Pressure-Free Taco Beef
Ground beef, taco seasoning, and a splash of water. One pot at the truck, tortillas optional.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 55
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 160 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Lean ground beef | 1 lb | 90/10 or leaner, kept cold in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Taco seasoning | 2-4 tbsp | check the packet, brands differ a lot |
| Water | 2/3 cup | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tsp | only if the beef is very lean |
Method
- Set the skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the oil if your beef is leaner than 90/10.
- Put the beef in whole and let it sit for two minutes before touching it. One side browns, which is where the flavor comes from.
- Break it apart and keep cooking, stirring now and then, until no pink is left. Six to eight minutes.
- Tip off the grease into a can or a bag you can pack out. Do not pour it on the ground.
- Add the water and the seasoning. Stir hard so nothing clumps.
- Simmer three or four minutes until the liquid tightens into a sauce that clings. Pull it off the heat before it goes dry.
This is the original recipe stripped of the appliance. A pressure cooker is doing two things there: cooking the beef fast and keeping it from drying out. On a camp stove you get the same result by browning hard first, then finishing in a small amount of seasoned water. The water is not filler. Taco seasoning is mostly salt, chile, and starch, and it needs liquid to dissolve and thicken into something that coats the meat instead of sitting on it as grit.
Draining the grease matters more in camp than at home, because whatever you leave in the pot ends up in your dishwater and then in your pack. Freeze the beef flat before the trip and it works as cooler ice for the first day, then cooks the same as fresh. Serve on tortillas, over instant rice, or straight out of the pot with a spoon.
Packing
Beef travels frozen flat in a zip bag at the bottom of the cooler; it thaws over a day and doubles as an ice block. Seasoning goes in a small jar so you can taste as you go instead of dumping the whole packet.
Variations
- Frozen solid and no time to thaw: add a cup of water, cover, and steam the block for eight minutes, then drain and break it up.
- Swap in a pouch of shelf-stable cooked ground beef or a cup of rehydrated beef crumbles and skip the cooler entirely.
- Stir in a can of drained black beans to stretch it to six servings.
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/instant-pot-taco-meat