I make tacos a lot. And I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I like to use various kinds of meat and usually I just throw spice in without measuring anything. I once made pork butt (carnitas) tacos by throwing the meat into my Instapot with spices and jalapenos. I’m a cook who rarely uses a recipe. Those are simply suggestions anyway.
There are a couple of must-dos when making tacos at home.
You must fry the tortilla. I use corn tortillas only, although my husband has requested that he get tacos with hard shells real soon. Sometimes he just wants a taco that reminds him of his youth. You know the kind; lettuce, tomato, ground beef, and yellow cheese in a hard shell.
But back to frying the tortillas. I throw a little butter in a frying pan and add the corn tortilla. I do not want it hard, but I do like it a little crispy on both sides before I fill it with ingredients.
If I am making each taco with two shells, I fry them one on top of the other and then flip each so that all four sides are a bit fried. By the way, it also works if you butter the tortilla like a piece of bread and then throw it in the pan.
RELATED: Instapot Pork Butts Makes a Delicious Carnitas Taco
Over time, I have beefed up my Mexican spices. In Pueblo, I went a little wild at Musso Farms, a farm market with a spice room. I also have an array of spices from the Mexican food section at King Soopers. You know the ones. They are in bags and not in bottles.
I like to cut the taco meat small. My favorite is pork, but I made some delicious chicken tacos a couple of months ago. I use a large frying pan and put bits of chicken with a mixture of spicy spices in water and cook it slowly. If the water got too low, I add more. Eventually, the water cooks away, leaving just meat. This method makes the meat tender and scrumptious.
As far as toppings, use what you like. I use finely chopped onions, jalapenos, and sometimes tomatoes. I also usually shred up a little Mexican cheese like cotija and sprinkle that on as well.
My must-have ingredient is cilantro. I realize that it is a controversial topic. Some people, even my own mother, think it tastes like soap, but thankfully I didn’t get that gene. I looooove cilantro.
I recently discovered Mexican crema premade. It was in the cold food section by the cheese in my King Soopers. I know it’s easy to make, but this was life-changing. I’m squirting that on tacos and everything else!
It’s an easy meal. Now go make a few tacos for this Taco Tuesday!
Yum! I wish I didn’t have the cilantro gene. We make tacos a lot as well. Pork and chicken with black beans are my favorites, but we do have the old ground beef, lettuce, cheese and black olive varieties as well.