Ground Beef Tacos

Tacos – fry up some ground beef, add a seasoning packet, chop some lettuce and tomatoes, and open a package of taco shells. Right? Well, I thought that too until I tried this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. They explain why lean beef is better, why you use tomato sauce and vinegar, and why iceberg lettuce is best in tacos. But I just found this takes regular ol’ tacos to a whole new level. The extra time with the meat is truly worth it – these are great tacos!

 

Ground Beef Tacos

Meat filling:

2 tsp. vegetable oil or corn oil

1 small onion, chopped fine

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (I used our mixture of ground elk and antelope)

½ c. canned tomato sauce

½ c. chicken broth

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until shimmering – about 2 minutes.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.

 

 

Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cayenne, and ½ tsp. salt; cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.

 

 

Add ground meat and cook, breaking meat up and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, until beef is no longer pink – about 5 minutes.

 

 

Add tomato sauce, broth, vinegar and sugar; bring to simmer.

 

 

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently and breaking up meat, unto liquid has reduced and thickened (mixture should not be completely dry), about 10 minutes.

 

 

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You can fry some corn tortillas (recommended) or fry a flour tortilla and serve these tostada style.

Suggested toppings:

Cheddar cheese

Monterey Jack cheese

Pepper Jack cheese

Shredded iceberg lettuce

Chopped fresh tomatoes

Sour cream

Avocado

Chopped onion

Minced cilantro

Hot sauce 

Oh, yum! Such a wonderful, easy, comfort meal!