Korean Beef Tacos

These tacos are goooooood for hungry boys/men/whatever mouths you have open in your home. I made them this summer when my little (actually rather large and muscular) brother Spencer lived with Ben and me for 2 weeks. He shared his work-out habits; we shared our table. 

Recipe fairly verbatim from http://www.mylifeasamrs.com/2011/09/crockpot-korean-beef-tacos.html which I discovered through tastespotting.com (aka food porn). 

For the Cucumber Slaw:


2 hot house cucumber (the wrapped seedless kind)


4 teaspoons rice vinegar


1 teaspoon sugar


2 pinches of salt


crushed red pepper flakes to taste

For the Korean Beef:


6 1/2 pounds (roughly) beef back ribs or short ribs

1 1/2 cups soy sauce


1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar


10 cloves garlic, grated

4 tablespoons grated ginger


6 tablespoons rice vinegar


2 tablespoons dark sesame oil


2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

For the tacos:


small flour tortillas


cilantro


sriracha

For the Cucumber Slaw:
Slice cucumbers as thin as you can get them (I used a mandoline slicer to help, but it's not necessary) and place in a bowl. Add the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and crushed red pepper; toss to combine. Set aside until ready to use. You can make these the night before if desired!

For the Korean Beef:
 Spray a 7 quart slow cooker base with non-stick cooking spray and add the beef back ribs. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until combined; pour over the ribs. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. I rotated the ribs on my lunch break and also used a turkey baster to do a quick baste on the ribs with (the majority of the ribs will be submerged in the sauce & juices). When ready to serve, take out of crockpot, remove bones, and shred.

For the tacos:

Warm tortillas in the microwave. Add shredded beef, cucumber slaw, and cilanto. If you are feeling extra frisky, drizzle on some sriracha for a nice kick!