Crispy Ground Beef Tacos Recipe

by lebowski

176K6621

Intro: Crispy Ground Beef Tacos Recipe

Tacos have been one of the few things I do well and that's probably because I've been making them since I was a teenager. In this recipe I'll also show you how easy it is to make crispy taco shells. Nobody should ever have to suffer through store bought crispy shells. You can also replace the beef with diced up chicken breast.

Here's what you'll need. This makes about 10 tacos. Cook and prep time is about 45 minutes.

1lb ground beef
1 med. onion
1 container of fresh salsa (mild/med/hot your choice)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1-2 tomatoes
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
1 head of lettuce
1 package of corn tortillas (12 count)
1 cup of vegetable oil (enough to fill your fry pan about 1/2 inch)
1 can refried beans (if you want to stretch your beef to make more tacos)

I'm hungry already, it must be lunch time.

STEP 1: Start Cooking Beef + Onions

Chop of the onions as small as you like.

Add onions and ground beef to largish fry pan.

Put them on medium heat and mix them up.

STEP 2: Add Salsa and Cumin

Once the beef is browned.

Add 1 teaspon of cumin.

Add all of the fresh salsa.

Mix and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Do not cover. You don't want it too wet at the end, but it will be juicy.

STEP 3: Get Cheese, Tomatoes and Lettuce Ready

Grate your cheese.

Sharpen your knife. Cut up the tomatoes.

Wash and dry your lettuce.

STEP 4: Make the Taco Shells

Pour your vegetable oil in an 8" fry pan.

Put it on med/low heat. You can test if it's ready by putting a small dash of water from your finger and if it starts popping, you're ready.

Each tortilla will only take a couple of minutes to cook.

Place a tortilla in the oil, after a minute or so, flip it, then take it out. You'll have to experiment to see how crispy you like your shells, the longer you cook them, the crispier they will get. If you make them way ahead of time, don't make them too crispy, then you can warm them in the oven just before you're ready to eat without them getting too hard.

Place your shells on a paper grocery bag or a bunch of paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

STEP 5: Garnish and Serve

Now put your tacos together with quantities that fit your appetite.

Put in the beef.

Then the cheese.

Then the tomatoes.

Then the lettuce.

STEP 6: Enjoy!

My favorite step, beer and tacos. It's usually my second as I can't resist having one while I'm cooking.

If you were thinking ahead, you would already have a beer glass in the freezer.

20 Comments

sunshiine 11 years ago

Yay Tacos! I could eat them 5 days a week!

Mister Owl 15 years ago

Don't use water to test if the oil is hot enough unless you want to get popped and possibly burned. Use a tiny amount of your ground beef mixture.

Kimroseann 13 years ago

actually there's an easier way to test if your oil is hot pinch a little salt in the oil if reacts it's hot!

TexanBuilder 14 years ago

JLMS, Just because it doesn't perfectly resemble a traditional Mexican taco, who says it's not good to eat? I've worked in tex-mex restaurants for years, and almost every dish served is different than it's traditional counterpart. Most of the differences occur because of the availability of ingredients. For example, many traditional Mexican dishes didn't use Cilantro, but it's a staple of modern tex-mex.. All I'm saying, is don't hate on tasty food just because it's not traditional..

WILL62 14 years ago

you're right on with the cumin......b-b-but where's the GARLIC?

Akiro 15 years ago

se ven ricos lo unico es que esas tortillas parecen tostadas

Akiro 15 years ago

im mexican dude i never ear tacos dorados but your recipe its gooooood i wanna make it

GlennD 15 years ago

going to try this some time when i need to cook for my self ! look tasty !

jlms 15 years ago

Tortillas in Mexico are never offered fried and open as shown. You either fill them, roll them and then fry them (yes, with the filling already inside) or just heat them up in a flat pan and then fill them up, so they remain soft. The first kind of taco are generically called "tacos dorados" ( golden or crispy tacos). Alternatively you can fry the tortilla while flat, and then put the ingredients of your dish on top. This is called a tostada and is very common. I don't know why companies selling Mexican inspired ingredients sell these folded, fried tortillas that do not resemble any of the original preparations back in Mexico.

ThinkBeforeYouSpeak 15 years ago

Have you ever had tomatoes with sea salt and balsamic vinegar? its the best.

maxidaxi 15 years ago

well now i'm really hungry! it's way past midnight and I'm not supposed to eat late,but i have all the ingredients already,plus my favorite sour cream,so I have no other option but to get up and cook,Your recipe has me absolutely drooling,I can't wait to try these right now.

mg0930mg 15 years ago

I don't like tomatoes. :P However, we do this alot just no tomatoes.

jessyratfink 15 years ago

These look amazing. Very simple, too. :D

lebowski 15 years ago

Thanks! My friends and family swear by them.