I’ve been developing this recipe for the last couple of years, and I think it’s finally reached its peak. We use ground beef and chorizo, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a variety of peppers. We change out the peppers based on what’s available, so feel free to adapt as you see fit. Like it spicier? Add more jalapeños and serranos! Like it less spicy? Leave those out. Additionally, this recipe is just for the filling component of the taco/burrito, so have fun with different types of shells and mix it up! We use medium-sized, soft-shell, flour tortillas, but this would be good with corn, flour, hard, soft– or none, if you want to go the burrito bowl/taco salad route! The sky’s the limit.
Taco/Burrito Filling
Follow this recipe for flavorful, spicy, well seasoned taco/burrito filling. The combination of ground beef and chorizo really rounds things out, along with a variety of peppers and other vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground beef
- 1 lb chorizo
- 1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
- 1 poblano pepper, chopped (if you'd like to blister the skin and then peel, see note at the end of the recipe)
- 2 jalapeño peppers, minced and de-seeded
- 1-2 serrano peppers
- 3-4 roma or plum tomatoes, diced
- 2 sweet and crunchy mini peppers, chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- ¼-½ c chicken or beef broth (can substitute water if needed)
Seasoning Mix
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prep your vegetables, and in a small bowl combine all spices from the seasoning category and set aside. If you have a strainer, set that over a large bowl beside the stove.
- Set a large pan over medium heat, and add chorizo.
- Cook chorizo for 5-6 minutes, until you see the color turn a deeper orange. Once cooked, pour into your strainer and set aside to drain.
- Add a splash of olive oil to the same pan you used for the chorizo, let it heat up, and add ground beef
- Break up the beef as it cooks, and let it brown while you continue to mix and break up the meat
- Once the meat has browned, drain most of the fat.
- Sprinkle a bit of your seasoning mix over the meat, and add your peppers, onion, minced garlic, and tomato. Stir to combine.
- Continue cooking over medium heat for 2-3 minutes to let the veggies soften, then add the chorizo and the rest of the seasoning. Stir until the chorizo and spices are evenly mixed in.
- Pour broth or water over the meat and vegetable mixture, and bring to a simmer. The food should not be fully submerged in liquid, but it should reach a bit less than halfway up the mixture.
- Maintain simmer, and braise for about 15 minutes. You'll know it's done when the liquid has condensed and vegetables are al dente. Tomatoes should be fully cooked down.
- Serve with a slotted spoon, and use your favorite taco/burrito toppings and shells!
Notes
If you’re interested in blistering your poblano pepper for this recipe, set it over a flame for about a minute per side, give or take. Keep an eye on it, and let the skin bubble up and blacken. Continue to rotate the pepper over the flame until it’s evenly blistered. At that point, you can place the pepper into a glass bowl and seal the bowl with wet paper towels. The pepper will steam and soften in the bowl as it cools, and then you’ll be able to rub gently under running water and peel away the skin.
**Do this at the beginning while you’re prepping your other vegetables**