When it comes to comfort food, few dishes are as versatile, hearty, and nostalgic as picadillo. This dish is traditionally served on a plate with rice and beans, but we are going to make some delicious , crispy, hearty tacos out of it. An easy recipe perfect for weeknight meals, made with ground beef, simmered with tomatoes, garlic, and a medley of vegetables and spices, served inside crunchy corn tortillas.

What will you need?

• Ground beef
• salt
• black pepper
• cumin
• smoked paprika
• oregano
• potato
• carrots
• beer
• garlic
• roma tomatoes
• tomatillos
• white onion
• jalapeno
• avocado oil
• chipotle in adobo
• water
• tomato paste
• frozen peas (optional)
• vegetable oil, for frying
• corn tortillas, for serving
• salsa, for serving
• queso fresco, for serving
• lettuce, for serving
• crema, for serving

How to make it

Place roma tomatoes, cut in half, in a baking pan along with half of the white onion, the tomatillos, jalapeno, and garlic cloves. Drizzle with avocado oil and place under the broiler on high for 6-7 minutes. You want a nice char on the veggies, but make sure not to over burn them. Remove from the oven and add all the veggies into a blender. Be sure to remove the skin from the garlic. Try and get as much left-over juice from the pan into the blender as possible. That is good flavor you don’t want to miss out on. Add in the water and chipotle and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Heat a large pan over medium-high and add in avocado oil. Once the pan starts to smoke, add in the beef. Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to spread the beef into an even layer in the pan. Sauté until a crust starts to form on the bottom of the beef. Once a crust forms, reduce the heat to medium and start mixing the beef around and then mix in half a diced white onion. Sauté for 3 minutes for the onions to soften.

Mix in the salt, black pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, potato, carrots, and 1 diced tomato. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the beer and cook for 1 minute. Now mix in the tomato paste and pour in the blended salsa. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Pour in the peas and cook for 15 more minutes. If the sauce is too watery, continue cooking until thickened. Taste for salt and add more if needed.

Next we are going to fry the tortillas to get them crispy. I like using medal tacos holders stacked on top of each other to hold the tortillas in place and to keep the folded shape. Fry the tortillas in oil for 3-5 minutes until nice and crispy. Remove to a wire rack to drain excess oil.

To serve, spoon in some of the picadillo into the crispy tortillas, and top with salsa, queso fresca, shredded lettuce, and crema. Hope you enjoy!

Picadillo Tacos Dorados

4 from 18 votes

Recipe by Zachary Rodriguez Course: UncategorizedCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs 1 1/2 90/10 ground beef

• 1 tsp 1 salt

• 1 tsp 1 black pepper

• 1 tsp 1 cumin

• 2 tsp 2 smoked paprika

• 1 tsp 1 oregano

• 1 1 russet potato, diced

• 2 2 carrots, diced

• 1/2 cup 1/2 beer, I like Modelo Negra

• 2 2 garlic cloves, skin still on

• 3 3 roma tomatoes, divided

• 2 2 tomatillos, husked and cleaned

• 1 1 white onion, divided

• 1 1 jalapeno, stem removed

• 2 tbsp 2 avocado oil

• 1 1 chipotle in adobo

• 1 cup 1 water

• 2 tbsp 2 tomato paste

• 1/2 cup 1/2 frozen peas

• 10-12 10-12 corn tortillas

• oil for frying

• salsa, for serving

• queso fresco, for serving

• lettuce, shredded for serving

• crema, for serving

Directions

• Place roma tomatoes, cut in half, in a baking pan along with half of the white onion, the tomatillos, jalapeno, and garlic cloves. Drizzle with avocado oil and place under the broiler on high for 6-7 minutes. You want a nice char on the veggies, but make sure not to over burn them. Remove from the oven and add all the veggies into a blender. Be sure to remove the skin from the garlic. Try and get as much left-over juice from the pan into the blender as possible. That is good flavor you don’t want to miss out on. Add in the water and chipotle and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat a large pan over medium-high and add in avocado oil. Once the pan starts to smoke, add in the beef. Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to spread the beef into an even layer in the pan. Sauté until a crust starts to form on the bottom of the beef. Once a crust forms, reduce the heat to medium and start mixing the beef around and then mix in half a diced white onion. Sauté for 3 minutes for the onions to soften.
• Mix in the salt, black pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, potato, carrots, and 1 diced tomato. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the beer and cook 1 minute. Now mix in the tomato paste and pour in the blended salsa. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Pour in the peas and cook for 15 more minutes. If the sauce is too watery, continue cooking until thickened. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
• Next we are going to fry the tortillas to get them crispy. I like using medal tacos holders stacked on top of each other to hold the tortillas in place and to keep the folded shape. Fry the tortillas in oil for 3-5 minutes until nice and crispy. Remove to a wire rack to drain excess oil.
• To serve, spoon in some of the picadillo into the crispy tortillas, and top with salsa, queso fresca, shredded lettuce, and crema. Hope you enjoy!