TACO 4eva

I’m back and better than ever. And what better way to bring in this “rebirth” than with tacos. Yes, I’m making tacos—but not just any tacos. I’m making the cool tacos. The tacos you wish you got instead of that $40 UberEats delivery that you drunkenly ordered after your 7th Cutwater. What makes these tacos so cool is that you’re in the house, yes, but they’re also simple. You can eat these every week and make them while you’re watching Stranger Things recaps in the background. You can make them while you pretend to work for the second half of the day. You can make them when you’re sad, mad or madly in love.

Now I’m not exactly sure when I had my first taco—it might have been at infancy. Perhaps I had them in another life as well; however, everyone knows how a taco makes them feel. They’re delicious. They’re normally light. A heavy amount of garnish and protein of choice nestled inside a beautiful corn tortilla breezes into your mouth and only improves with every bite. Tacos are life changing. I dare anyone to challenge that statement. And, because I love you all, I will be spending the entire month of July making several kinds of tacos. Club is going up on a Tuesday (and by the slim chance it’s not a Tuesday you can just pretend).

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homemade Black-american style tacos

ingredients:

beef:

• 2lb. ground beef

• 3T cumin

• 1T chili powder

• 1T ground oregano

• 2T paprika

• 1/2T ground cinnamon

• salt & pepper to taste

• 1/2T MSG (optional)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled + minced

• 2c beef stock

• 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, blended

• 2T vegetable oil

taco shells:

• 8-10 yellow corn tortillas

• 4c/32oz. vegetable oil

garnish:

• iceberg lettuce, shredded or finely chopped

• cilantro (optional) w/juice of lime

• roma tomatoes, diced + salted

• spicy crema OR salsa verde crema

• Mexican blended cheese (I got mine from TJ’s)

Helpful items:

• medium/large dutch oven

• paper towels

• baking sheets

• high-speed blender

• taco shell shaper

• taco shell holder (optional)

recipe (taco shells):

1. In a dutch oven or large pot, pour in vegetable oil and heat until it reaches 350F.

2. Gently place tortilla into taco shell shaper. Slowly place shaper into oil. Fry until desired texture is reached (mine took 3-4 minutes on each side).

3. Gently remove harden tortilla from shaper, place on paper towel covered baking sheet or wire rack and repeat.

4. Place taco shells in oven set to lowest temp to keep warm or microwave before use.

recipe (beef):

1. Place peppers into a blender. Blend until desired consistency is met—add water to make it less thick. Set aside.

2. In a dutch oven or large pot set to medium-high, heat vegetable oil until smokey and then place ground beef flatly on surface. Allow each side of ground beef to get a good sear without burning.

3. Add cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, paprika, oregano, MSG and salt & pepper to meat. Break meat up to smaller bits. Mix. Add onion. Mix. Add garlic. Mix. Make sure to scrap the bottom of the pot for that precious fond! Cook meat until nearly done.

4. Add blended peppers, beef stock, bay leaves to pot. Stir together. Cook on medium high until stock has cooked down (20-30 minutes).

assembly:

1. Place ground beef in warm taco shell. Top with tomatoes, cilantro, iceberg lettuce, spicy crema and cheese. Enjoy!