Lean (Yet Juicy) Taco Meat Recipe

While many taco recipes seem to start out with browning ground beef, then adding the kind of taco seasoning that comes in an envelope, here we're starting with a from-scratch spice mix. Still, despite the fact that you'll be blending your own spices (admittedly not too difficult a task once you've managed to unearth them from the pantry), recipe developer Stephanie Rapone points out that you do get to skip a step. As she tells us, with this taco meat recipe "You don't have to brown the meat first, no draining excess fat, it's just put it all together and let it go." She then goes on to say that doing so "makes the recipe easier, makes clean up easier, and ... gives the meat a really finely ground texture."

So what can you use this taco meat for once it's cooked? Tacos would be the obvious choice, but Rapone tells us "I love to use this meat for quick nachos, taquitos, or even beef enchiladas." Other ideas include stuffing burritos, topping chili dogs, or making a taco salad. Rapone does say that the meat is "great to freeze," so you might want to make up a double batch to keep on hand for any taco-related emergencies.

To make this taco meat, you'll need ground beef — lean, since you won't be draining the grease, so it's best not to have too much fat. You'll also need an onion, canned tomato sauce, and a fair number of dry spices and seasonings.

In case you've ever wondered what's in those envelopes of taco seasoning, well, probably a bunch of preservatives and other bad stuff. Here, however, the spice mix includes 6 different components: chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and Mexican oregano. If you're wondering why the oregano called for is Mexican, and whether this is different from plain old oregano, Rapone says that yes it is — the standard oregano is Mediterranean, but she prefers using Mexican here, as she says it "tends to have more citrus notes, which works really nicely in this spice mix."

Mix together all of the dry seasonings, then stir them into the tomato sauce. If you have no canned tomato sauce on hand, Rapone says you could use canned diced or crushed tomatoes, but advises against using homemade marinara sauce. She feels that any spices or seasonings in your recipe "could throw off the final product," so it's best to save that stuff for spaghetti, instead.

Peel the onion, then grate it on a box grater or in a food processor until you have the necessary amount. Depending on the size of your onion, you might need all of it or you might only need half. As to why Rapone specifies the use of a white onion here, she explains that this is because "White onions tend to be more mild than yellow onions."

Mix all of the ingredients together in a frying pan, preferably one with a lid. If there's no lid that will fit, you might have to DIY one using a piece of foil. Cover the pan and turn the stove burner to medium, then let the meat cook for 4 minutes. Open the lid and stir the meat for a full minute, making sure to break up any clumps. Re-cover the pan and cook the meat for another 3 minutes. Now open up the lid once more, stir the meat, and this time cook it without the lid for 3-5 minutes. It'll be done when the sauce has thickened up and there's no more pink showing in the beef.