Ground Beef Street Tacos - PinkWhen (2025)

FAQs

How many street tacos is enough? ›

Our taco algorithms show that people will eat approximately 4-5 tacos. Keep in mind that some will eat less, and some will eat more, but it will average out to approximately 4-5 tacos per person.

Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants boil raw ground beef with water and seasonings until cooked through to achieve a super fine texture, and the aforementioned Maid Rite sandwiches (aka Loose Meat Sandwiches, which are NOT Sloppy Joe's!) use steam to keep the cooked ground beef soft after cooking.

What ground beef lean-to-fat ratio is best for tacos? For tastier tacos, use a ratio between 80/20 and 90/10. A higher percentage of fat produces more moist and flavorful meat.

Each taco shell or small soft taco-size tortilla fits about 2 ounces or 1/4 cup of meat. If you add diced onions, you could stretch a pound of ground beef to make about a dozen tacos. With just the meat and spices, you can make about 8 tacos from a pound of meat.

To find out more, we reached out to Michelle Jaelin, a Registered Dietitian based in Toronto. What should tacos be considered — Junk food or health food? Jaelin: “Tacos could be considered as either a junk food or health food, depending on the ingredients used in the taco dish or how it was prepared.

All the different textures and flavors make tacos a popular food. But, tacos are best consumed in moderation. Especially if you are eating tacos that have a combination of cheese and meat, which could be high in saturated fat. Your body obtains all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from a diverse diet.

Ever wonder why some taco meat found at restaurants or in chili is ground SUPER fine and how they get it that way? That is the result of actually boiling the hamburger first. This method of cooking brings the temperature of the meat up slowly and prevents it from clumping, keeping it finely ground.

Cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F as measured with a food thermometer. The color of cooked ground beef can be quite variable. At 160 degrees F, a safely cooked patty may look brown, pink or some variation of brown or pink.

I use a quarter pound of beef in each 6″ soft taco. But commercially the serving is an 1/8 of a lb. So, If you are on a tight budget you only need 20 lbs. ( actually 18.75 lbs.), but if you fell generous you'll need 40 lbs.

What's the best ground beef for tacos? Ground round or ground sirloin—these are leaner versions of ground beef, so they don't have as much flavor on their own. That makes them perfect for cooking with lots of herbs and spices, as you do when making taco filling.

How long to brown ground beef for tacos? ›

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease.

It takes 6 minutes under high pressure, plus time to naturally release the pressure, to brown ground beef completely in an Instant Pot (or multicooker). In the oven, 25 to 30 minutes should score you perfectly brown ground beef, ready to incorporate into sloppy joes, tacos, casseroles, and more ground beef recipes.

The usual rule of thumb is about ¼ cup taco meat per taco so you have room for all those other fillings and toppings! Generally speaking, it's good to budget about 3 tacos per person, which means almost 1 cup of meat for each guest.

To use: Use about 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning for every 1 pound of meat. Use more or less depending on your preference. Brown meat and drain the fat. Add your taco seasoning along with about 1/2 cup of water.

Carne asada is a simple dish that isn't any more difficult to make than other grilled meat. When making carne asada, figure on about 1/2 pound of raw meat person. If necessary, trim the meat of any excess fat.

Example 1: A person with a small appetite eating small tacos with light filling and no toppings can consume around 3-4 tacos. Example 2: A person with a healthy appetite eating large tacos with heavy meat filling and toppings can consume around 2-3 tacos.

Usually you can buy these inexpensively but I'd plan on about 2-3 tacos per guest. If you're feeding teens, go with three! Some quantities will depend on what other side dishes you're servings as well.

Tacos are the perfect peckish food in that they're not too heavy, they're fairly small, and you can order as many as you want to feel satisfied, be it a snack or a meal. I usually order three just because.

The "conservative" amount of ground beef in a typical taco is 2.5 ounces, but because of the other taco fillings we can estimate 2 ounces of beef for the average taco. So that being said, probably about 8 tacos per pound of ground beef. I usually figure 5 oz.