Carne asada tacos

Punch the skirt steak with a jacquarding tool about 10 to 12 times, or poke it 30 to 40 times with a sharp fork, to break down the muscle fibres and let the marinade in.

Cut each steak into four pieces of roughly six to eight ounces for even cooking and more surface area.

Season both sides liberally with salt and let the steaks dry brine while the marinade is made.

Blend the oil, soy sauce, chipotles in adobo, garlic, oregano, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin, bouillon, black pepper, cilantro, lime juice and orange juice on high about 30 seconds into a smooth paste.

Without a blender, grate or press the garlic to a fine paste, chop the cilantro very finely and stir everything together in a bowl.

Put the steaks in a freezer bag, pour over the marinade, toss to slather and refrigerate overnight; same day works but the overnight marinade is much better.

Pico: slice the tomatoes into half inch planks and dice 300 grams of the solid fleshy parts, discarding the pith and jelly; drain off excess tomato water in a strainer.

Small dice the onion and rinse it under cold water, then small dice the jalapeno.

Combine the tomato, onion and jalapeno with the finely chopped cilantro, the lime juice and the salt and stir; after 20 minutes it sits in a flavourful tomato-lime juice.

Tortillas: spin the flour, salt and cold cubed butter in a food chopper about 30 seconds until the butter is in little flecks.

With the chopper running, stream in the cold water until the dough comes together into a blob.

Turn out and knead about two minutes, pushing out with the palms and rolling back, until the dough holds together under a firm tug.

Divide into 12 pieces of 40 grams and roll each into a tidy ball.

Roll each ball into a roughly seven inch round with a rolling pin, flipping once or twice and using only a little flour; it shrinks to about six inches when cooked.

Cook in a medium heat nonstick pan about 90 seconds on the first side, until puffy on the back, then 30 seconds on the second side, and hold in a tortilla warmer.

Spray the grill heavily, lay the steaks out in two rows of four and grill hard over high heat three to four minutes without moving them.

Flip and grill about three more minutes over very high heat, until both sides are deeply grilled and the marinade has gone to a lacquer.

Rest five to ten minutes, then cut against the grain, slice and dice into half inch cubes.

Build: reheat a tortilla, spread on a dollop of smashed avocado, add three to four ounces of steak and a large dollop of drained pico.