WHY THIS TACOS WITH GROUND BEEF RECIPE WORKS
Commercial tacos with ground beef kits are convenient, but the seasoning packets taste dusty and flat, and the shells are short on flavor and prone to cracking. Frying your own shells results in great taste and texture, but the process is tedious and messy. Instead, we made crispy tacos dorados (tacos Mexico), a Mexican preparation in which corn tortillas are stuffed with a beef filling before being folded in half and fried. The tacos are then opened like books and loaded with garnishes. We first tossed ground beef with a bit of baking soda to help it stay juicy before adding it to a good base of sautéed onion, spices, and tomato paste. Next, we stirred in some shredded cheese to make the filling more cohesive. To build the tacos with ground beef, we brushed corn tortillas with oil, warmed them in the oven to make them pliable, and stuffed them with the filling. Finally, we pan-fried the tacos in two batches until they were super crispy and golden.
GATHER YOUR CRISPY TACOS INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 ounces 90 percent lean ground beef
- 7 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder Salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
- 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Chopped tomato
- Sour cream
- pickled jalapeño slices
- Hot sauce
KEY EQUIPMENT
- Kitchen Tongs
- Wire Racks
- Rimmed Baking Sheets
- 12-Inch Nonstick Skillets
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Arrange the tacos, so they face the same direction in the skillet to make them easy to fit and flip. To ensure crispy tacos, cook the tortillas until they are deeply browned. To garnish, open each taco like a book and load it with your preferred toppings; close it to eat.
CRISPY TACOS INSTRUCTIONS
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine water and baking soda in a large bowl. Add ground beef and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
To make tacos with ground beef, Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, occasionally stirring, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, frequently stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook until its rust-colored 1 to 2 minutes. Add beef mixture and cook, using a rubber spatula to break meat into pieces no larger than ¼ inch, until beef is no longer pink 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer ground beef mixture to bowl; stir in cheddar until cheese has melted and the mixture is homogeneous. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
To make crispy tacos brush both sides of tortillas with 2 tablespoons oil. Arrange tortillas tacos, overlapping, on a rimmed baking sheet in 2 rows (6 tortillas each). Bake until tortillas are warm and pliable, about 5 minutes. Remove tortillas from oven and reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.
Place 2 tablespoons filling on 1 side of 1 tortilla. Fold and press to close tortilla (edges will be open, but tortilla will remain folded). Repeat with remaining tortillas and remaining filling. (At this point, filled tortillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours.)
Set wire rack in a second rimmed baking sheet and line rack with a double layer of paper towels. Heat remaining ¼ cup oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Arrange 6 crispy tacos in a skillet with open sides facing away from you. Cook, adjusting the heat, so oil actively sizzles and bubbles appear around edges of tacos until tacos are crispy and deeply browned on 1 side, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs and thin spatula, carefully flip tacos. Cook until deeply browned on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.
Remove skillet from heat and transfer crispy tacos to prepared wire rack. Blot tops of tacos with a double layer of paper towels. Place sheet with fried tacos in the oven to keep warm. Return skillet to medium-high heat and cook remaining tacos. Serve crispy tacos immediately, passing extra cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, jalapeños, and hot sauce separately.
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