The EDT: Every Day Taco

I call this the Every Day Taco, because I make these so damn often, I could just about eat them every day. The hardest part for me now is remembering to take a pound of ground beef out of the freezer. Then I put it on autopilot and let the taco happen. Because I don’t do anything super special for this one, it’ll be kind of a short post, but I’ll also give you an eye into the ForensicBBQ Taco Secrets. Read along, my friends.

I decided not to post any recipe for this one, because it’s really not necessary. Brown meat, season, add and eat.

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The Prep Table

I mention throwing autopilot on and just going. That’s because these are usually made when I get home from work, hungry, and want something on the quick. I wasn’t going to make this a post, but I thought “why the hell not”, it’s the most used recipe in this house.

MrsForensicBBQ makes a dynamite pico de gallo – I used it here – but I didn’t have any on hand, so I bought this rather uneventful pico. Usually, I just top with onion, cheese, hot sauce and guacamole – because that’s usually on hand at all times. Because I had to stop at the store for another cook, I picked up some additional items. Whoever made the squeeze guac – good on ya. Heroic by most standards.

Every box of shells ya buy, there’s always a broken shell. ALWAYS. Sometimes I break ’em up further and put it in the tortilla chip bag, but I prefer my other method better. Scroll down for Taco Secret #1. Anyway, the only other real preparation we’re doing is shredding up some lettuce. Everything else is heat, add and eat.

Oh, you should know by I make my own taco seasoning too. I used to buy the packets like everyone else, but the sodium was always crazy high. So I knocked it back, and I’ve used this for years now. Hey MrsForensicBBQ – you have to name this blend too!

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The Process

Brown the meat and sprinkle on some seasonings. I shake it right from the jar, so I don’t know exactly how much. I think maybe 2-3 Tbsp or so? I’ll grab a little bit, taste it and go from there. I’ll mention here that I try to use LEAN beef for my tacos. Back when I was young and single, I’d buy 80/20, 85/15 – whatever and just use the fat to “sauce” the meat. Now that I’m married and want to live a little bit longer – we’re getting smarter.

Rather than adding water to get that saucy meat, I dump in a small can of diced jalapenos with the juice and let that cook up a bit. This accomplishes getting it a little saucy while also adding jalapeno. This is probably the trademark ForensicBBQ Taco move. It obviously changes the taste a bit, which I’m okay with – but jalapenos lost their heat level with me a long time ago. Now it’s just a good mild flavor.

Meat’s mixed up and ready to go. I put the hard taco shells in the oven per the box, and it’s time to assemble.

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The Result

Meat, Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Pico, Hot Sauce, Guacamole. In no real order. When I’m using store bought “mexican blend” cheese, I usually put the cheese on the shell and top it with the hot taco meat so it melts down a little bit. For today, I used a “queso quesadilla” cheese which is melty on it’s own – so I gave it a little bit of a veggie buffer. I also used Taco Bell’s “Hot” sauce because – for once – I didn’t want to burn the next day, if you know what I mean.

15 minutes – start to finish. Pound-ish of meat will last a couple days for leftovers, so I’m always happy cooking these up early in the week. You thought the jalapeno/meat was the trademark ForensicBBQ taco hacks? Let me share two more with you

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The Power Moves

The taco tray is an unnecessary, but heavily used item in our kitchen. Throw a burrito flour tortilla underneath so you collect everything that falls from eating the taco. When you’ve finished your meal, you have dessert. Wrap it up and you got the burrito. It’s a power move.. it also led to me overeating this particular night and I whined about an upset stomach. Like I do most taco nights.

My other favorite power move is the Double Decker taco. Remember that broken shell? Adapt and overcome. Take a taco-sized flour tortilla and spread it with a layer of guacamole (or nacho cheese, or beans. Maybe sour cream? I don’t like sour cream usually, so never tried). Lay the broke shell on the tort, fill the middle and fold it up – Instant mega double decker taco. Don’t let the broken shell piss you off any longer, make these instead (they’re better too!)

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06 October Update

So as this readies to go live, I’ll give you a little insight. As we reach October, we like to take little bit of a breather over the Nov/Dec holidays. 52 weeks, both MrsForensicBBQ and I – we’re damn near 100 posts a year! I’d say definitely 100 if you consider some random weekday Quick Bites. That being said, you should know by now these posts are made well after they’re actually cooked. It allows for some proofreading, better scheduling – not getting 3 hot dog posts in a row. It makes sense.

I’ll try to get some posts up throughout our end-of-year break, but don’t expect any crazy full packer briskets. This post kind of starts the 2022 slowdown, but I really did want to share the Every Day Taco with y’all. Don’t let it fool you – we got some pretty crazy posts coming up – We’re finishing out the year with another “4N6BBQ Presents…”, another international style.. and as always, some homestyle. Get yourself signed up for them e-mails – ONCE a week on Fridays and gets you the cooks for the week! (There was some issues last week with some GMail accounts – I’m monitoring to see how to fix it. We’ve changed servers over the last month or two.. always something with these damn emails)

Stay tuned next week for a RED HOT post ?