Taco Tuesday

Do you ever wonder how Mexican restaurants get their taco meat to have a completely different taste and texture, to the stuff that we all seem to make at home?
Well it was only after my husband worked at a Mexican restaurant, that he was able to observe a few simple tips and tricks that made ALL the difference.

Let’s be honest, most of us used to by the store bought packet seasoning, would brown the ground beef and add the packet seasoning with a little water…right?
And what we would end up with is a coarse textured, fairly salty, and pretty greasy brownish-red looking taco meat.  Again, nothing like the fine textured, flavorful taco meat with not a trace of grease, that we enjoy from our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Tip #1:  Make your own taco seasoning, not only can you make it more authentic, but you can also make sure it’s keto friendly.

Tip #2:  Don’t brown the ground meat.  The biggest surprise I got, was that the meat was boiled with the seasonings in stock or water, and NEVER browned.  This does a number of things;  It gives you that nice fine texture, it also gives the meat a lovely seasoned taste without being upfront and in your face.  And Lastly, it allows you the ability to remove the grease.

You can also use the taco meat in these other great recipes:

• TACO BELL INPIRED MEXICAN PIZZA
• TACO SOUP
• TAMALE PIE

For the taco shells we used a refrigerated product called Folios Cheddar Cheese Wraps;  And as you can see, they cook up into a corn taco shell alternative nicely.  If you cant find these in your local store, you can always sprinkle some grated sharp cheddar cheese onto some parchment paper, and bake your own.

TACO MEAT INGREDIENTS:

• 2     pounds ground beef
• 4     cups beef stock or water
• 1/2  onion (finely diced)
• 1/2  green pepper (finely diced)

TACO SEASONING:

• 2     TBSP chili powder
• 4.5  tsp our Sazon Recipe or 3 sachets of GOYA Sazon (If it doesn’t offend your keto)
• 1     tsp our Adobo Seasoning Recipe or GOYA Adobo Seasoning
• 1     tsp garlic powder
• 1     tsp cumin
• 1     tsp paprika

*** OR IF YOU’VE MADE OUR TACO SEASONING IN BULK – USE 2.25 TBSP PER POUND OF MEAT ***

TACO MEAT INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix together ALL dry spices
2. In a large saucepan add ground beef, the spices and 2 cups of stock and stir until combined.
3. Turn heat on med/high, add the last 2 cups of stock and bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer.
4. Let the taco meat lightly simmer for about 45 mins to an hour.  Use a potato masher to break up the meat every 15 mins.  Doing this will give you very fine textured meat.   ** Always be sure that the liquid is fully covering the meat, if it goes below, just top it up with a little extra water or stock**
5. After an hour, add the onion and peppers and let simmer for another 30 mins.
6. Strain the taco meat and let drain until no more liquid is being released, feel free to press down on the mixture to extract all liquid.  Save about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
7. Add meat back to saucepan and add just enough liquid back into the meat to lightly moisten it.
8. SERVE taco meat in the Cheddar Taco Shells along with your favorite taco condiments!

AMAZON ASSOCIATES