Awesome taco recipies

[jeffh4]

As per Amber's request, here's our favorite taco recipe

Key ingredients:
- Sour cream
- Roasted pineapple and habanero sauce (available at Costco)

I'm not a gigantic sour cream fan, but this combination of sweet, spicy, and cream is to die for.

The first time we tried it we added
- those thick, pillowy soft tacos (thicker than tortillas)
- pulled pork (no BBQ)
- skillet-softened peppers and onions
- cilantro
- avocado
- shredded cheddar cheese

After the first taste, I told my wife this recipe would be a welcome addition to any gourmet food truck.

[Tuyu]

Since Amber considers cheese a must, I take it she is more familiar with American tacos than authentic Mexican.

Question that must be asked:  spiciness level?

(I live in Las Vegas. There are many authentic by-Mexicans-for-Mexicans places to get tacos, and they generally start out "pretty spicy" and come with sauces that take the top of your head off.)

[Amber Williams]

Yeah.  My Wisconsin heritage demands cheese.  But I won't be all "this is bollocks!" if someone offers me a taco without cheese or something more authentic.

As for spice, I tend to find it a delicate balance. I can handle spiciness, but I don't necessarily seek it out.  Which I find is a good combination since it means if  do end up with something that defaults to spicy I can enjoy it.  I usually prefer a slower heat in that "Oh god the first 2-3 bites were so good but I need to set it down and have a drink." versus "it touched my tongue and now it's on fire."

[jeffh4]

Since Amber considers cheese a must, I take it she is more familiar with American tacos than authentic Mexican.

Question that must be asked:  spiciness level?

Gah!

Completely forgot the cheese! Fixed now (shredded cheddar)

My spiciness sensors are mostly burned out, but my wife can only tolerate mild.

She loves this sauce on crackers with cream cheese, so I'd give it a mild.

[Tuyu]

I usually prefer a slower heat in that "Oh god the first 2-3 bites were so good but I need to set it down and have a drink." versus "it touched my tongue and now it's on fire."

That's actually one of my criteria for chili. I should be able to eat half the bowl before the spice heat makes me pause. That way I know the endorphins will kick in before the end and I'll be able to enjoy the finish.

[Daymond42]

Yeah.  My Wisconsin heritage demands cheese.

As a former cheesehead myself (Kenosha, baby!!!), I whole-heartedly agree!

[Hariman]

Hmm. I'm wondering if it's possible to make Beef Stew into tacos.

Partly because I've made beef stew into "Hand Pies", which are tasty, and partly because I'm making beef stew right now.

Although... Cajun Tacos! While not true tacos due to lacking normal taco seasonings, Cajun Seasoning is delicious and deserves to have a chance!

But, yeah. Tacos are delicious. I don't make them often enough.

[Darkmoon]

If the stew has a thick enough sauce, you could layer it on soft tacos with rice and beans and it'd hold up pretty well.

As far as cajun tacos, I've made those before. They were soft tacos, and it was kind of like a jambalaya with toppings in a burrito carry case. Quite good.

My tacos tend towards a fajita diced small. Steak or chicken, sliced small and sauteed with diced: onion, mushroom, green pepper, serano pepper, tomato. I then throw in some corn, cook it all up, then season with garlic salt, smoked paprika, ancho chili and roasted cumin. Top with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, shredded pepper jack, and salsa verde.

[Damaris]

One of my favorites still has to be:

- can of corn
- can of black beans
- 1 lb of taco meat

mixed together, and topped with your choice of veggies, cheese, and sauces.

[Darkmoon]

Oh, admit it, the favorite were the greasy death tacos:

Chicken Lime Bacon tacos
2 large chicken breasts, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 package maple bacon, diced

Sautee these ingredients together, and then liberally douse with lime juice. For proper deliciousness (and to make your heart seize up), do not drain taco meat.

1 onion, diced
5 mushrooms, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 hot pepper (such as jalapeno or serano), diced

Sautee veggies into hot meat mixture, then season with chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and desired shredded cheese.

[joshofspam]

Thanks for some good recipe idea's.

[Hariman]

Steak, sliced small and sauteed

That's one of the keys to frying tasty, tender steak with almost any cut of beef.

Just slice it very small or thin, and fry it at a higher temperature.

It even works with chuck roast, which is usually very tough if fried.

[FoxFeather]

This lurker registered, only to share in zee taco. Truly, zee Taco brings us all together <3

While Tacos with cruchy shell and/or soft pitas are great, something I REALLY like to do every once in a while is Bell peppers stuffed with Taco meat (and anything else you like in your tacos). A good and easy variations on traditional Tacos, perfect if you want to make some but discover that, contrary to what you thought, you don't have any shells left =D

Just take your bell pepper, cut it in half lenghtwise, empty it out, and fill it with your favorite taco mix. Then leave it in the oven for 15 minutes or so while it cooks. I personally add the cheese at the end, so that it's melted and soft ! For more variation, use different bell pepper : Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Purple... the taste change with the look! And I bet you can do it with spicy once, if they're big and fresh enough, but I've never tried it myself. Also probably with tomatoes, but cooked tomatoes are gross, IMHO

[tikitori]

While not technically a taco, I make this all the time:

Chicken Chile Enchiladas:

Bake chicken with Baja lime marinade (preferably overnight marination) for 30-35 minutes at 400 until done. If it's a little bit pink that's okay. Don't turn off the oven.

Chop chicken to small cubes, add to a bowl. Add:

-16 oz sour cream
- 4.5 oz of canned green chilies (Usually they are already chopped)
- 2/3 can of medium enchilada sauce (10oz can)
- 6 oz of shredded mexican cheese

Mix it all up, then get 10 medium tortillas and start stuffing/burrito rolling. If you do a couple scoops each tortilla, not only do you get fat enchiladas, you get  leftovers! Sometimes I manage to fit it all...I didn't last night. It makes are great dip.

Bake them at 400 for 10 minutes. After that, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce and top with 2oz of cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes.

Done!

PS~I realize mine aren't really that saucey, so if you like *real* enchiladas, do 2 10oz cans and do one for the mix and one as a topping. We just like ours not as messy with all the flavor.

[Hariman]

This lurker registered, only to share in zee taco. Truly, zee Taco brings us all together <3

While Tacos with cruchy shell and/or soft pitas are great, something I REALLY like to do every once in a while is Bell peppers stuffed with Taco meat (and anything else you like in your tacos). A good and easy variations on traditional Tacos, perfect if you want to make some but discover that, contrary to what you thought, you don't have any shells left =D

Just take your bell pepper, cut it in half lenghtwise, empty it out, and fill it with your favorite taco mix. Then leave it in the oven for 15 minutes or so while it cooks. I personally add the cheese at the end, so that it's melted and soft ! For more variation, use different bell pepper : Green, Red, Orange, Yellow, Purple... the taste change with the look! And I bet you can do it with spicy once, if they're big and fresh enough, but I've never tried it myself. Also probably with tomatoes, but cooked tomatoes are gross, IMHO

To me, orange peppers taste the best. Anyone who hasn't tried orange peppers should take the time to try them, as they have a more enjoyable flavor than the other bell peppers.

I have a friend who has used Poblano Peppers to make spicy stuffed peppers, though I've never tried it myself. Thus, Poblano Peppers are probably also usable with tacos.

[Attic Rat]

Praise for the humble tortilla!
Yeah, just about anything you can eat with a fork can be wrapped in a tortilla and it'll taste as good or better.
You can make six sausage and egg tacos with one egg and one sausage patty--behold, the power of cheese.

I once made a chicken fried rice burrito with sriracha sauce. Fusion cuisine! 

[Scow2]

Hmm... I tend to top my tacos/burritos(Or are they soft tacos?) the same:
Ground beef+Refried beans, cheddar cheese, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, and diced tomato. Rice is optional on larger burritos, and sometimes chicken and... some sort of white sauce I can't remember... can be used instead of beef+beans as the base.

[Emerauld Drathmir]

I usually prefer a slower heat in that "Oh god the first 2-3 bites were so good but I need to set it down and have a drink." versus "it touched my tongue and now it's on fire."

That's actually one of my criteria for chili. I should be able to eat half the bowl before the spice heat makes me pause. That way I know the endorphins will kick in before the end and I'll be able to enjoy the finish.

My criteria for spicy is more like Sydney Scoville(Grrl Power), in that most of the "spicy" stuff is either bland, or vinegar.  My current fave to drizzle on tacos is Freebirds Death Sauce, as it has a nice flavour, and a decent level of heat. I've had some that claim to be spicy, and are all vinegar, or have heat, but no flavour.  If I want it hotter than that, I have Korean Chili oil in a dinky glass bottle, which I mix in with my taco meat in a separate bowl.  Being from NWI, I agree with Miss Amber regarding cheese, though if it has lots of flavour, I may leave it out to try a more authentic one.  But Tacos! 

[Starcat5]

Anyone have a good "Taco Chili" recipe? That is to say, taco ingredients in a chili, not chili in a taco shell.

[Prroul]

Anyone have a good "Taco Chili" recipe? That is to say, taco ingredients in a chili, not chili in a taco shell.

Well, that's kind of a hard thing to do, for me.

See, I'm a Texan, and we have some rather strict guidelines as to what constitutes a Chili and what is 'that yank stuff' or even worse 'did you just buy a can of chili from the store and add in a can of pickled jalapenos?'.

First and foremost, beans do not a chili make. Beans are a cheap substitute for a protein source other than beef.

Second, and this is a big one, the chili is red from the stewed chili peppers, not from tomatoes. If tomatoes are involved in chill, they had better be diced and chunky rather than in the sauce itself.

Third, jalapenos do not a chili make. Particularly not canned jalapenos. They taste vinegary and nasty. There are SO many other ways to bring heat to a dish without resorting to that stuff. Cayenne, for example, or a good curry can do quite a lot for a chili. The aforementioned Freebirds Death Sauce uses a bit of Ghost pepper, and a bit of several other types of peppers. It makes for a tasty heat rather than a bland, boring heat.

Spices does not always equate heat. You want some flavor to go with that rib-sticking chili! If you are wanting a 'sweet heat' chili, I strongly suggest using a bit of blackstrap molasses, which also helps thicken things up a bit.

Fourth, chili is not a soup. If your spoon cannot stand in it without support, it needs to get thicker.

As a result, chili actually makes a pretty darn good tortilla fill in general.

[Emerauld Drathmir]

Anyone have a good "Taco Chili" recipe? That is to say, taco ingredients in a chili, not chili in a taco shell.

Well, that's kind of a hard thing to do, for me.

See, I'm a Texan, and we have some rather strict guidelines as to what constitutes a Chili and what is 'that yank stuff' or even worse 'did you just buy a can of chili from the store and add in a can of pickled jalapenos?'.

First and foremost, beans do not a chili make. Beans are a cheap substitute for a protein source other than beef.

Second, and this is a big one, the chili is red from the stewed chili peppers, not from tomatoes. If tomatoes are involved in chill, they had better be diced and chunky rather than in the sauce itself.

Third, jalapenos do not a chili make. Particularly not canned jalapenos. They taste vinegary and nasty. There are SO many other ways to bring heat to a dish without resorting to that stuff. Cayenne, for example, or a good curry can do quite a lot for a chili. The aforementioned Freebirds Death Sauce uses a bit of Ghost pepper, and a bit of several other types of peppers. It makes for a tasty heat rather than a bland, boring heat.

Spices does not always equate heat. You want some flavor to go with that rib-sticking chili! If you are wanting a 'sweet heat' chili, I strongly suggest using a bit of blackstrap molasses, which also helps thicken things up a bit.

Fourth, chili is not a soup. If your spoon cannot stand in it without support, it needs to get thicker.

As a result, chili actually makes a pretty darn good tortilla fill in general.

Personally, I use beans as a filler because well, meat is expensive of late, and depending on type of chili I make, sometimes it gets mashed, then stirred in with my pepper collective, then the beef added to stew with coarse chopped tomatoes.  If you over spice chili, a bit of raw sugar mellows out the fire, yet adds a bit of flavour to it.

For "taco chili"

Take your fave chili recipe, and instead of the chili seasonings, for a "taco" flavoured "chili", there's this thing I acquired at Scarborough Faire called Garlic Garni, and added to frying lean beef(I like either getting the 90% lean, or grinding it myself from lean roast cubed up), it adds a bit of a taco flavour, and then add your taco veggies thickly chunky chopped(except lettuce, because soggy lettuce is just yuck).   The peppers(both sweet and hot) and onions get carmelised and or blackened.  Instead of using the whole beans, mash them like you would for refried beans.  Add an extra pinch of cumin, and whatever hot sauce you use(like Death Sauce) to add a bit extra taco kick. 

Serve with either fried wheat tortilla shells, or tortilla chips(scoops bowls are the best).  Cheese, sour cream, extra avocados, hot sauce on the side for those who partake.

Just something I did while bored and indecisive on the topic of chili versus tacos.