Please Help me with My dang Taco Obsession.. Looking for American Groundbeef Taco recipe

Fellow Roadfooders..
 
I am on a witch hunt for a particular taco recipe.
 
You've all probably tasted it.. 
 
It is most likely boiled ground beef to make it almost "melt in your mouthish"...   Kind of like Taco Bell or Taco Johns..

It has a beefy flavor and mild in spice...     Yet strangely for the past 5 years I cannot duplicate this restaurant styled taco.
 
Can somebody help?
 
Here are the details:
 
A crispy or soft ground beef taco - probably sirloin
Almost dry and finely textured
Beefy flavored -
Maybe some sort of onion powder..
 
No Clones of any famous taco recipe I can find.
 
Please for the love of god help me.
 
If somebody knows of a family 70's 80's restaurant recipe..  I will send a small treasure of my gratitude.
 
 

By small treasure I mean mailed to your residence if it is the correct flavor I am looking for.
 

That sounds scary. Maybe just stick to the recipe.

johnnyhottub


Fellow Roadfooders..

I am on a witch hunt for a particular taco recipe.

You've all probably tasted it.. 

It is most likely boiled ground beef to make it almost "melt in your mouthish"...   Kind of like Taco Bell or Taco Johns..

It has a beefy flavor and mild in spice...     Yet strangely for the past 5 years I cannot duplicate this restaurant styled taco.
.....

 
I don't know what the 'particular taco recipe' is that you are looking for.
 
Boiling or more like cooking the ground beef with some water will make the beef break down to a finer texture.  Cook until the water drys out. As far as flavors and spices, that is up to you.    ...    I use some salsa (cooked until dry) and a little finely chopped onion in my beef.   ... I don't like those packets of taco seasonings or chili powder.
 
 

These are not the responses I was seeking.  Anybody else?

Uh, a particular restaurant recipe you are looking for? Sorry, cant help.

Could it have been a packet of Lawry's Taco Seasoning?
 
 

Dude.  It's easy to spice up your taco meat.  Start browning the hamburger.  Wait un til half of the blood cooks out, then sprinkle chili powder, cumin powder, onion salt, garlic powder, black pepper and a lil bit of papricka on it.  Cook into the meat, long enough so the spices get toasted.  Then you can add a splash of water, so the meat can break down some.  You must work the meat with a spatula to get it broken down. 
 
Key steps, are cooking the spices, and working the meat.
 
And if you can't eyeball the spices, I can't help you.  I use plenty of cumin, a little less of chili powder, I add onion salt , like salt, and garlic powder to taste.  Papricka to preference.
Try it, and you'll get the hang of it. 

Dude---You're not giving us much to work with.
I suggest you just keep experimenting until you can give us more clues of what you're looking for.
Where did you have it?
Whatdid it taste like? ETC ETC ETC

johnnyhottub


These are not the responses I was seeking.  Anybody else?

 
Your didn't give any info as what to what you want.    A Taco Bell recipe ... ???... use low quality beef with lots of fat (drain the grease) and season with standard taco season mix.   Personally, I like better than Taco Bell.    .... As I stated the purpose of using water is to break the ground beef down to a finer texture.
 
Until you give more detail, you got all that can be given.   I suggest using your search button for 'Mexican foods' or taco recipes.    OR, use
 

I'd love to help, but as others have said, there's just plain not enough information. What you've asked is, "I'm thinking of a flavor, can you create it and post it here?" Sorry, but no, I can't. Keep trying, though, and if you come up with it, please post it because I'm interested in what it tastes like. But I can't conjur it out of the words you've written, sorry to say.

Dr. L.M.


Dude.  It's easy to spice up your taco meat.  Start browning the hamburger.  Wait un til half of the blood cooks out, then sprinkle chili powder, cumin powder, onion salt, garlic powder, black pepper and a lil bit of papricka on it.  Cook into the meat, long enough so the spices get toasted.  Then you can add a splash of water, so the meat can break down some.  You must work the meat with a spatula to get it broken down. 

Key steps, are cooking the spices, and working the meat.

And if you can't eyeball the spices, I can't help you.  I use plenty of cumin, a little less of chili powder, I add onion salt , like salt, and garlic powder to taste.  Papricka to preference.
Try it, and you'll get the hang of it. 

too much salt!

What I meant was, I use onion salt, in place of salt.  That's the only "salt" added.

Doesnt sound like to much salt to me!Actually, if you want to eliminate the salt, fry chopped onion with the meat-thats what I do when concocting my own taco spice, much like  Dr. L.M. does.

If you want something that's missing with ground beef & flavor that's different now vs. the past...make sure you grind quality meat...fresh. Otherwise ...it tastes flat...and something will be "missing" Yes...quality & flavor.

If you are looking for more of a "beefy" flavor you could add a little Maggi sauce or Better Than Bullion. A little goes a long way...and stick to powders not salts in the additional spices.

I make all my chili, taco meat, etc from scratch.   But, if I was trying for what you seem to be describing.  I would:
Take about 1.5lb +/- ground beef.  lightly brown in in a cast iron skillet.  Once browned I would but it in a sieve and rinse it under hot water to remove all the grease.  Put it in a food mill and start with the largest insert till you found the one you like and run all the meat through the mills to get the fine texture your looking for.
 
I'd start with
1.5 t of dehydrated onion.  
1 small clove garlic pressed
1 t beef bullion (this will add salt so wait til later - follow directions to add salt)
1/4 C chili power,   start with half the amount then add as needed.  
           ( You can always add, you can't take away)
1/2 t of cumin
1 T of masa or corn meal
2 bay leaves >> direction will tell you when to add these.
add water as need and simmer as you add all the ingredients.  After everything is added turn it up to low medium and when starts to bubble.  Taste it and see where you are? It should take close - as in overall flavor, you may need to add salt, and may want to add some onion or spices.  But, remember the most important part hasn't been done yet and while it should be close in terms of spices it will "just not quite be there".   Add the Bay leaves, stir.  Cover and let it set for 2-3 hours.   Taste it and see where you are?  This should have 1. given the bay leaves time to work their magic.  2.  Given the spices time to blend in to 1 main taste rather than a bunch if different one.  You may need to add any of the ingredients to get to the right taste but I think you will be close.  Let me know how this turns out.
 
 Personally I can't imagine not chopping up at least 1/4 of a jalapeno pepper.
 

Personally I can't imagine running my cooked meat under hot water, where's all the flavor? Down the drain.

why is everyone suggesting ground beef and dry ingredients? 
use fresh high quality beef chopped in small cubes and fresh veggies, it will be more rewarding

Am I the only one that uses ground turkey for taco's? I've used it, in lieu of beef for many years now and the family actually likes it better than beef. It takes the flavour of the seasonings much better than beef and doesn't need quite so much draining for fat.

If one buys good ground beef, its a no brainer. Ground turkey is fine....and a good substitute for beef. However, be careful of which you buy-ground turkey can/may have more sodium, etc than the beef.

What the Original Poster might be searching for is canned taco filling. 
I suspect that places like Taco Bell et al are not slaving over a hot slab and browning up some ground beef for their filling ... nosiree, they want something that is simple to use and has a nice longggg shelf-life ... like you could find it in an archeology dig in a 5000 year old Egyptian pyramid and it would still be edible.
 
Coincidentally I have a 3lb can of the stuff sitting here.  Hearthstone brand ... tho I'm sure Gordon Food Service or a similar provisioner carries something like it.
 
INGREDIENTS:  Cooked Ground Beef, Water, Textured Soy Protein Concentrate (caramel color added), Salt, Hot Sauce, Spices, Dehydrated Onion, Sugar, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder.

"Soy Protein Concentrate" ... does that make it chinese food? ... I digress.