ground beef tacos

Listen, I love soft tacos. In fact, that's what we have most of the time around here (and by most of the time I mean at least every couple weeks). But sometimes, and especially for ground beef, you've gotta just fry up those suckers and enjoy the crispy, oily crunch. Save the healthy soft stuff for some other time.



1/2 onion, finely chopped (or equivalent of dried minced onion)
3 cloves garlic, chopped (or equivalent of dried minced garlic)
2 t salt (I like coarse sea salt for this, but you know, whatever floats your boat)
1 t cumin
2 T chili powder, and more to taste
1.5 lbs lean ground beef 9or ground turkey)
10-12 corn tortillas

garnish:
cut or torn Iceberg or Romaine lettuce
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
olives
sour cream
avocado slices or guacamole

Sautee onion & garlic in 1 t oil until tender but not brown. Add ground beef, stirring often to break beef into small pieces. Once beef is completely browned, add remaining spices & seasonings (if you do this before the meat is done, it's hard to tell when the chili-covered meat isn't pink anymore, at least if you're me).

Meanwhile, as meat cooks, heat about 1" vegetable or canola oil over medium-high heat in a small skillet or omlette pan until you can see several swirls in the oil (don't use olive oil as it burns too easily). To test whether the oil is hot enough to fry tortillas, tear off a tiny piece of one tortilla & drop it into the oil. It should bubble & "squrim" in the oil immediately. If it just kind of sits there, the oil isn't hot enough yet. Use metal tongs to gently place one tortilla in the hot oil. Allow to sit for a few seconds, then turn the tortilla over and bend into a taco shape. Holding the tortilla down in the oil if necessary (they tend to want to jump out of the oil - can you blame them?), turn it until all parts are done to your liking (I like mine brown, but that's just me). Use tongs to remove tortilla-turned-taco-shell to a paper towel or paper bag to absorb extra oil.

Fill taco shells with beef and top with desired garnishes. Buen provecho!