Foodie Fights - Battle Corn/Tomato

Corn and tomatoes are everywhere right now. They thrive in the summer months and are plentiful in every grocery store, farmers market, roadside stand, etc. So why not make them the feature ingredients for this week's foodie fight? I love both ingredients so it's no surprise that I threw my name in the running...

Skirt Steak Sloppy Joe Sliders w/ Grilled Corn Coleslaw. Yeah, the name says it all. This dish was bomb. And I wasn't the only one that thought so. My friends and I had our yearly fantasy football draft this past Sunday and I brought these babies over to munch on while we were forming our fantasy team, a.k.a. their loser teams, and my hell of a winner team. Yeah, I'm a little competitive, if you couldn't tell.

Anyway, the only thing that I want to keep kicking myself in the face for... my final pictures. Yeah, not so good. Kind of like a 3 year old took them, right? Yeah, well, I took all my prep work photos at our house and assembled everything at my friend Nick's house, but guess who forgot to bring her Nikon with her when she got there? Yeah, this girl. So my little Palm Centro camera had to do... and obviously... the quality is no where near what my D40 can do. But please don't let that deter your vote... well, don't let it deter it too much... because seriously... these. were. delicious. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S (in case you needed a spelling lesson)... so without further ado...

Ingredients:

Adapted from a Food & Wine recipe

8-10 dried guajillo chiles
4 garlic cloves
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons oregano
6 tablespoons sunflower oil, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb. skirt steak, separated into 3 pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups red cabbage, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
2 large ears of corn
1 cup chicken broth
12 slider-sized buns (I used Hawaiian Bread Sweet Rolls)
lettuce and sliced tomatoes (optional)

In a medium microwave safe bowl, cover the chiles in water and microwave for about 5 minutes, or until chiles are softened.

Let cool momentarily and reserve 1/2 cup of the chile water before draining. Add reserved water back to chiles and add garlic and chopped tomatoes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the chilies until mostly smooth in texture. Stir in oregano and 4 tablespoons sunflower oil. Puree for a few more minutes until you get a desired texture.


Strain the pureed mix into a separate bowl and season with salt and pepper. Reserving 1/2 of chile mixture, transfer other 1/2 to a large freezer bag and add skirt steak pieces. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight.

Heat medium saucepan under high heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in remaining chile mixture and cook for a couple minutes. Add in brown sugar and vinegar. Simmer for about 10 minutes so the flavors can develop. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Light a charcoal grill under medium high heat and grill steaks for about 8-10 minutes, flipping once for a good medium rare to medium.

Brush on the remaining chile mixture glaze in the last couple minutes of grilling. Let steaks rest for at least 5 minutes, then chop roughly.


After steaks are done on the grill, you can grill your corn. I did about 10 minutes for a nice juicy, but still somewhat browned corn. Let corn cool for a moment and then clear it off of the cob. Set kernels aside.

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Add cabbage and carrots to a food processor and pulse just a few times. You just want to make sure everything is nice and shredded.

Add shredded cabbage, carrots, and corn kernels to mayo mixture and mix well. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.


In a large saucepan, combine remaining chile glaze with the chicken stock. Simmer on medium high for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is reduced by half. Stir in the chopped steak and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Let simmer for a few minutes, or until everything is heated through. If you have a lot of liquid, you can transfer the steak with a slotted spoon to a bowl after you're done simmering.


To assemble, place lettuce and slice of tomato on the bottom bun. Add a heaping pile of chopped steak (this is sloppy joe right?), and top with a big mound of corn coleslaw before closing sandwich with top bun. Open mouth and eat.

Like I said, these were a major hit at our fantasy football draft party and didn't last more than 30 minutes. They're messy. They're different. They're delicious. What more could you ask for?

If you agree with me and have forgiven me for taking pictures with my cell phone, please vote on Tuesday at Foodie Fights!