Tacos (Beef)

We have never been much of a fast food restaurant family.  I grew up in a very small town that had no take-out food other than frozen pizza from the grocery store.  I can still remember the very first time I ever had a Big Mac and to this day I will very rarely splurge on one.  Taco Bell was established in 1962 and franchised in 1964 but it took a while to spread into Canada.  We discovered Taco Bell in the early 1980's.  It was an immediate hit as to the idea but not so much for eating there.  Tacos were novel, different from burgers and simply fun to eat.  We loved the idea of the hard and soft shells so from there created our own tacos, taco salad and a wide range of wraps.

What many don't realize about Taco Bell tacos is they can't be easily duplicated at home simply because the meat they use is precooked and dehydrated then sent to the restaurant.  The meat is rehydrated and warmed for serving at the restaurants.  As a result of all of this processing the meat has a texture that you can't duplicate at home.  Boiling the ground beef comes close to the Taco Bell meat but it still isn't the right texture.

We make tacos with extra lean, hormone free ground beef that is browned, drained then seasoned while simmering.  Unlike taco salad I keep the toppings a bit more simple.  Offerings include leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream and shredded cheese.  I use store bought taco shells but hopefully will be switching that to homemade taco shells now that I have a tortilla press.  They aren't identical to Taco Bell tacos.  I think they are better and they do get rave reviews from our family.

Taco Bell was the inspiration for a few of our family favourites and while we seldom go to Taco Bell, we've taken those food ideas and made them our own.  I try to keep that in mind each and every time we visit a restaurant.  Each meal becomes the potential inspiration for home cooking and that's what it is all about!