StovetopMexican
Ground beef tacos
Chuck in a skillet, chile, cumin, a little tomato. Hard shells or tortillas. Not a packet and not deli beef.
Made it?
30 min · 20 min hands-on · pull 160°F
Ingredients
2 lb on the fire · ~1.4 lb to the table · 3 plates at 8 oz
- ground chuck, 80/202 lb
- onion, diced1
- chile powder1 tbsp
- cumin1 tsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- tomato sauce1/2 cup
- tortillas or shells8
- to finishonion, cilantro, lime, cotija
Method
- 1
Onion, then beef. Salt, chile, cumin. Brown hard. Tomato sauce, 3 minutes.
- 2
Tortillas. Meat, onion, cilantro, lime, cotija.
- 3
Lettuce and cheddar is a different, American taco. Fine if that is dinner. Call it that.
If you don’t have it
- ground beef → a neighboring cut on the same animal. Keep the same pull. Leaner cooks faster and dries sooner.
- ground chuck, 80/20 → What you actually have, if it is the same muscle family. Drain fat only if the pan is a lake. Some fat is the sauce.
Same cook, different day
Weeknight
Less time. Same seasoning, hotter fire, watch the probe. Do not skip the rest.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making mashed potatoes.
Start when the roast has 30 minutes left, or while a steak rests. Russets, salted water, drain hard. Rice or mash. Butter first, then warm cream. Do not put them on the fire — they want a pot.
35 min
- With this dish, try making petite roasted potatoes.
Same pan as a roast or chicken. Or a sheet next to chops. Halve, oil, salt, rosemary. 425°F cut-side down until the faces brown. Toss in the meat drippings at the end.
40 min