I was making tacos last night and realized I had forgotten to pick up a packet of taco seasoning while I was at the store. Oh well, I thought… I can do this. So I winged it (wung it?) and made my own. And it was OK, but not great.
For 1 lb of hamburger I used about 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, about 1/4 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder, and a dash of both black pepper and cayenne pepper. I mixed it with 2/3 cup of water which is what I usually add with a packet of seasoning. I tasted it while it was simmering and wound up adding about another 1/2 tsp of both chili powder and cumin.
It had a little bit of heat, which I assume came from the pepper, but was otherwise still kind of bland. So tell me where I screwed up. How do you make your own taco seasoning?
We always make ours from scratch, and I put at least twice the amount of seasoning into my taco seasoning as you put. Also, as Silenus mentioned, oregano and salt. I don’t actually measure, just put stuff in until it looks right and then taste it.
Fresh garlic and onion, not powder, will give it some depth. And chili powder: put down that silly teaspoon. Hold your hand open, pop the shaker thingie off the canister, and pour 1/4 cup or so, about as much as the hollow of your hand will hold. Now a can of green chiles (or do those fresh if you prefer). Cilantro, and oregano as mentioned. You can go heavier on the cumin and black pepper. Now throw in a couple of plum tomatoes, you want some tomato taste, typically.
Mexican oregano - is that different than regular oregano? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that in the spice aisle.
Coriander is not a bad idea - I’ve got some of that.
AHunter3 yeah if I was cooking for myself I’d be little more adventurous, but didn’t want to overdo it and ruin everyone’s dinner. I was just trying to get as close to a package mix as possible so nobody would notice.
My own picadillo technique is to brown the ground chuck and set it aside. Next, sweat a whole chopped onion in the beef drippings. Add cumin, chili powder, Mexican oregano, a clove of minced garlic, black pepper and a Goya Sazon packet. Pour in a few ounces of beer and let it cook down. Add salt as desired but taste first since the sazon is already in there.
They are from completely different botanical families. Look in the “International” aisle at your local mega-mart. Better still, look for the big display of Mexican spices in glassine bags. It’s much fresher and very much cheaper than McCormick’s.
Salt is the biggest thing missing. Otherwise, your ingredients are fine. I’d probably up the amount of garlic and onion, too. I’d also probably throw in some MSG or similar (stock cube or Sazon Goya) for the extra umami.
Just dropping by to advocate for genuine mexican oregano. You may have to hunt for it, but it’s worth it, IMHO. It really improved my enchiladas, almost as much as grilling my corn tortillas before wrapping with them did!
Way short on the spices. You should have at least 2 TBSP of chili powder for a pound of ground and several tsp of cumin. Agree with the Mexican oregano (not Greek). I also like a tsp or two of ground chipotle for the heat and some smoked paprika. Dice up some onion and perhaps a pepper, mince some garlic. Brown the meat, veggies and spices and then add the water/beer and let it simmer until the water mostly evaporates.
Wondra flour works great as a thickener. It comes in a canister with a shaker top. I use it all the time. Another thing that’s useful to keep around is Frank’s Hot Sauce, that would have zinged it up for you nicely.
Yes. Just Google it. It even exists in other countries. Here’s one from Hungary, for instance (which I mention because I lived there and had first-hand knowledge of it). Why is this a surprise to you?
Because to me, that would be like having sandwich seasoning. To us a taco is anything we put inside a tortilla, even something as simple as coarse sea salt, un taco de sal or anything else from meat to vegetable to dairy, whatever you choose. In our home a taco de carne asada is seasoned with just salt while different guisos are all prepared with different ingredients. I have never seen or heard of taco seasoning here. Is it for a specific type of taco?
I know what it is, and how it appears to you. Food gets mangled crazily. As an American, it was nuts what I saw labeled as “American” or even more regional subvarieties in countries I lived in or visited abroad. This is just par for the course.
ETA: Missed your question. It’s basically for what would be closest to a picadillo taco.
