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Taco Bell-Style Beef

A work-in-progress recipe to mimic TB's "old school" ground beef. This one is pretty close.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fast Food Copycat, Mexican-ish, Tex-Mex
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Drain Time 10 minutes
Author David Squire

Ingredients

For the Spice Mix

  • ½ C ground oats or coarse oat flour
  • 2 T paprika
  • 1 T chili powder
  • 2 t salt
  • 1 t sugar
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • 1 t MSG or Accent
  • ½ C warm water or more as needed

For the Beef

  • 2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
  • hot water as needed

Instructions

  • Mix together all ingredients for the spice mix, including warm water. Mixture should not be a paste, but not watery, either. It should be pourable. Set aside for a few minutes so the oats can hydrate.
  • In a skillet, break up the ground beef. Add the spice mixture and continue cooking and stirring/chopping until the beef is cooked and the texture is fine, not chunky. A potato masher works well for chopping and blending.
  • If the meat starts to look dry as you're cooking, add hot water as necessary, The meat should be moist, but not soupy.
  • Set a colander over a large bowl or other container to catch the grease. Pour the ground beef into the colander and allow to drain for 10 minutes or so. If the beef has grown cool during the drain time, return it to the skillet for a quick warm-up.

Notes

If you have suggestions on how this could be made better, please contact me.