Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumMom's old style tacos
fry up a mess o taco shells with your handy dandy taco bender. I used about a half gallon of peanut oil. anything will work and adding bacon grease ALWAYS makes things better. photo shows Mom's old 3-piece double model with a demo tortilla in one side, a more recently available handled single model, and a cheapo homemade single made from coffee can lids (which do not seem to be available any longer and thus makes this a rare antique????)
chop a head or 6 of lettuce (Mom only had iceberg back in the day and it is still good, I use romaine)
chop lots of good sweet onions and a double amount of crappy tomatoes (off season grocery store romas are good for this)
grate pounds of sharp cheddar cheese
fry up a big pan full of ground beef
season with salt, Mexican oregano and very generously ground cumin
open a jar or two of medium tomato based salsa/taco sauce (Herdez salsa casera is perfect) or a cans of jalapeño El Pato and a cold can of black olives. may be served with beans or not. can get super fancy and have guacamole, but Mom only did that for company. cold beer for adults, sodas for the kids.
put colorful serape on table, move chairs to patio then everything in your red clay Mexican serving dishes. everyone makes their own tacos (minimum start with 3) in whatever order they like. of course the only true order is meat, cheese (so it will melt!) onion, lettuce, tomato, salsa.
Walleye
(30,935 posts)MLAA
(17,238 posts)Beartracks
(12,795 posts)dem in texas
(2,673 posts)This is the kind we ate back in the 50's. My daughter always asks me to make these for her birthday treat.
For the filling, cook some chuck roast until fall-apart tender. Shred meat. Have some homemade chili sauce ready . Soften corn tortillas in a little oil, stack on plate, ready to use. Then add more oil to the skillet; about 1/4 inch (home fry style, not deep fry). In a softened tortilla, place 3 or 4 tablespoons of the shredded meat and a spoon or so of the chili sauce. Fold the tortilla with the mixture in half and lay on side in hot oil. Cook on one side, turn cook on other side until fried, should be part crispy fried and part chewy. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with Mexican crema or sour cream, chopped lettuce and tomato, tossed with salt and rice wine vinegar. Avocado slices and Paces Picante sauce, too
I started making them with the molds when they became available. Now I buy the shells already fried, La Reina are the best. Still make the meat filling to use up the pot roast left from Sunday dinner. I usually add the left over carrots and potatoes (chopped) along with the meat.
To go all out have some Jarrito soft drinks in different flavors or some bottles of Mexican Coca-Colas to top off the meal.
Old Crank
(3,520 posts)Trying this with flour tortillas?
My wife can't eat corn ones.
I make my own flour ones since since Hecho en Estonien
just doesn't sound authentic. Nor Hecho en Schweden.
AllaN01Bear
(17,944 posts)tacos . mmmm
home made shells . mm.