The Lunch Lady
Wagyu beef tacos
Seasoned Wagyu beef in warm corn tortillas with cheddar, lime crema and avocado. Pinto beans make it a full meal. Regular 80/20 ground beef works well here, too.
Published · Updated
- Servings
- 6; about 14 tacos
- Total time
- About 40 minutes; about 1 hour 45 minutes with dry beans
That Wagyu richness
Wagyu makes an incredible taco. The richness is hard to beat. For me, it's about as good as beef gets. I'm grateful to Joe Thomas and Hall of Fame Farms for generously donating it to our kitchen. Getting to cook with beef like this for the kids is pretty awesome.
And I want to use every bit of that flavor. After browning the meat, I drain zero fat. The seasonings go right in, and I let them bloom in the fat before adding the broth. You can smell the difference as the cumin, paprika and chili powder warm up.
Save the liquid gold
Once the meat is cooked and seasoned, I turn off the heat and let it settle briefly. That's when I strain off the excess liquid, with a bowl underneath to catch it. That liquid is gold. You've got Wagyu fat and beef juices carrying all that taco seasoning.
Spoon it into small silicone muffin molds, chill promptly, then freeze until firm. Pop the little pucks into a freezer bag. Next time you're making pinto beans or rice, stir a little into the hot pot and heat it through. Taste before adding more salt. A lot of the seasoning is already there.
It's one of my favorite things to save from taco day. Regular 80/20 ground beef still makes a good taco. For these little freezer pucks, I'm recommending the Hall of Fame Farms Wagyu I cook with. That richness is why I save it.
The cheater version
Regular 80/20 ground beef is a good budget option. And for the cheater version, I recommend using taco-seasoning packets. I like Siete or the taco seasoning I get at Costco, but any taco-seasoning packet works. Keep some on hand for nights when you want to get tacos on the table without measuring out all the spices.
Watch it in the kitchen
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Home recipe
Wagyu beef tacos
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 6; about 14 tacos
- Prep time
- About 20 minutes
- Cook time
- About 20 minutes, without the optional dry beans
- Total time
- About 40 minutes; about 1 hour 45 minutes with dry beans
Equipment: Large skillet, mixing bowl, fine-mesh metal strainer and heatproof bowl; small silicone molds for saving the drippings; 6-quart electric pressure cooker for the optional beans.
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Pinto beans, optional
Homemade taco seasoning, or use packets
Lime crema
Beef and tortillas
Instructions
Pinto beans, optional
Makes about 6 cups. Start these first if cooking from dry.
- Heat the oil on the pressure cooker's sauté setting. Stir in the onion powder and garlic for about 20 seconds. Pour in 1 cup of the broth and scrape the bottom clean.
- Add the beans, remaining broth, water, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, pepper and bay leaf. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 48 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, with Keep Warm off. Allow roughly 15 minutes to reach pressure and another 20 to 30 minutes for the release.
- Check a few beans. They should be creamy all the way through. If still firm, add a splash of water if needed, cook under pressure for another 5 to 10 minutes and let the pressure release naturally again.
- Remove the bay leaf. Mash about ½ cup of beans against the side of the pot, then stir them back in. Stir in the butter and lime juice. Taste before adding salt; the broth and bouillon already contribute some.
Homemade taco seasoning, or use packets
Choose this blend or any taco-seasoning packets. For the packet version, use the package amount for 2 lb beef and skip this entire homemade mixture, including its salt. Follow the packet's liquid and simmering directions in place of the broth amount and simmer time below.
- Stir the seasonings together in a small bowl.
Lime crema
- Whisk the sour cream, yogurt, lime juice and salt until smooth. Add water a teaspoon at a time if needed to make it easy to spoon over the tacos. Taste and adjust the lime and salt.
Beef and tortillas
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in two batches, leaving it alone long enough to take on color before breaking it into crumbles.
- For the homemade blend, return all the beef and its juices to the skillet. Keep all the rendered fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the taco seasoning and stir for about 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant, without letting the spices scorch. For packets, follow the package directions for draining and adding seasoning instead.
- For the homemade blend, pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the beef is coated and juicy rather than soupy. For packets, use their specified liquid amount and simmer time instead. Either way, cook ground beef to 160°F. Taste before adding more salt, since packet blends vary.
- Turn off the heat and let the meat settle briefly. Set a fine-mesh metal strainer over a heatproof bowl and carefully strain off the excess drippings. Don't press the meat dry. If using Wagyu, save the liquid in the bowl for beans or rice; see the note below. If using regular 80/20, you can skip saving the drippings.
- Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet until soft and flexible, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. Wrap them in a clean kitchen towel as you go.
- Fill the tortillas with beef. Serve with cheddar, avocado, salsa and lime crema. Add slaw and a little crushed corn nut topping if you like, with the beans alongside if using.
Recipe notes
- For the Wagyu version, save the seasoned drippings in small silicone molds in roughly 1-tablespoon portions. Refrigerate promptly, then freeze until firm and transfer to a labeled freezer bag. Stir a portion into simmering pinto beans or rice in place of some of the butter or oil, and heat through to 165°F. Taste before adding more; the drippings already contain salt and spices. Freezing time is extra and does not delay serving the tacos.
- For quick beans, replace the dry beans with four drained and rinsed 15-ounce cans of pinto beans. Use the same oil and seasonings, 1 cup broth and no extra water. Leave out the bouillon at first. Simmer uncovered in a saucepan for about 15 minutes, then mash a few beans and finish with butter and lime. Taste before adding bouillon or salt.
- Mild chili powder means a blended taco-style seasoning, not pure cayenne. Put a hotter salsa on the table if someone wants more heat.
- The dry-bean timing is approximate. Older beans can take longer to soften.