RECIPE: Fried Tacos!!

The other night I made my standard tacos for dinner. I love making them because they are quick and easy. They are also comfort food for me because they are just like the tacos that are served at one of my favorite childhood (and adulthood) restaurants, TACO TOWN! Everyone who lives around here knows Taco Town and most everyone I know loves it. It has been a family owned restaurant in Scottsbluff for many, many years. I don't know when they first opened, but when we were kids living in Scottsbluff, my mother use to take us there every Friday night as a treat. That was some 36 years ago when Taco Town was located on Avenue I in an old gas station. It has since moved to a larger building which they built on 27th Street. Taco Town was also the last place I spent time with my mother before she passed away. I had been back home for something and we ate there for lunch before I had to head back to Rapid City. A few months later she suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at the age of 46.

Taco Town is one of those establishments that everyone misses when they move away from the area. I missed it dearly when I moved away and it was one of the first places I ate when we moved back to the area. I have also taken enchiladas from Taco Town to friends many miles away from Scottsbluff. Generally if you are visiting someone who grew up around here, they ask you to bring enchiladas from Taco Town! When we first moved back here I couldn't wait to introduce Dan the Man to Taco Town. At first he wasn't that impressed and I thought he was crazy. But now he likes it and his favorite is the combination plate. Personally I like to get a taco and an enchilada. I don't get beans or rice, because Dan the Man usually gets full and I help him eat his beans and rice!

So, back to the tacos. I never really thought about posting my taco recipe because I didn't think that they were all that special. But the more I thought about the people who have never experienced Taco Town and their tacos the more I felt so sorry for these lost souls! To have lived without eating these tacos would be a tragedy! So without further ado, there is the recipe!

FRIED TACOS (my take on Taco Town tacos)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (preferably Open A Bar 2 Ranch beef!)
1 chopped onion
2 teaspoons cumin (more if you like, and I like lots so I just pour some in there)
1 teaspoon salt
Flour tortillas
Oil for frying
Shredded Lettuce
Shredded Cheese
Chopped Tomatoes
Salsa
Sour Cream

Directions

1. Brown your ground beef with the onions and season with the cumin and salt. Drain beef. Note: If you use Open A Bar 2 Ranch Beef, which is wonderfully lean you don't need to drain it. But if you use that stuff from the grocery store, you'd better drain that artery clogging fat.
2. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in an electric skillet. Sometimes I use Crisco shortening, sometimes I use canola oil. I set the skillet on 350 degrees.
3. When oil is hot, take your tortilla and add about 1/4 cup of beef. Don't fill it too full, or you'll have a mess. Trust me! Fold the tortilla in half and hold at the top. (I think that Taco Town places toothpicks in the top of the tortilla to keep the taco closed while frying, but I don't.) Carefully place the taco in the oil for a few seconds until the fold starts to take shape. Then carefully place the taco on it's side in the oil. Be careful not to burn your fingers. You know what? You can use tongs if you want, then you won't burn your fingers. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes you have to hold the taco closed so the side doesn't flip open. When the tortilla is light golden brown on that side, flip it over to brown the other side.
4. When the taco is light golden brown, remove it with tongs. Drain the oil from the taco and then place it on a cookie sheet that is lined with paper towels. Make sure to place one end of the taco on the rim of the cookie sheet so that it sits at an angel allowing more oil to drain. Keep tacos warm in a 200 degree oven while you are frying the rest of the tacos.
5. Put what ever you want on your taco and ENJOY!!

You can also make these tacos with corn tortillas, but this is a whole different story for another time.

Hope you like them as well as we do and if you have Taco Town memories or whatever, share them with us!! Does Taco Town have a fan page on Facebook? They should, that's for sure!