Benefit found - making a quick snack is a breeze. Grab a pound of ground beef out of the freezer, let cold water do its work in the sink, and voila, time to cook!
This ground beef was one of the 50-1lb packages from la vache. Ground from the entire shoulder, we didn't save any from the front of the cow for short ribs (sadly). They left just enough fat in the grind, I would discover. I have to wonder if there was a bit of sirloin in it, due to the texture.
Tossing together a fast Tex-Mex snack only got complicated by the gear. There were corn tortillas sitting in the refrigerator, and they really needed cooking. Decided to bring out the taco shell and taco bowl wires to make my own.
First, making the ground beef. Saute garlic and onions with a bit of salt, pepper, and cayenne in a pan for 3m. Then tossed in the ground beef. The surprise, after the tougher steaks, was how tender and soft the ground beef was right out of the cryopack. It was not a coarse grind at all. Once it began to heat, it simply fell apart with the right amount of fat. The remainder of the taco seasonings were added, and that set aside.
Discovered that instead of a wide pot with oil, needed a taller pot for the taco shells and bowls. Doesn't take long to cook either - maybe 2m on each side. If that long.
However, feeling as if I'd stepped into Sur Le Table and was cluefree, I didn't realize that the second metal bowl shape wasn't for a second dip, the two parts were offset so one was the bottom of the bowl, and other fit inside. D'oh.
After a quick drain on the racks, tried to use the taco tongs to make tacos. Those were more difficult - they puffed so fast, it was hard to keep them flat so that they would open. But did a few - challenging to get off the tongs as well.
With Tillamook cheese at the ready, fresh greens and parsley from Farmhouse Delivery, bit of onion, and some Pace picante (don't hate, love that stuff), it was easy to plate and prepare.
Suffice to say, we scarfed those. Nothing left. Nothing in the pan, nothing on the counters, all shells gone. Nada.
Best part - the amazing ground beef. Can't wait to work with it again!
