, but i understand you can freeze them with parchment paper in between each as long as you let them defrost for a day or so before using.
Just for timing/planning purposes, it won't take a day to defrost a few corn tortillas, maybe a half-hour, an hour tops.
Seconding Mizu's approach to freezing cilantro and also using the stems.
If you can invest in even a low-end vacuum sealer you'll probably squeeZe a little more life out of your prepped ingredients.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:00 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Just for timing/planning purposes, it won't take a day to defrost a few corn tortillas, maybe a half-hour, an hour tops.
Seconding Mizu's approach to freezing cilantro and also using the stems.
If you can invest in even a low-end vacuum sealer you'll probably squeeZe a little more life out of your prepped ingredients.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:00 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Check your local fancy grocery store for frozen cilantro? In the UK Waitrose sells freeze-dried coriander and other herbs to keep in your freezer, cutting down on waste massively
posted by teststrip at 7:12 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by teststrip at 7:12 AM on June 2, 2017
Another possible cilantro option: I was at the market earlier and saw tubs and tubes of various prepared herbs like cilantro, basil, and ginger in the produce Dept.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:13 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 9:13 AM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can't eat dairy, so I use refried beans to get that melted texture. Other things I add to burritos or tacos: scrambled eggs, cooked sweet potato, black beans, rice, taco beef (ground beef cooked with chili powder), canned corn, lettuce, salsa. Also, any leftovers like sausage, roasted veg., or whatever I have.
posted by theora55 at 9:37 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by theora55 at 9:37 AM on June 2, 2017
I would throw all of your flavor components into the protein and cook it there. For instance- pork slow cooked with slow cooked onion, cilantro, Serrano pepper, all that good stuff. I'd freeze individual portions of this. Thaw, put on a taco, add one crunchy fresh component (lettuce from a bag, prechopped bell pepper). Top with Greek yogurt and hot sauce and done.
posted by slateyness at 11:19 AM on June 2, 2017
posted by slateyness at 11:19 AM on June 2, 2017
Best answer: Okay I slept on it and here's what I would suggest.
One morning, make a big batch of cooked taco veg and portion into single taco amounts and then freeze. This would be chopped onion, peppers (bell and whatever spicy ones you like), cilantro *stems*, minced garlic. Just put everything into a pan, mix with a small amount of oil (I like olive oil, not extra virgin but the regular kind which has a less assertive flavor) and any dry spices you like (I like cumin) and do the browning thing with it all. You could also do different combinations depending on your energy levels and what's available. I highly suggest diced tomatillos if you can get them fresh. You can cut everything up ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a day or two before you cook it and freeze it, so if cutting is what makes your energy sap then you can pace it out.
For easy access fresh crunch, I think that cabbage is way superior to lettuce on tacos, especially if I've marinated it in lime juice and a little sugar ahead of time. You can make this a lot simpler by using precut coleslaw mix. It doesn't freeze well but it does last quite a while in the fridge and you can use it a million different ways in other food. To make it last longer in the fridge, tuck a moistened paper towel into the bag so it doesn't dry out. If you want to make regular cabbage last longer in the fridge, slice it up thin and keep it in a container full of water. This will last at least a week and stay pretty crisp, you just have to drain it before you use it. You can also do this with sliced radishes. When you want tacos, very first thing take out some cabbage and toss it with lime juice. Five minutes is kind of short but it would be enough to get the flavor in there. If you can aim for more like half an hour for it to sit with lime juice on it that would be ideal (I'd suggest you relax with a drink but I guess that wouldn't work for you.) Any kind of prepackaged lettuce will go pretty good on a taco though so just aiming to always have some sort of easy crunchy greens in the fridge is a good plan, even arugula or baby spinach!
If you can get a slow cooker most taco proteins become a lot easier. It should only take ten minutes or so to take a cut of meat or dried beans, dried herbs and spices, and a slow roasting liquid and dump it all in a slow cooker for a night. Pork shoulder + chipotle and garlic powder + tomato juice, chicken thighs + cumin + onions + veggie broth, pinto beans + epazote + chunks of bacon + water. When it's falling apart delicious portion it up and freeze. If money is a concern you can often find great slow cookers for wicked cheap at goodwill and other thrift shops since folks often get rid of perfectly good ones from relatives who have passed and passed all their junk on to someone who doesn't want it all.
You can also freeze lime juice in an ice cube tray so you will always have it around but it sounds like you have that under control. And if you make any of the sauces suggested above you can ice cube these as well.
Okay so your taco packs would be assembled on the third morning when you've got the cooked veg and the cooked protein already done and frozen into portions. Take the tortilla and parchment paper pieces, make some sandwiches with those separating each tortilla with parchment paper (or wax paper). Then on top of that base take the right number of portions of cooked veg and meat. You can have multiple portions of each in smaller sandwich baggies, just keep the meat and veg separate since you want to reheat them separately. Then do a baggie with your ice cubes of lime juice and sauce on top of that. Nest everything into a larger freezer thickness plastic bag or a container (I like the ziploc brand ones, they make a square size that fits a flat small tortilla, but if you can find glass ones that will protect better from freezerburn.) Since you're assembling things that are already all frozen you don't have to worry about stuff freezing at different rates and packages bursting or whatever.
When it is taco time, toss your cabbage/greens/radish in lime juice. Unwrap the tortilla(s), set it on a dry pan to toast up. Zap your sauce cube in the microwave, set aside. Put the protein on the stove so it thaws and then begins to brown a bit. Meanwhile zap the vegetables. Toss with the sauce/extra lime and the cabbage so you have a really interesting mix of cold and hot, crunchy and soft. Assemble tacos. If there's cheese or sour cream put that on the bottom (that way the heat will cause it to get melty), then the protein then the vegetables.
posted by Mizu at 4:03 PM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
One morning, make a big batch of cooked taco veg and portion into single taco amounts and then freeze. This would be chopped onion, peppers (bell and whatever spicy ones you like), cilantro *stems*, minced garlic. Just put everything into a pan, mix with a small amount of oil (I like olive oil, not extra virgin but the regular kind which has a less assertive flavor) and any dry spices you like (I like cumin) and do the browning thing with it all. You could also do different combinations depending on your energy levels and what's available. I highly suggest diced tomatillos if you can get them fresh. You can cut everything up ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a day or two before you cook it and freeze it, so if cutting is what makes your energy sap then you can pace it out.
For easy access fresh crunch, I think that cabbage is way superior to lettuce on tacos, especially if I've marinated it in lime juice and a little sugar ahead of time. You can make this a lot simpler by using precut coleslaw mix. It doesn't freeze well but it does last quite a while in the fridge and you can use it a million different ways in other food. To make it last longer in the fridge, tuck a moistened paper towel into the bag so it doesn't dry out. If you want to make regular cabbage last longer in the fridge, slice it up thin and keep it in a container full of water. This will last at least a week and stay pretty crisp, you just have to drain it before you use it. You can also do this with sliced radishes. When you want tacos, very first thing take out some cabbage and toss it with lime juice. Five minutes is kind of short but it would be enough to get the flavor in there. If you can aim for more like half an hour for it to sit with lime juice on it that would be ideal (I'd suggest you relax with a drink but I guess that wouldn't work for you.) Any kind of prepackaged lettuce will go pretty good on a taco though so just aiming to always have some sort of easy crunchy greens in the fridge is a good plan, even arugula or baby spinach!
If you can get a slow cooker most taco proteins become a lot easier. It should only take ten minutes or so to take a cut of meat or dried beans, dried herbs and spices, and a slow roasting liquid and dump it all in a slow cooker for a night. Pork shoulder + chipotle and garlic powder + tomato juice, chicken thighs + cumin + onions + veggie broth, pinto beans + epazote + chunks of bacon + water. When it's falling apart delicious portion it up and freeze. If money is a concern you can often find great slow cookers for wicked cheap at goodwill and other thrift shops since folks often get rid of perfectly good ones from relatives who have passed and passed all their junk on to someone who doesn't want it all.
You can also freeze lime juice in an ice cube tray so you will always have it around but it sounds like you have that under control. And if you make any of the sauces suggested above you can ice cube these as well.
Okay so your taco packs would be assembled on the third morning when you've got the cooked veg and the cooked protein already done and frozen into portions. Take the tortilla and parchment paper pieces, make some sandwiches with those separating each tortilla with parchment paper (or wax paper). Then on top of that base take the right number of portions of cooked veg and meat. You can have multiple portions of each in smaller sandwich baggies, just keep the meat and veg separate since you want to reheat them separately. Then do a baggie with your ice cubes of lime juice and sauce on top of that. Nest everything into a larger freezer thickness plastic bag or a container (I like the ziploc brand ones, they make a square size that fits a flat small tortilla, but if you can find glass ones that will protect better from freezerburn.) Since you're assembling things that are already all frozen you don't have to worry about stuff freezing at different rates and packages bursting or whatever.
When it is taco time, toss your cabbage/greens/radish in lime juice. Unwrap the tortilla(s), set it on a dry pan to toast up. Zap your sauce cube in the microwave, set aside. Put the protein on the stove so it thaws and then begins to brown a bit. Meanwhile zap the vegetables. Toss with the sauce/extra lime and the cabbage so you have a really interesting mix of cold and hot, crunchy and soft. Assemble tacos. If there's cheese or sour cream put that on the bottom (that way the heat will cause it to get melty), then the protein then the vegetables.
posted by Mizu at 4:03 PM on June 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: great suggestions mizu. i will only note that my protein is outsourced to a small cafe just a couple of blocks away that is very kindly preparing it for me at not much more than cost (i am tipping well though) a couple of times a week. it is not heavily seasoned (which is fine) as it goes in my salads and rice/veggies etc etc. i'm trading some money for time here at the additional expense of a drop down in flavor, but it seems worth it to just *have stuff on hand* while otherwise contemplating a good nap.
thanks everyone. all suggestions still appreciated.
posted by lescour at 4:39 PM on June 2, 2017
thanks everyone. all suggestions still appreciated.
posted by lescour at 4:39 PM on June 2, 2017
That outsourced protein setup sounds awesome!
Think about making dried spice blends for your different types of meals. Penzey's also does some good salt free blends iirc, and if you live near a spice shop you can ask them to make blends for you. Just tuck into airtight containers and keep in a dark place and they will last for ages. Try cumin, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and black pepper.
Then to use them effectively, heat oil and add the spice blend to that, letting it cook through and really flavor the oil thoroughly. Add the protein and turn up the heat to crisp things and warm through, and the flavored oil will really penetrate and deliver the flavor effectively. Then you can have taco chicken from plain chicken any time you want.
posted by Mizu at 4:53 PM on June 2, 2017
Think about making dried spice blends for your different types of meals. Penzey's also does some good salt free blends iirc, and if you live near a spice shop you can ask them to make blends for you. Just tuck into airtight containers and keep in a dark place and they will last for ages. Try cumin, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and black pepper.
Then to use them effectively, heat oil and add the spice blend to that, letting it cook through and really flavor the oil thoroughly. Add the protein and turn up the heat to crisp things and warm through, and the flavored oil will really penetrate and deliver the flavor effectively. Then you can have taco chicken from plain chicken any time you want.
posted by Mizu at 4:53 PM on June 2, 2017
Sorry, one more cilantro idea. I store fresh herbs in a glass with some water the fridge. I just used some cilantro that's two weeks old and it was still perky and fresh. It wouldn't last as long as frozen, but would save you valuable prep time.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:24 PM on June 2, 2017
posted by Room 641-A at 6:24 PM on June 2, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by raccoon409 at 1:30 AM on June 2, 2017