Pan Fried Beef Tacos | A Fried Taco Recipe | Mantitlement (2024)

FAQs

What oil do you use to fry tacos? ›

Best oil for frying: If you are frying corn tortillas, corn oil is the best choice. You can also use basic vegetable oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, or sunflower seed oil. You want a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point. Make sure the oil is hot enough.

Oil temperature: Frying tacos in oil that isn't hot enough can lead to soggy and greasy tacos. Make sure the oil is heated to the proper temperature (around 350°F or 175°C) before adding the tacos. Crowding the frying pan: Adding too many tacos at once can cause uneven cooking and prevent them from becoming crispy.

While many different versions of hard-shell tacos exist, the most common form of the hard-shell taco is served as a crisp-fried corn tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sometimes tomato, onion, salsa, sour cream, and avocado or guacamole.

What is the best oil for frying taco shells? I use light olive oil, but canola oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil will work, too.

Pre-heat a pan to medium-high heat and add just enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Fry the tacos (folded in half) until the first side is golden-brown, then flip to fry the other side until it is golden-brown as well. Add desired toppings and enjoy!

Draining the grease from ground beef will make a dish healthier and is usually recommended. Brown the meat first to extract the fat. Then, you can spoon the grease out of the pan or use a colander to drain the grease.

It's best to fry the tacos shells right before eating. If you wish to make them ahead of time, to keep them crisp, re-heat them in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes before serving. You can also make the meat up to 2 days in advance.

A typical 12-serving taco seasoning mix recipe uses about 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch. If you want to skip the cornstarch in your homemade seasoning to use it for other purposes, just sprinkle ⅓ to ½ teaspoon of cornstarch per pound of browned, spiced meat before adding ¾ cup of water and heat until thickened.

Tacos Dorados are basically Mexican fried tacos. They are also sometimes referred to as “flautas” and are generally served in homes or restaurants. A rolled-up tortilla is stuffed with shredded beef or chicken, mashed potatoes or even ham and cheese, and fried. The result is crispy, crunchy deliciousness.

Do Mexicans use hard taco shells? ›

Contrary to what people might believe, hard shell tacos are actually an American by-product. The hard shell taco holds an exceptional space in Mexican-American food history, as something exploited by American fast food and then reclaimed by Mexican cuisine. The hard shell tacos are mostly a credit to Tex-Mex food.

Mexican Tacos: For authentic Mexican flavor, use a blend of spices that includes cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and/or onion powder. These spices will give your tacos a warm, earthy flavor and just a touch of heat.

To try this for yourself, heat your oven to 200℉ and pop your crunchy shells in there while you you prepare the rest of your fillings. Once they're nice and warm and smell all toasty, remove them from the oven and fill as usual.

If you are filling hard taco shells, simply place them on your oven rack and warm at 325 degrees until they are warm and fully crisp. This just removes any moisture from the pre-fried shell. If you are doing soft tacos, you can simply place the tortilla on the gas burner for a few seconds and then flip with tongs.

Toughen up with oil

Eat This, Not That suggests frying your corn tortilla in a shallow pan of hot oil for no more than 30 seconds per side. This hardens up the shell a bit without the tortilla becoming crispy and breakable like a chip.