Making great taco meat is so simple. It takes only 20 minutes to cook juicy, delicious beef that would draw a line at any taco stand. Dinner ready that fast? Sure. Just provide salsa and other condiments at the table.
The secret is to start with a good base, like Del Real's Seasoned Shredded Beef. This is the product I worked with in order to enter the Del Real Foods blogger recipe challenge.
I would love to win, so please click here to vote for my Super Easy Taco Meat: http://ow.ly/zWNEO #RealFlavor @delrealfoods. If you want to really help, vote once a day through Sept. 5.
You can get the Del Real beef in supermarkets. At first I thought it was pricey, only to find it was a good buy. When I stewed slightly more than a pound of raw beef, which took about 2 hours, I wound up with only 10 ounces of meat. Almost 7 ounces had cooked way. This made it more costly than the deceptively reasonable price, not to mention the time and effort required to prepare it.
The Del Real beef, on the other hand, is 16 ounces of pure meat, no fat, gristle or waste of any kind. And it's fully cooked, which saves a Iot of time. The seasonings are so light that you can add any flavorings you like, which makes it very versatile.
Here's another look at my taco meat (above). The idea came from Zacatecas via a friend, Daniel Mejia. That makes it totally, traditionally Mexican, as good taco meat should be.
SUPER EASY TACO MEAT
3 slices bacon, cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise in ½-inch slices
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pound roma tomatoes (about 4), chopped
1 (16-ounce) package Del Real Seasoned Shredded Beef
Salt, optional
Freshly ground black pepper
16 warm corn tortillas
4 limes, quartered
Del Real Green or Red Salsa
8 or more cilantro sprigs
In a large heavy skillet, cook the bacon until lightly browned. Do not drain.
Add the onion, garlic and cumin seeds and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes.
Add the Del Real Seasoned Shredded Beef and separate the shreds, then mix evenly with the ingredients in the skillet. Simmer 10 minutes, or until hot throughout. Taste and season with salt if needed and a generous dash of freshly ground pepper.
For each taco, place a spoonful of the meat mixture on a warm corn tortilla. Squeeze on a few drops of lime juice. Add Del Real salsa to taste and a cilantro sprig. Fold and eat.
Makes 8 servings.
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