Russ's Awesome Tacos

i promised a friend of mine that i'd post this last week, but Russ & i suffered some communication issues, both technical & personal, & then i got busy.

Russ makes these about once a week, using whatever leftover meat we have on hand. They turn out a bit different each time, but always delicious.

We've successfully made these using leftover beef, chicken, pork, & most recently (last night), turkey; we haven't yet made lamb or duck tacos, & this recipe would totally overpower fish.

The recipe as written makes enough for 3 generous servings; multiply as needed for your family. And remember, this is a "as you like it" kind of recipe, so feel free to adjust as necessary - use tomato puree or tomato sauce, for instance, if you family doesn't like chunks of tomatoes in their food.

Russ's Awesome Tacos

This is a ‘from the hip’ ‘recipe’.  We aren’t baking here and a co-carpenter once offered up this wonderful bit of advice: Relax, we aren’t building a watch.

And the quantity of ingredients depends on how much meat (or main item) you have/want to use.

The goal is to end up with a chili-like slurry of sorts that isn’t too moist so it won’t make the tacos soggy.

If the meat is a leftover and already cooked then I don’t add it until the fresh items have been sautéed for a while.  I do clean the meat of fat and bone and get it down to just the lean parts then I chop it up into 1-2 inch cubes.  Nothing fancy – it will become shredded during cooking and stirring.

 If the meat is raw then I cook that first in some oil to get it slightly browned then remove the meat until the vegetables get going good.

1-2 cups of meat, chopped
Onion – chopped (1 medium onion is good for 2-3 servings)
Green chilies – chopped, drain the liquid (1 can is good for 2-3 servings.  I buy the canned whole chilies so I can detect and remove any pieces of skin that may have been left behind.  This is a personal preference only.  I also assume the whole chilies are a better quality pepper than the ones that end up in the chopped can.)
Diced tomatoes, keep the liquid (Half to two-thirds of a standard can is good for 2-3 servings - the remainder are used for taco topping)
Garlic – just a little, if you want
2Tbs of chili powder to taste
0.5-1tsp of hot pepper powder (usually cayenne)
Tiny amount of cinnamon
1Tbs of paprika (this is mostly for color and can make up for the difference if you feel like cutting back on the chili powder and hot pepper powder)
A pinch or two of the basic green herbs such as basil or oregano (No reason why cilantro and/or marjoram couldn’t be used too)
2 cups of water or complementarily flavoured broth or stock

1. Sauté the onions in a little bit of oil (I try to use as little as possible but don’t want the vegetables to get dry). While the onions are cooking you can add a little chili powder to start giving it some color and it helps ‘activate’ or ‘roast’ the chili powder just a bit.  Don’t add all the chili powder yet.
2. After the onions are starting to soften and turn a little clear add the chopped chili peppers. Add the garlic, if you are using any, at this point too. If the mixture starts to get too dry then add a little of the tomato juice from the can of diced tomatoes. Some of the water or broth can be added too but keep most of it for later.
   
3. After the vegetables are well cooked, add the cooked chopped meat then add the remainder of the tomato juice and about ½-2/3rds of the diced tomatoes.
   
4. Once all the solid ingredients have been added to the pan, add the remaining ‘red’ spices (chili powder, paprika, ground cayenne pepper & cinnamon). At this point the mixture should have a little extra liquid from the vegetables, tomato juice, etc.  The powdered spices will begin to dry it out while everything simmers along on medium heat. Let the mixture cook for a while and dry out a little.  Keep stirring it as necessary.  Some of the chunks of meat should begin to break apart but nothing major yet.
   
5. Once the mixture has cooked 5-10 minutes and is getting drier, stir in the broth, and let it get hot again.
   
6. The heat will probably need to be reduced at this point but you want it hot enough to simmer and yet not so hot that it is splattering all over the kitchen. Cover, or partially cover, the pan and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring it every once in a while to keep an eye on the liquid content. Use your stirring spoon to break up the chunks of meat into shredded bits as much as you feel like.  As the mixture gets drier the meat should become more tender and easier to break apart by simply stirring things around. If the mixture is still too watery just continue the cooking and occasional stirring.
   
7. Towards the end of cooking time and before serving, add the green herbs.  Don’t go overboard with the herbs – a teaspoon or so should be enough.  But remember: we aren’t making a watch.  The broth generally adds enough salt content so I usually don’t add any.  Give it a taste while there is still some liquid to deal with to see if it needs any adjustments.