Corned Beef Tacos with Guinness Caramelized Onions
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While some people only think of staples like classic corned beef and cabbage around St. Patrick’s day, I love making it at any time of year to use in these Irish-inspired corned beef tacos. It’s also a great way to use up a leftover corned beef. For these tacos, the tender, slow-cooked meat is piled onto flour tortillas and topped with Guinness-caramelized onions, and a creamy shredded cabbage slaw that adds a satisfying crunch. For an added layer of flavor I crisp up Swiss cheese in a cast iron pan so it melts into the taco and crisps on the top creating a lacy cheese edges as a base for the filling.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Corned beef – You can either brine and make the corned beef from brisket yourself or use store bought brined corned beef and cook it according to the package instructions in a pot. While the brined brisket takes up a fair amount of fridge space and a few days time, it’s worth it as the extra time helps produce tender, flavorful corned beef.
- Caramelized onions – While caramelizing onions takes a bit of patience, don’t try to rush the process by turning up the heat. The goal is to draw out the sugars in the onions and caramelize them – you have to go low and slow. You end up with mellow sweet onion flavor.
- Guinness – Guinness is an Irish stout beer. It’s dark in color with a malty sweetness that adds a deeper flavor to the caramelized onions.
- Cabbage – If you don’t want to buy a giant head of cabbage most grocery stores will cut it in half for you to cut down on waste. I use a mandolin to shave the cabbage thinly. I find this gives the slaw the best texture in the creamy mayo, sour cream and apple cider vinegar sauce.
- Flour tortillas – You can either buy pre-made tortillas or use my recipe and make homemade flour tortillas for the best fresh texture.
How to Make Corned Beef Tacos (Step-by-Step with Photos)
Step 1: Cook onions.
Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the butter and allow to melt then add the onions to the pan and stir to coat. Sauté the onions until they are soft and tender, about 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the sugar, stirring to combine.
Step 2: Add Guinness.
Cover and continue to cook the onions, checking about every 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are dark in color and caramelized, about 30 minutes. The exact time may vary depending on the onions. Add the Guinness beer to deglaze the pan and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 3: Mix dressing for slaw.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream and apple cider vinegar.
Step 4: Make slaw.
Add the cabbage and carrots, tossing to combine and evenly coat in the mixture. Set the coleslaw aside until ready to serve.
Step 5: Crisp cheese on tortillas.
Heat a large cast iron pan over medium heat. Add about ¼ of cheese to the pan in a circle no larger than the tortilla. Add 1 tortilla over the cheese and cook until the cheese is crispy, about 1 minute. Use a metal spatula to lift the cheesy tortilla to a platter or plate. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and cheese.
Step 6: Assemble and serve tacos.
Top each top with a scoop of the corned beef, caramelized onions and the slaw mixture. Serve immediately.
Swaps and Substitutions
- You can omit the melted cheese on the tortillas if desired and either add shredded over the top of the tacos or omit it entirely.
- If you can’t find brined corned beef and don’t want to take the time to make your own, deli-sliced corned beef can be used in place of the cooked cubes of corned beef.
- For a lighter vinegar-based slaw, omit the sour cream and mayonnaise.
- You can also use corn tortillas though I prefer flour for this recipe.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this corned beef taco recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:
Corned Beef Tacos with Guinness Caramelized Onions
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Ingredients:
Guinness caramelized onions:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup Guinness or other stout beer
For the creamy slaw:
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- ¼ cup shredded carrots
- Kosher salt, as needed
For assembling the tacos:
- 8 medium flour tortillas, warmed
- 2½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 1½ pounds Cooked Corned beef brisket chopped into ½” cubes
Instructions:
Guinness caramelized onions:
- Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the butter and allow to melt then add the onions to the pan and stir to coat. Sauté the onions until they are soft and tender, about 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the sugar, stirring to combine.
- Cover and continue to cook the onions, checking about every 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are dark in color and caramelized, about 30 minutes. The exact time may vary depending on the onions. Add the Guinness to deglaze the pan and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the creamy slaw:
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the cabbage and carrots, tossing to combine and evenly coat in the mixture.
To assemble the tacos:
- Heat a large cast iron pan over medium heat. Add about ¼ of cheese to the pan in a circle no larger than the tortilla. Add 1 tortilla over the cheese and cook until the cheese is crispy, about 1 minute. Use a metal spatula to lift the cheesy tortilla to a platter or plate. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and cheese.
- Top each top with a scoop of the corned beef, caramelized onions and the slaw mixture. Serve immediately.
Nutrition:
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