Cue Episode!

Make sure you listen to Hank's episode of The Storied Recipe Podcast, "The Foremost Wild Food Authority and His Favorite Taco" while you make his amazing Deathbed Tacos.

Make the Recipe

Make Hank's Onions

1. The day before or an hour before making your tacos, make the onions. You can keep the onion in the refrigerators  for 1-2 days.
2. Crush the Mexican oregano into a powder with your hands.
3. Mince the onions and mix with the salt, crushed Mexican oregano, and lime juice. 
4. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Make the Monterrey Salsa

1. In order to prepare this salsa correctly, forget the food processor and take out your mortar and pestle because this salsa needs to be pounded, not chopped.
2. Put the pequins, salt, and  garlic in a molcajete or mortar. Grind ingredients into a paste (this can take awhile! It took both me and my husband 15 minutes to make this paste) then stir in the lime juice.
3. A little of this salsa goes a long way.

Prepare the Marrow Bones

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set the marrow bones marrow side up.
3. Sprinkle with salt, and place them in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. At 15 minutes, check on them. You will know they are done when the marrow starts to bubble and becomes liquid. Take them out of the oven and set aside.

Prepare the Meat

1. While the marrow bones are baking, prepare the steaks by salting both sides and allowing the meat to come to room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Prepare your grill with mesquite wood or charcoal, and once ready, grill the steaks until they are medium-rare. 
3. Take the steaks off of the grill, and while the steaks rest, grind black pepper over them.

Prepare the Tortillas

1. Option 1: If you have a tortilla warmer, warm the tortillas and then place them inside the warmer.
2. Option 2: Warm the tortillas, wrap them in a kitchen towel to keep them warm and pliable.

Make the Costras (crispy outer cheese layer)

1. On a griddle, comal, or non-stick pan, heat it up to at least 350°F on your stovetop.
2. Once hot, place about 2 tablespoons of cheese down on the surface and as it starts to melt, take a tortilla and press it onto the cheese until the cheese reaches the edge of the tortilla.
3. Let the cheese/tortilla brown for a couple of minutes. If you have a well seasoned griddle or comal, the cheese will easily release from the pan. If not, a metal spatula will help get the cheese off the surface of the pan.
4. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas. 
5. Keep the tortillas warm by placing them in the turned-off oven, as well as the bone marrow, to keep everything warm.

Assemble the Tacos

1. Chop the meat into your desired size, Hank says about the size of your thumbnail, and sprinkle once more with salt.
2. Take the tortillas (costras) and bone marrow out of the oven, scoop some of the ribeye onto the cheese side (costra side) of the tortilla, then fill the taco by spooning some of the bone marrow on top. Add the onions, Moneterrey salsa, and finish with some cilantro.