How to Make Tacos
Learning how to make a taco is as easy as learning how to make a sandwich. In fact, in Mexico, the two words are practically synonymous: "taco" simply means a tortilla wrapped around a filling, and what's inside varies from region to region. Two of the most popular types are tacos al Pastor, filled with finely sliced pork, and tacos de pescado (fish tacos), which originate from the coastal towns.Here in the U.S., the tacos we eat are similar to tacos de asador, filled with various types of grilled meats and garnished with guacamole, cilantro, onion, and salsa. Tacos offer the perfect blend of flavors and textures -- crunchy, spicy, soft, succulent, salty, creamy, fresh.
Transcript
-Hey everyone, I'm Judith. Well Today, I'm gonna be showing
you how to make Classic Ground Beef Tacos, a really
wonderful dish to serve up at your party. So, what
you will need for this is 1 tablespoon olive oil;
1 medium onion, which we've sliced; 1-1/2 pounds of ground
beef; 1 tablespoon chili powder; 3/4 teaspoon salt;
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper; 1
can (8 ounces) of tomato sauce; 16 hard taco shells;
1-1/2 cups of iceberg lettuce, shredded; 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes,
cut into eighths; 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded; and 1/2
cup taco sauce. Fantastic, alright, so we have our skillet
here. We're gonna put that to a medium heat
and we're just gonna add in our oil first of
all, so in that goes, get the skillet nice and
hot. So, the first thing we wanna add into our
skillet for our tacos is the sliced onions. So, they're
gonna go in there. Watch because it's hot, fantastic. So,
they're gonna cook for about 3 minutes until they get
nice and soft. So, our onions have been getting nice
and tender
for about 3 minutes. Now, we're gonna add in our
ground beef. So, just be careful because it's hot, but
get a wooden spoon and add it in because you're
gonna have to break it apart with your spoon, just
add it all in, there we go. So, with your
wood spoon, get those muscles going. You can turn down
the heat ever so slightly if you need to,
and break up that ground beef. So, we wanna cook
the ground beef until it's no longer pink, so about
5 to 7 minutes should be good. So, meanwhile, as
your ground beef is cooking, we're gonna heat up these
taco shells for 5 minutes in an oven at 375
degrees Fahrenheit. So, our ground beef is cooked through. So,
now it's time to add in our lovely spices. And
they go,
and that will just give a really, really nice kick
to our tacos of course. The classic Mexican Taco always
has a little bit of spice. So, we'll sprinkle it
on there, add in the cumin and a little bit
of salt on that too, fantastic. So, we'll give that
a stir for about a minute, get all of those
spices nicely envelop
into the ground beef and those onions as you can
see they are nice long strings. They are gonna be
really, really nice and soft, perfect. So, that's mixed through.
So, now it's time to add in our tomato sauce.
So, and it goes like so, then we're gonna bring
the heat up to boiling,
so let that sauce get nice and hot, get it
boiling, stir that through. Oh, that's looking so good already.
I could eat that from the pan. Once, it's now
brought to a boiling. As you can see, it's bubbling
up, we're gonna take it down again to a medium
heat and let it cook for about 5 minutes. So,
we'll come back to it in 5 minutes.
So, our taco shells have come out of the oven
now. So, they are ready for their fillings. So this
beautiful ground beef mixture is now done tons of flavor
that lovely kick from that pepper and chilli in there
and that should be fantastic. So, we'll turn off the
heat. Let's just get a couple of our taco shells.
Now, first of all, we'll fill the taco shell just
like a spoonful
or 2 of ground beef. There we go, and then
we'll add in some nice fresh shredded lettuce at the
way, a little bit of those small tomatoes going there
too, lovely, refreshing ingredients. Then, let's put a little bit
of diced onion there too for that bite
and last but not the least some cheddar cheese. There
you go. We'll just do one more, can just sweat
to that, set back, and as I said these are
fantastic as snack. I mean if you've got some ground
beef left over just throw in a few, you know,
spices, little bit of onion and you got yourself a
dinner or nice little dish to serve at a party.
So, again, let's put in a little bit of lettuce,
some tomatoes in there too. Oh, I like to overpack
my tacos, yes I do, little bit of diced inion
and our cheese of course. If you want a little
bit more spice on your taco, you can just drizzle
on some taco sauce right on top of there. Oh,
that looks good, fantastic,
and there you are how beautiful is that. That's how
you make your Classic Ground Beef Tacos.
What You'll Need
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium-size onion, thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 16 hard taco shells (about 6-inch)
- 1-1/2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut into eighths
- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup bottled taco sauce
Step By Step
1
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add beef; cook, stirring with wooden spoon to break up, until beef is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
3
Add chili powder, salt, cumin and red pepper; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce. Bring to boiling. Lower heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4
Heat taco shells in 375 degrees F oven for about 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup meat mixture into each shell. Serve with lettuce, tomato, cheese, diced onion and taco sauce.
Even a child can learn how to make a taco, the process is so simple, but somehow getting the whole family involved in assembling their own meals inexplicably makes dinner more fun.
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