Classic Tacos ~ A Family Favorite

In such a divided social climate wouldn’t it be nice if we could all agree about something? I think I have the answer. Tacos! Surely we can all agree that sitting down to a plate of delicious tacos with our family (and maybe some friends!) is a good thing. A very good thing, indeed. While there are many ways to enjoy tacos, our family truly appreciates good ol’ classic tacos just like David and I grew up eating. 

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Classic Tacos ~ A Family Favorite

My mom made tacos about once a week when I was a kid and we all loved them. David’s family had them pretty often, too. Through the years I’ve made them fairly often but when the pandemic started and I was looking for things that we could look forward to each week, I started making tacos every Tuesday night. I’m going to estimate that I’ve made 1500 to 2000 tacos in the past four years. And yet the guys are always happy about Taco Tuesday. 

There are a number of fillings you can put in a taco shell. Lentils (recipe at the end of this post), black beans, shredded chicken, shrimp, fish, shredded roast beef, etc. I’ve done all of these and they are delicious. 

But there’s just something about good ol’ classic tacos made with ground beef. Here is how I make them:

 

 

1. Start by getting your toppings ready. We like shredded iceberg lettuce, tomatoes (diced or grape tomatoes cut in half), green onions, grated sharp cheddar (it really tastes better if you grate it yourself), sour cream, hot sauce and ketchup. Yes, ketchup. David and I grew up in Southern California and we both grew up putting ketchup on our tacos. I don’t know if it’s just a California thing or what. Anyway, have all your toppings ready first. 

2. Fry up some ground beef. Season it well with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and chili powder. Or use taco seasoning. Here is my homemade taco seasoning recipe:

3. Drain excess grease and keep warm. 

4. Then start frying the corn tortillas. Sure, I suppose you could buy one of those boxes of taco shells (I never have) but if you want a REALLY good taco, you need to fry corn tortillas. You’ll need an oil that is stable at high temperatures. I’ve used refined coconut oil which works well enough but once I started making tacos every week I switched to vegetable oil. I use olive oil, coconut oil or butter for nearly everything else but I figure a little vegetable oil to fry our tacos once a week won’t kill us. But use whatever you prefer as long as it has a relatively high smoke point. Make sure the oil is hot before you begin frying the tortillas. As you place a tortilla in the oil it should bubble but not splatter all over. It can take a bit of trial and error with your own stove. But corn tortillas are cheap so don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time. 

If you’ve never fried tortillas before, I filmed a video for you. I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager so I’ve mastered a one-handed technique with the tongs but feel free to use a long handled spoon in the other hand to help you fold the tortilla until you get the hang of it. 

How to Fry a Corn Tortilla

 

5. Put a few layers of paper towels on a plate and as you fry up each tortilla, drain as much as you can over the skillet then place on paper towels.

6. Fill cooked tortillas with ground beef, shredded cheese and your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

We usually have tortilla chips and salsa with our tacos and sometimes a side of refried beans. 

 

 

We all like to fix our own tacos. Here is a picture of my plate:

 

 

A note about hot sauce:

A staple in our house when I was growing up was Mexi-Pep hot sauce. This is what my mom put on her tacos.

 

As a kid who hadn’t yet developed a taste for spicy things, I just put a little ketchup on mine. But now I love hot sauce! For a number of years I either used Crystal Hot Sauce:

 

Or Louisiana hot sauce:

 

But then we went to Belize and discovered Marie Sharp’s hot sauce. Oh, my goodness! It is the BEST. We bring home bottles in our carryon bags and when we run out between trips, I buy it from Amazon. It is truly the best hot sauce I’ve ever had. It’s more flavorful than simply hot. 

If you don’t eat meat but still want to enjoy delicious tacos, I highly recommend lentils for the filling. You can season them to your liking and they make a great taco. Even though we aren’t vegetarians I still make lentil tacos fairly often. The recipe below makes quite a bit of filling but it freezes really well. I package the leftovers in meal-size portions and pop them in the freezer. 

Lentil Tacos

 

You may also enjoy…

Taco Frito Salad

Easy Tortilla Casserole

 

Recipe from my daughter’s blog, Retro Housewife Goes Green:

Easy Taco Queso Dip

 

I fry tortillas in a small cast iron skillet that belonged to my grandfather. You can use any pan, of course, but I find that cast iron keeps the oil at a constant temperature more easily. And this size is just perfect for a tortilla. 

Cast Iron Skillet