Extra Ground Beef Cards Thats Not What I Wanted to Shoot

Great Mexican for all—taco Tuesday will never be the same. Once you have the best taco meat, make the best tacos or excellent nachos, or use it in many other ways.

Introduction

The best beef tacos require the best ground beef taco meat—and it doesn't come in an envelope or ever dry homemade taco seasoning—you need some tomato and aromatics to get the best flavor. There is nothing like taco Tuesday or a full plate of nachos.

This is a modified and simplified Cooks Illustrated recipe that tastes better than any ground beef taco meat you've ever eaten.

You will never open commercial taco seasoning packets again. You can make tacos in less than 25 minutes for weeknight dinners or parties in about the same work and use what you already have in your pantry. Just follow the easy step-by-step instructions.

My Rating

An easy 5. I have done it over and over. And it is tough to stop eating and save the leftovers for tomorrow.

🐄Ingredients for Ground Beef Tacos

The Meat

This recipe uses standard 80/20 ground beef. Lean ground beef tends to be a bit dry—the fat will add taste and moisture. The fat is mainly rendered during cooking and drained before adding the spices.

Since the spices are intense in this recipe, if you use another ground meat like turkey or chicken, most people will not know unless told.

Spicing

This is about a 3/10 spicy when using one teaspoon of cumin and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne. Adjust to your taste. Go to 2 teaspoons of cumin, and ½ teaspoon of cayenne will get you to 6/10.

I suggest using fresh onion and garlic if you can for this recipe. If you must, use onion powder, about 1 tablespoon for a medium to a large onion. And ½ teaspoon of garlic powder for the 4 cloves of garlic.

Tomatoes

Excellent taco meat needs some tomato taste, and a good quality tomato sauce is the best choice. Crushed or diced tomatoes could be used. Some recipes will use salsa, but you must account for the spicing.

The cheaper generic sauce tends to be very acid-tasting, and you might need a teaspoon or two of sugar to counter that.

👨‍🍳How To Make the Best Ground Beef Taco Meat

Chop a medium onion.
Add the meat and the onion to a large non-reactive skillet over medium-high heat. While the meat and onion are cooking, prep garlic, and measure spices.
Cook until the burger has no pink which is usually 8-10 minutes. Push the meat aside in the center of the pan and add the garlic and cook 1 minute to bloom the garlic. Drain excess grease.
Add the spices and tomato sauce. Turn the heat to medium and simmer another 5 minutes until the sauce is incorporated.
Serve as tacos, nachos, or any way you like.

🍽️How to Make the Best Tacos and Nachos

For tacos, use the hard taco shells, but usually, soft tacos are made with corn tortillas or soft flour tortillas. With corn tortillas, I like to give them a short sear in hot oil to add a slight browning and soften for easier serving.

How to top tacos or nachos?

Everybody will have their favorite taco toppings. I'm a fan of shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese mixture. Add a good dab of sour cream along with some salsa or pico de Gallo.

If I have them on hand, chopped tomatoes or shredded lettuce, slices of avocado, and sliced green onions are good additions.

Cilantro is frequently added, but some people (my wife and I) will find cilantro tastes like licorice.

What side dishes to serve with tacos or nachos?

Mexican rice, guacamole, refried beans, and black beans are favorites. The usual chips and salsa are also a great side dish, especially Pineapple Mango Salsa.

Can I use a cast-iron skillet?

Cast-iron is "reactive," and heating an acid like tomatoes will lead to the metal reacting with the food. A non-reactive skillet like non-stick or stainless steel is the better choice.

❄️Storage

It is an easy recipe to adjust to the amount you want, but I frequently do 3 pounds, but it stores well.

It is good in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and freezes well for 3 to 4 months.

🇲🇽Mexican Recipes

Mexican Shredded Chicken in a Crock Pot

Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef

Chili Nachos

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Roundup

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Note: Images are from several days, so the pans may vary.

This is what you need, plus your meat, fresh garlic, and onion. Garlic powder and onion powder can be substituted.

Chop a medium onion.

Add the meat and the onion to a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

While the meat and onion are cooking, prep the garlic and measure the spices.

Cook until the burger has no pink, usually 8-10 minutes. Push the meat aside in the pan, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute to bloom the garlic. Drain the fatty drainage well.

Add the spices and tomato sauce. Turn the heat to medium and cook another 5 minutes until the sauce is incorporated.

Serve in tacos, nachos, or on a salad.

📖Recipe

taco meat on nachos

The Best Ground Beef Taco Meat in 25 Minutes

Great Mexican for all—taco Tuesday will never be the same. Once you have the best taco meat, make the best tacos or excellent nachos, or use it in many other ways.

Tap to leave a Rating

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 12

▢ 2 pounds ground beef
▢ 1 onion-medium diced - Use powered if needed
▢ 2-4 cloves garlic-crushed - Use powdered if needed

Spices

▢ 4 tablespoons chili powder
▢ 1-2 teaspoon ground cumin
▢ 1 teaspoon oregano
▢ ¼-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
▢ 8 oz tomato sauce

Chop a medium onion.
Add the meat and the onion to a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
While the meat and onion are cooking, prep the garlic, and measure the spices.
Cook until the burger has no pink, usually 8-10 minutes. Push the meat aside in the pan, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute to bloom the garlic. Drain the fatty drainage well.
Add the spices and tomato sauce. Turn the heat to medium and cook another 5 minutes until the sauce is incorporated.
Serve in tacos, nachos, or on a salad.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Pro Tips

Adjust to the amount you want in the serving area of this recipe card.
80/20 ground beef gives the best results.
You may use ground turkey or chicken. Of course, there will be a slight taste difference but the spices in this meat will dominate.
I suggest making a large amount and freezing it.
This is about a 3/10 spicy when using 1 teaspoon of cumin and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne. Adjust to your taste.
Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and freezes well for 3-4 months

My Old Method

The previous version of this recipe. Fussier with only a slightly different taste.

Cook onion in 2 teaspoons of oil until clearing.
Add the garlic and dry spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes to bloom the spices.
Add the meat, break up and cook until no pink. Use lower-fat meat to decrease drainage.
Drain.
Add tomato sauce. 2 teaspoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Cook for about another 5 minutes until incorporated.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : Mexican

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Originally Published May 6, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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Source: https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/spicy-taco-meat-less-than-25-minutes/