RCP: Beef Tacos from America's Test Kitchen

Beef Tacos

SERVES 4
Beef Tacos

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder ( I use one T. of Chipotle and one of Ancho)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
1 lb lean ground beef ( I used an organic, lean beef)
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce (not pasta sauce)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
8 taco shells
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until simmering.
2. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, spices, and 1 teaspoon salt.
4. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Stir in the ground beef.
6. Cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, and sugar.
8. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
9. Season with salt to taste.
10. Divide the filling evenly among taco shells and serve, passing any desired accompaniments separately.

They recommend using home made , fried corn taco shells. I used a thin corn tortilla from Trader Joe's as the book said that in their testing, thin was best. Also, 90 per cent lean gr. beef.
Cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and avocados are, in their opinion, essential as toppings. We use sharp cheddar, and Monterey Jack.
We love Lindy's red taco sauce and Fontera Chipotle as our choice of sauce topping

I was very impressed with this recipe, I love the complexity of the flavors, and the heat, that bites you when you least expect it

[Jenise]

Sugar? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Jenise]

Okay, that was mock horror, but still--sugar? Something that bothers me a little about the Cooks Illustrated folks is a tendency to--what's the word I want, Americanize? Ok, I'll go with that, AMERICANIZE--ethnic foods. Now I have no doubt that this recipe is very tasty--in fact, if you skip the coriander, vinegar and sugar and if you add a bit of cornmeal to thicken the mix and absorb/hold in any cooking juices you'll have the taco filling I grew up on and is for me MAJOR comfort food--but when you add vinegar and sugar to tomato sauce you've essentially added ketchup which, of course, would never happen in Sonora no matter how tasty.

Anyway, sorry about the rant.

Re the taco shells, have you ever tried making a dry taco shell in a cast iron skillet? Heat two at a time in the skillet--they'll soften each other better than one softens alone--then fold each in half and leave them in the skillet until they stiffen up and start to char a bit (which is an incredible flavor enhancement). With a pair of tongs in hand, you can kind of hold the top halves up a bit to get a better taco shape. When the bottom's stiff, flip over and stiffen the other side. Toss the done ones onto the bare rack of a warm oven to hold until you've got them all made. Really tasty, and no added fat from frying (though boy do I love them fried!).

'vive la différence'...so many recipes, for the same thing, each ethnic group has their own versions, as does each family. The recipe my family used was given to us by a Mexican family when we lived in San Diego. It is still the one I use the most for our family tacos. It is very simple; browned gr. beef, fresh diced garlic, fresh diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. My mother would use tomato sauce in the winter when the garden toms were not available. I always use tomato sauce, and add fresh made salsa at the end of cooking, which is my tweak that has been passed on to my kids. My cousin was taught to add one small grated red potato by her Spanish friend, and my housekeeper makes her tacos with ground tongue! Have you ever heard of the gr. tongue?

[Jenise]

'vive la différence'...so many recipes, for the same thing, each ethnic group has their own versions, as does each family. The recipe my family used was given to us by a Mexican family when we lived in San Diego. It is still the one I use the most for our family tacos. It is very simple; browned gr. beef, fresh diced garlic, fresh diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. My mother would use tomato sauce in the winter when the garden toms were not available. I always use tomato sauce, and add fresh made salsa at the end of cooking, which is my tweak that has been passed on to my kids. My cousin was taught to add one small grated red potato by her Spanish friend, and my housekeeper makes her tacos with ground tongue! Have you ever heard of the gr. tongue?

You're right, there are a zillion great taco recipes in this world. There is no one right way--I was just ragging on Cooks for their lack of interest in authenticity which as I said takes nothing away from how tasty these would be. (They once had an article on how to make pot stickers that laughably all wrong--and I don't mean the recipe, but their idea of perfection in which they wanted to press out all the free space so it was flat like a ravioli). You jogged a memory: the first tacos I ever had in a Mexican family's home (and I mean the mother hardly spoke English) were made with canned roast beef which was shredded and combined with diced potato and sliced fresh jalapenos. The seasoning was salt and a bit of dried oregano. The only topping was shredded lettuce. Up until then the only tacos I ever had were my mom's, Taco Bell and Mexican restaurant tacos, and Mrs. Cisneros' were in a whole 'nother ball park with the fresh potato and green chile than anything I'd ever had before. I was in love! I still make them that way, sometimes--well, using some leftover pot roast, that is.

Sometimes, though, a little sugar is good, such as browning steaks, balancing acidity, etc.

Thanks for posting this recipe Karen. Were you able to get the organic ground beef to brown properly? I've had trouble getting the "regular" ground beef to brown. I know you have mentioned that as well.

I still make them that way, sometimes--well, using some leftover pot roast, that is.

Jenise, would you describe how you go about making tacos from left over pot roast?When we make pot roast it seams there is always more left over than we can use in sandwiches and tacos would be a good use of it. Just guessing though I would think that you just shred it and then treat it as you would burger except less cooking required? TIA.

Thanks for posting this recipe Karen. Were you able to get the organic ground beef to brown properly? I've had trouble getting the "regular" ground beef to brown. I know you have mentioned that as well.

I did get the organic beef to brown well. I have a new All Clad pan that is the new d5 technology and I am loving it. So is my husband....the clean up guy!
The beef came from Prather Ranch and is very popular in this area.

[Jenise]

I still make them that way, sometimes--well, using some leftover pot roast, that is.

Jenise, would you describe how you go about making tacos from left over pot roast?When we make pot roast it seams there is always more left over than we can use in sandwiches and tacos would be a good use of it. Just guessing though I would think that you just shred it and then treat it as you would burger except less cooking required? TIA.

Sure, Bob. And you're on the right track--essentially, since your meat's already cooked there's no cooking needed for that. And since the meat's already cooked, it works best if the potatoes are partially pre-cooked (poached for 3-5 minutes in simmering water) at the outset too. Loosely, to make enough for you and Mrs. H, plan on about one to one and a half cups of shredded meat to one cup of diced potatoes to one jalapeno. Then heat a bit of oil in a skillet, add the potatoes and fry to crisp them up just a bit and finish cooking, then add the beef, chopped jalapeno and, oh, a generous half a teaspoon of dried oregano crushed in your fingers as it goes in the pan. Season with salt and pepper if needed, then drizzle in a bit, maybe quarter of a cup of leftover gravy, beef or chicken broth--you're looking for just enough moisture to encourage your filling to stick together such that it stays together in your taco and bits don't roll out on you. And though I'm partial to the fresh green pepper taste of jalapeno in this prep, I know you've got a freezer full of Hatch green chiles and those would be a delicious substitute. Better yet: use the jalapeno in your filling, then separately make a bright and spicy pico de gallo with diced roasted chiles, diced white onion and chopped cilantro tossed with just salt, vinegar and a little oil and use that as your salsa!

I like Cynthia's recipe posted here: http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19230&p=164428.