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Cabeza—or beef cheek—tacos are some of the best things this planet has to offer as food. I ate so many of these and other tacos growing up in both L.A. and Orange County that it became part of me and, in a way, prepared me to cook my own tacos. Splash some salsa verde on there, and that's it: SoCal, and especially L.A., on a plate.

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 orange
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup whole dried chiles de árbol
• 1 1/2 whole dried guajillo chiles
• 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 quarts water
• 1 pound beef cheeks, cleaned (ask your butcher to do this for you)
• 1 1/2 tomatillos, charred
• 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 serrano chiles, with seeds
• 1 1/2 jalapeños peppers with seeds, charred
• 2 1/2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped scallions, charred
• 1/2 cup natural rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 8 to 10 corn tortillas
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Chopped white onion
• Chopped cilantro

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