Ground Beef Tacos

Beef

• 1 lb Ground beef
• 3/4 tsp Salt

Spice blend

• 1 1/2 tbsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder

Finish

• 1/3 cup Water
• 8 Taco shells or tortillas
• 1 Shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa

Brown

1. Cook the ground beef in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until deeply browned and any released liquid has fully cooked away. (Tip: Let the liquid the meat releases cook off completely before doing anything else. As long as there's liquid pooling in the pan, the meat can't get hot enough on the surface to brown — it just simmers grey.)

Season

1. Push the beef to one side, add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder to the cleared space, and toast briefly in the residual fat before stirring through. (Tip: Blooming the spices directly in fat, even for thirty seconds, pulls out more of their aromatic flavour than stirring them into a wet mixture would.)

Finish

1. Add the water and salt, stir, and simmer briefly until the liquid has mostly absorbed and coated the meat, checking that it reaches 71°C (160°F).

Serve

1. Spoon into warmed taco shells or tortillas with your choice of toppings.