The Taco Burger

This is definitely one of those posts where I start it with “Man, I love tacos.. but I feel like a burger”. Or was it “I love burgers, but I feel like tacos”. I think it was the former, because I didn’t want the burger buns to go to waste. This was also where I’m wondering if the final product will be as good as it sounds in my head. You get RAW posts from MrsForensicBBQ and I. The good and bad. We’ll let you know. (It’s good. Very good)

Glad to be back after a week off! Some days I’m on a roll and have a stack of posts ready for y’all. Sometimes, my actual job gets in the way and I fall behind a bit. Then I start a tailgate (spoiler alerts… yes plural) monster cook and I lose track of time. Follow us on Instagram (@forensicbbq, @mrsforensicbbq) as we’re pretty good at updating you there on what’s going on. Twitter/X – not so much, but since I ONLY post food photos, I don’t get too much engagement.

Anyway, onto the TACO BURGER

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

I always try to buy the mega ground beef portion at the market and then portion it out in 1lb freezer bags. Vacuum seal them flat and lay them in the freezer. Thin layer lets them defrost in a decent amount of time. We’re going to mix up the burger, my taco seasoning blend (Now available in spicy.. or spicier) and some crushed up tortilla chips. Egg binder and throw them on the grill. No smoke today, just old fashioned RecTeq grillin’.

In addition to the squeeze guac, that living lettuce stuff is pretty legit too. We only need a couple leaves today, but that stuff lasts for awhile. We’re just cupping up the Ro*Tel and diced jalapenos – but I put my own dice on the onion. MrsForensicBBQ are always flying through onions in this household. So much so, she named our latest cat Onion.

Mixed the pound of beef with some crushed up tortilla chips. I really don’t know how much crunch I put in there. I wanted it pronounced, enough so there’s crunch.. so I probably put maybe a cup.. cup and half? You can always add more when you shape the ball.. so start small. I didn’t want them tiny either.. crunch. So a rough crush.

Shape the patties, put that lil’ indentation in the middle and get them ready for the GrillGrates! We’re going to be cooking these hot.. dial up that RecTeq to 475 and, as I always do, let it stay hot for a little bit to ensure that high heat.

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The Process

Some days, I go grill marks, some days I don’t. It’s easy to do with burgers because I like them medium-well. If they crawl to well, it’s no problem for me. I don’t like a saucy burger, never really have. So I’ll let ’em sit for a few minutes, rotate 90. Flip and repeat. That GrillGrates spatula is awesome to accomplish just that. When you got ’em to your liking, throw a slice or two of Pepper Jack cheese on there and when she melts down – we’re ready to assemble.

Didn’t show it, but I obviously put the buns on the normal RecTeq grates to get a light toast. Scroll through the pictures above so you can get a good feel for assembly. We’re throwing a small bed of that butter lettuce down on the toasted bun. You can see that melted pepperjack totally encompass that burger. We’re off to a damn good start.

Spread that squeeze guac on the top bun and let’s continue with the toppings. Can’t have a taco nor burger without some fresh onion, so throw some on there with a bit of tomato. Top it off with a little bit more of that pre-diced pickled jalapeno and we’re ready.

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The Result

Okay, so we’re almost ready. I bought this Melinda’s hot sauce sampler and Melinda’s doesn’t do bad sauce. So out comes the Mexicana.

Yep. It works. There shouldn’t be a reason why this isn’t more popular. I’m about as big a taco fan as there is, and I’m telling you this is a great variation on the ol’ fashioned hamburger. Give this one a try and let us know when you do!

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The Recipe