Tinga Ground Beef Tacos

Since I still have Mexican cuisine on the brain after the delicious culinary tour I hosted this past weekend, here’s another Mexican inspired recipe to share. Tinga is a preparation style in Mexican cuisine that usually involves shredded pork or chicken that simmers in a sauce before serving as a filling. Instead of chicken or pork, I opted to use ground beef and made these Tinga Ground Beef Tacos. Seasoned ground beef is browned before simmering in a flavorful sauce of stewed tomatoes and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to create a filling for tacos…

This is a recipe on the spicy side but you are welcome to adjust the level of heat and spice by decreasing the amount of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce used. For a more mild version, just use the adobo sauce. This is especially good as a filling for enchiladas, tex-mex lasagna and burritos too! It’s a versatile filling you can incorporate in other recipes so give those a try if you’re not in the mood for tacos…

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, diced 2 pounds ground beef 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes 1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or to taste 16 hard corn taco shells 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup pico de gallo 1/4 cup shredded cheese 1/2 cup guacamole In a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. When hot, add onions and cook until softened and translucent. Add the ground beef, season with garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Brown ground beef and skim any rendered fat from the pan. Meanwhile, in a blender, puree the tomatoes, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Transfer the mixture to the pan once the beef has been browned. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. To serve, mound the beef onto taco shells, and garnish with pico de gallo, cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and guacamole