Crispy Tacos

Last night I made crispy tacos.  I had no intention of doing it.  I intended to make soft tacos with whole wheat tortillas, a much healthier choice.  But when I went to the fridge to pull out the tortillas I noticed that I had corn tortillas on hand and the urge to make crispy tacos totally overcame me.  I was powerless.  

Our family loves crispy tacos.  I don't use the word loves loosely.  When I say loves I mean loves.  I almost never ever make them.  I don't even make them once a year.  There are reasons for this that I will now share with y'all.  First of all, I don't like to deep fry.  I'm not a fan of it at all.  Not only is it unhealthy, it stinks up the house and the house smells like whatever you deep fried for a few days.  My philosophy is, if you want something deep fried, go to the county fair.  Those fair folks have no pride at all when it comes to deep frying.  Twinkies.  Snickers.  Oreos.  Avocados.  Need I go on?  I think not.  The fair is the place for all things fried.

But, every now and then, the hankering for crispy tacos overtakes my soul and there's no fighting it.  And I succumb!  And my family is happy when every now and then this happens.

Here's how I made these crispy critters.  First I browned a pound of ground beef.  Then I added a packet of this:

Just follow the directions on the package.  

Then I put about 1/4" to 1/2" of vegetable oil in my electric skillet and turn it up to 350 degrees.  Once the oil is hot, you're ready to roll.  (Test the oil by throwing in a tiny piece of torilla.  If it bubbles and floats to the top, you're good to go.)

Place a corn tortilla into the hot oil.  Immediately flip it over and place a spoonful of meat down the center.  Fold the tortilla over the meat and let it cook in the oil until it's brown.

Here they are before I flipped 'em:

Here they are after I flipped 'em:

By this point my teen son was drooling.  It wasn't pretty.  Not pretty at all.

When they are brown on both sides, make yourself a little taco teepee.  This will help the extra oil drip out of the taco and onto the paper towels.

We stuffed them with lettuce, sharp cheddar cheese and then topped them with my favorite taco sauce:

All I can say is make these.  Even if you don't like to deep fry.  Even if you don't like the mess of deep frying.  Even if you don't like your house to smell like deep frying for days.  Make these!  You'll be glad you did!

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!