Take Ground Beef Tacos To The Next Level: Add A Dollop Of This Humble Ingredient

When you've got your ground beef taco night down to a science, it might actually be the best time to reevaluate that airtight routine. Maybe your taco seasoning ingredients could use some tinkering, or there's a crunchier store-bought shell to try. However, if you really want to amplify the filling that anchors it all, just add a spoonful of the unassuming tomato paste you probably already have kicking around in your pantry or refrigerator.

Taco meat can be a little tricky to get just right. You want to properly brown your ground beef by keeping it somewhat intact so it develops its delicious, crispy color when it hits the pan, only breaking it up into tortilla-friendly crumbles later in the process. Without much of a binder, those beefy bits turn out too loose. A couple of tablespoons of tomato paste for every pound of beef will keep all that protein, tasty fat, and your spices together for a more polished, cohesive final product. Plus, it will lend the beef a richer quality thanks to tomato paste's natural, savory-boosting umami. Still, you'll need to add it at the right time for the best effect.

When making tacos, crumbling the meat too soon is the kind of ground beef mistake that's costing you serious flavor. Break up the beef prematurely, and you'll stymie the Maillard reaction responsible for browning, cause the meat to steam, and end up with a pan of limp, gray sadness, rather than the beautifully hued and textured taco filling you intended. So, proper browning before adding any tomato paste is essential, especially since it can take on an unpleasant, sticky consistency if exposed to heat for too long.

Only once the ground beef looks just about done should you stir in your seasonings, followed by the tomato paste. Incorporating all that paprika, ground pepper, chile powder, garlic, onion, and whatever else you use before you add the tomato paste will help the dry ingredients better distribute without anything to stick and clump to. Keep in mind that you'll want to stir fairly vigorously when it is finally tomato paste time, though, as its thickness makes it a little resistant to mingling. However, a cup of water or stock per pound of beef will help it all coalesce. Once it's cooked down a bit, you'll have a glossy, richly flavored filling that would look just as at home on a taco kit box as it will on your own table.