Hard Shell Taco Night

Ingredients

For the Fillings

• 1 pound ground beef, pork, or turkey (if using turkey, with with neutral oil)
• Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
• 4-6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked parika
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cumin seed or 1 teaspoon ground cumin

For the Tacos and Assembly:

• 12 hard shell corn tortillas
• 8 ounces sharp yellow cheddar cheese, corsely grated (or pre-grated)
• 1/2 head icebery lettuce, shredded (shredduce)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely choppped
• Sour cream
• Hot sauce
• Picked or fresh jalapeños, sliced

Directions

For the filling:

• Heat a large skillet or dutch oven over medium–high heat. Add meat (if using turkey or chicken, add 2 tablespoons of oil first) and season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the meat, cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat starts to cook through but isn’t yet browned, 8–10 minutes (it’ll be a little gray, that’s alright, the browning happens in the next step).
• Add garlic, half the onions and season again with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat has really started to brown and the garlic and onions are totally softened, 6–8 minutes.
• Add paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and cumin. Stir so that everything is evenly coated and the spices get to toast and bloom in the fat, 1-2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, creating a sort of gravy-ish, delicious sauce. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until sauce is nicely thickened (should not be soupy or watery, just thick and luscious), 1–2 minutes (this happens fast- if it cooks a little longer or meat appears dry, don’t panic, just add a bit more water and keep cooking). Season again with salt and pepper, maybe more crushed red pepper flakes if you want it spicier. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the tacos and assembly:

• Preheat oven to 425° (unless you’re going Full Roman Family and frying your own shells or doing this in a toaster oven). Remove your taco shells from their little box or plastic or however they came, and release them from one another, laying them individually on a rimmed baking sheet (or your little toaster oven tray). Toast until lightly golden brown on the outside, 5–6 minutes.
• 5 Serve your warm shells next to a skillet of warm hard shell taco filling, small bowls of cold, crisp vegetables (lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cilantro) and lots of dairy products (cheese, sour cream). Hot sauce and jalapeños always encouraged. There is no easy way to fill one of these pre-made taco shells with your beef mixture, but using a spoon helps and remember: go slow, do your best, and don’t overfill.

Via Alison Roman 📺 YouTube Home Movie