Gordon Ramsay’s beef tacos recipe is sirloin steaks seared then cooled in a miso and mirin marinade, wrapped in charred corn tortillas with quick pickled cabbage and wasabi mayo. From his Ultimate Cookery Course, the whole thing takes about 20 minutes.
The twist is reverse marination. Ramsay writes “normally, meat is marinated before cooking, but here you cook the steak and then let it cool in the marinade to absorb all that flavour.” In the video he explains miso paste is “a fermented soybean that gives a really nice sort of rich sweetness,” and the steaks can sit in it for up to four days.
Charring the tortillas over an open flame and rolling them around a rolling pin while hot is what gives them the taco shape. Ramsay says “literally 30 seconds as it cools down” and the shell sets. Without this step they stay flat and the filling slides out.
Gordon Ramsay Beef Tacos with Wasabi Mayo
Course: DinnerCuisine: Japanese-MexicanDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes10
minutes659
kcal20
minutesBeef tacos with wasabi mayo from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course. Sirloin reverse-marinated in miso and mirin after cooking, with quick pickled Chinese cabbage and wasabi mayo in charred corn tortillas. 659 calories per serving.
Ingredients
- For the steaks:
2 beef sirloin steaks
Olive oil for frying
6-8 small (14cm / 5.5 inch) corn tortillas
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the marinade:
2 tbsp light miso paste
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
- For the quick pickled cabbage:
½ head of Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
1-1½ tbsp rice vinegar or lemon juice
½ tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- For the wasabi mayo:
½ tsp wasabi, to taste
2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
Directions
- Make the marinade: Mix the miso paste, mirin, sugar and olive oil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of water if it needs loosening.
- Sear the steaks: Leave the fat on to stop them drying out. Season well and fry in a hot oiled pan for 2-3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Tip the steaks onto their sides to render the fat until golden and crisp. Baste as you cook.
- Reverse marinate: Remove the steaks, cut off the fat and place them straight into the marinade, coating all sides. Leave to rest, spooning the marinade over now and again.
- Pickle the cabbage: Shred the Chinese cabbage into a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Add rice vinegar, sesame oil and chilli flakes. Toss and leave to soften for a couple of minutes.
- Make the wasabi mayo: Mix the wasabi and mayonnaise together. Taste and add more wasabi if you like it stronger.
- Char the tortillas: Heat each tortilla for 30-60 seconds over a naked gas flame until charred and lightly toasted. Roll around a rolling pin while still hot and hold until cooled to set the half-moon taco shape. Use a dry pan if you don’t have gas.
- Assemble: Drain the beef of excess marinade, slice into strips and place in the tacos. Top with pickled cabbage (drained) and a drizzle of wasabi mayo.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay marinate the steak after cooking?
Most recipes marinate raw meat, but Ramsay reverses the process here so the seared steak absorbs the miso and mirin while it rests. The hot meat opens up and pulls in the sweet, salty marinade much faster than cold raw beef would, which is why the flavour goes deeper in less time.
He says in the video to look for “a nice sear around the outside, just nice and pink in the middle” before transferring to the marinade. The steaks can sit for up to four days in the fridge, getting better each day. If you’re meal prepping, sear on Sunday and slice for tacos on Wednesday.
What’s the difference between these and Ramsay’s Mexican steak tacos?
These are his Asian-fusion version from the Ultimate Cookery Course: miso marinade, pickled Chinese cabbage, wasabi mayo. In Quick and Delicious he makes a completely different steak taco: bavette rubbed in cumin and chilli powder, served with pink pickled onion, pico de gallo with avocado and chipotle crema.
The UCC version is sweeter and umami-heavy from the miso. The Q&D version is classic Mexican street food with jalapeño heat and chipotle smokiness. For the full Ramsay taco spread, his spiced fish tacos from Fit Food use white fish dusted in cumin and paprika, flaked into corn tortillas with chipotle yoghurt and shredded red cabbage slaw. And his shrimp tacos from Fast Food go a different route with tequila-flambéed prawns and crème fraîche.
How do you shape corn tortillas into tacos?
Ramsay chars each tortilla over a naked gas flame for 30-60 seconds, then immediately rolls it around a rolling pin and holds it there until it cools. He says in the video to “use some tongs so it’s not to burn yourself” and the shell sets in about 30 seconds.
If you don’t have a gas hob, heat a dry frying pan to high and press the tortilla in for 30 seconds each side until it gets char spots. Then fold it around the rolling pin the same way. The key is working fast while the tortilla is still hot and flexible.
Can you use a different cut of beef?
Sirloin works here because it’s tender enough to slice thin after a quick 2-3 minute sear. In Quick and Delicious Ramsay uses bavette instead, which has more beefy flavour but needs slicing against the grain or it gets chewy.
Rump steak and flat iron both work as cheaper alternatives. Avoid anything that needs long cooking like brisket or chuck because the whole point is a fast sear followed by resting in the marinade. Ramsay says in the video “we’re looking for colour” on the steak, not slow rendering.
How spicy is the wasabi mayo?
Not very. Ramsay uses what he calls “a sort of thumbnail size” of wasabi in the video, which is roughly half a teaspoon mixed into two tablespoons of mayo. That gives a mild tingle rather than the hit you get from sushi restaurant wasabi.
The heat from wasabi fades quickly once it’s mixed into the mayo, so even if you add extra it won’t linger. The pickled cabbage with chilli flakes brings more sustained heat than the mayo does. Together they give a sharp, warm kick that cuts through the rich miso-glazed beef.
Do beef tacos keep well?
The marinated steak keeps brilliantly for up to four days in the fridge, which is exactly how Ramsay designs it. Slice cold and eat at room temperature or warm the slices briefly in a dry pan. The miso marinade actually improves with time as the flavour deepens.
The pickled cabbage lasts 2-3 days covered in the fridge. The wasabi mayo keeps a week. The only thing that doesn’t store is the charred tortillas, which go stale fast, so char fresh ones when you eat. For leftover marinated beef in a different direction, chop the miso-glazed slices into a smoky chilli con carne with kidney beans and tinned tomatoes the next day.
