Taco Meat

Taco meat is quick and easy and I have used it in a million things! We usually make tacos on Thursdays, so on the weekend I have some meat as a leftover. I have put it in pizza, calzones, sushi, dim sum and so much more! Because of this, I need to repeat the recipe over and over again. Well not any longer, here it is.

Sauté onions and jalapenos in a tiny bit of oil and some salt and pepper.

Spread them out to make a big hole in the middle, then drop your salted ground beef straight on the hot pan. Don't touch it for 5 minutes! Then start stirring and mixing everything together.

When the meat is almost fully cooked, there will be a lot of fat in the pan. I used to fully drain this in a strainer, but now I just put all the beef to one side, tip the pan, and spoon out the fat. It makes life much easier! Now here is a secret of mine. Add the garlic now instead of earlier with the onions. If you add it with the onions, all of the flavor will be in the fat you drain off! Sauté this for 2 minutes. Next add water and the spices and stir well.

Cook on high until the water fully evaporates.

1 lb ground beef, salted 10 minutes before cooking
½ onion diced
2 jalapeños diced and seeds removed. Keep some seeds to make it spicier if you want.
1 clove garlic minced.
I never measure this but I am going to say...
Tablespoon chipotle sauce or one chipotle in adobo diced
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons Mexican chile powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
Taste taste taste!

Again:
Sauté onions and jalapenos in a tiny bit of oil and some salt and pepper.
Spread them out to make a large hole in the middle, then drop your salted ground beef straight on the hot pan. Don't touch it for 5 minutes! Then start stirring and mixing everything together.
When the meat is almost fully cooked, there will be a lot of fat in the pan. I used to fully drain this in a strainer, but now I just put all the beef to one side, tip the pan, and spoon out the fat. It makes life much easier!  Here is a secret of mine. Add the garlic now instead of earlier with the onions. If you add it with the onions, all of the flavor will be in the fat you drain off! Sauté this for 2 minutes. Next add water and the spices and stir well.
Cook on high until the water fully evaporates.