Taco Seasoning

Name: Taco Seasoning
Total time: 600 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 10 g Red Chile Powder (1 Tbsp); 8 g Corn flour (1 Tbsp); 7 g Salt (2 tsp); 5 g Tomato Powder (½ Tbsp); 4 g Lime Powder (½ Tbsp); 2 g Tumeric (1 tsp); 2 g Cayenne (1 tsp); 2 g Onion Powder(1 tsp); 2 g Garlic Powder (½ tsp); 1 g Hot Pepper Flakes (1 tsp); 1 g Ground Black Pepper(½ tsp); 1 g Ground Cumin (½ tsp); 1 g Dried Oregano (½ tsp); 1 g Chipotle Powder (½ tsp); 1 g MSG (¼ tsp)

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

Nyack, NY

My goal was to come up with an all in one taco seasoning. No need to saute onions and fresh garlic beforehand or doctor your mixes with something that wasn't in the store packet.

I started using the google results from "taco seasoning," only to find that most of those recipes resulted in dry, mealy taco meat that tasted more like chili beans than tacos. I grabbed a few packets of pre-made seasoning from the store and began tasting and emulating the seasonings. After I had the "taco" profile down, I added a few of my own touches. I found that using a fresher, redder ground chile powder, along with tomato powder preserved the fresh chile taste and gave a nice red taco meat. The seasoning also includes lime powder which I needed to adjust the acidity and was a key difference between chili beans flavor and taco flavor. I've added extra heat using cayenne, hot chile flakes, and smoky chipotle powder to my mix, as they're usually too mild in the store for my taste. Finally, using finely ground corn flour (maseca) instead of wheat flour didn't dull the flavor but still thickened the sauce.

I used weight equivalents so you can easily scale up the recipe and store the seasoning in mason jar for later use. In case you don't have a scale, I've also included approximate volume measurements for a batch. It makes a little more than enough for a pound of beef, so I'd still recommend measuring out the mix after you've added all the ingredients, lest the seasoning be off. As a general rule, I've found 33 g or 1 ounce of seasoning (the same amount that's in a store taco seasoning packet) is approximately 4 tablespoons, and this is enough for about a pound of ground beef. Otherwise, use as you like to add to other things like rice, fajitas, or anything taco-y.

My goal was to come up with an all in one taco seasoning. No need to saute onions and fresh garlic beforehand or doctor your mixes with something that wasn't in the store packet.

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

Nyack, NY

My goal was to come up with an all in one taco seasoning. No need to saute onions and fresh garlic beforehand or doctor your mixes with something that wasn't in the store packet.

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Ingredients

10 mins

4 servings

10 gRed Chile Powder (1 Tbsp)
8 gCorn flour (1 Tbsp)
7 gSalt (2 tsp)
5 gTomato Powder (½ Tbsp)
4 gLime Powder (½ Tbsp)
2 gTumeric (1 tsp)
2 gCayenne (1 tsp)
2 gOnion Powder(1 tsp)
2 gGarlic Powder (½ tsp)
1 gHot Pepper Flakes (1 tsp)
1 gGround Black Pepper(½ tsp)
1 gGround Cumin (½ tsp)
1 gDried Oregano (½ tsp)
1 gChipotle Powder (½ tsp)
1 gMSG (¼ tsp)

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Steps

10 mins

1

Mix all ingredients and store in a mason jar. This recipe easily scales up and I usually make 4X the amount shown here.
2

To use for ground beef tacos:
3

Saute 1 lb of ground beef in a large skillet on high heat until brown.
4

Drain grease from the beef. This is important to control the consistency of the taco meat.
5

Add 33g (1 oz. or approximately 4 Tbsp) of taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water to the meat.
6

Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 min to allow seasonings to blend and sauce to thicken.
7

5. Serve in taco shells