Taco Meat
Seasoned ground beef built from whole spices rather than a packet, simmered with broth so it stays saucy instead of drying into crumbles. Toasting the spices in the rendered fat is what makes the difference. It holds well and reheats without turning to gravel.
- Prep10 min
- Cook25 min
- Total35 min
- Serves6
AI-generated illustration
Contains:meat
Ingredients
Method
- Brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat, 6 to 7 minutes, pressing it flat and letting it crust before breaking it up. Ground beef should reach 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), which happens well within this browning.
- Add the chopped onion and cook 5 minutes until soft, then the minced garlic for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper and cook 1 minute in the hot fat, until the mixture smells strongly toasted and the spices darken.
- Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more, stirring so it coats the meat and loses its raw edge.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the beef broth, pour it in, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens into a sauce that clings to the meat with just a little pooling at the edges.
- Take the pan off the heat, stir in the fresh lime juice, and taste for salt before filling tortillas.
Notes
- Eighty-five percent lean beef gives the best balance; leaner than that and there is not enough fat to bloom the spices.
- The blend can be mixed dry in quadruple quantity and kept in a jar, using 3 tablespoons per pound and a half of meat.
