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Recipe for "texmex-tacos"

NAME

     TEXMEX-TACOS - San Antonio, Texas style tacos
     My dad is from east Texas and my mom from southern Oklahoma,
     but  they developed their definition of Tex-Mex from several
     years in San Antonio.  Since they now  live  in  D.C.,  they
     feel  extremely  deprived-none of the chain restaurants come
     anywhere near the taste they developed in San Antonio.
     Tex-Mex cooking is based on peasant-style  dishes  from  the
     areas of Mexico bordering Texas.  The primary ingredients of
     Tex-Mex cooking are corn tortillas (the thinner the better),
     ground  beef, pinto beans, and hot chile powder, sharp Ched-
     dar cheese, and onions.

INGREDIENTS (1 dozen tacos)

     1 kg      extra lean ground beef
     1         medium onion, chopped fine.
     2.5 ml    salt
     60 ml     chile powder (or more to taste)
               vegetable oil
     12        corn tortillas (the thinner the better)
     250 g     sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
     1         large tomato, chopped.
     500 g     shredded lettuce

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Brown the ground beef and chopped onion in a large
               skillet.   There  should be enough fat in the beef
               to eliminate any need for extra oil  and  also  to
               saut e the onions at the same time.  While you are
               browning the beef (it should be completely  cooked
               with  no pink or red color left), be sure to break
               it up so  that  it  is  granular  in  texture,  as
               opposed   to   chunky,  when  completely  browned.
               Onions should be  limp  and  translucent  but  not
               brown.
          (2)  Drain off as much fat as possible.  Add  salt  and
               chile powder and continue to saute until the chile
               is completely incorporated into the meat  mixture.
               Cover skillet and leave on extremely low heat-just
               enough to keep the meat hot.
          (3)  Put about 1 cm of vegetable oil in a  small  skil-
               let,  and  heat  it.  Test the oil for proper tem-
               perature by putting in a small piece of  tortilla.
               When  the  oil  reaches  the  temperature where it
               immediately begins to bubble frantically over  the
               tortilla  as  soon as it is put in the oil and the
               tortilla piece becomes crisp  quite  quickly,  you
               are ready to cook the taco shells.  This is impor-
               tant because there is nothing worse than  a  soggy
               taco  shell  (which results from the oil not being
               hot enough).
          (4)  Using tongs, put the tortillas in the oil, one  at
               a  time,  and  cook  for  30 -60 seconds until the
               underside just starts to become crisp.   With  the
               tongs,  turn  the  tortilla over and, using a spa-
               tula, bend in half to form the shell.   Cook  each
               side of the bent tortilla until crisp, about 30-45
               seconds per side.  Remove the shell from  the  oil
               and  drain  on  a  newspaper-covered cookie sheet.
               The cooked shells can be kept warm in the oven  at
               very low heat.
          (5)  To assemble, fill each shell about 2/3's  full  of
               the  meat and top with cheese, tomato and lettuce.
               We like to add extra zap with a  shot  of  Tabasco
               sauce.

NOTES

     Don't try to use instant  onion  in  this  recipe.   In  San
     Antonio,  people  consider  that  the  best  chile powder is
     Gebhardt's or Eagle Brand.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 20 minutes.  Precision: measure the
     spices.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Pamela McGarvey
     UCLA Comprehensive Epilepsy Program
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