Hello Taco Tuesday! Have you ever had a Jimboy’s Taco? Hands down, one of the greasiest yet most delicious taco to come from a fast-food style eatery. Anyone who has ever had one has gone home and tried to recreate the experience.
Jimboy’s Style Tacos is something I’ve been playing around with for years. Certain “secrets” are a must – the cheese should be Nacho Cheese Sauce. Now they will tell you theirs is shredded cheese placed inside the tortilla, then the tortilla is pressed on the grill to get the cheese to melt. If it is “real” cheese, it’s gotta be American processed and not a Cheddar or Colby or even a Mexican Blend. The closest thing I’ve found to duplicate that creamy gooey goodness is Nacho Cheese Sauce. Jimboy’s uses Grated Parmesan Cheese on the outside of their tacos – the kind that comes from a can. I’ve done the same in the past, but prefer a good Mexican Crumble Cheese. The flavor might not be more authentically Jimboy’s, but it’s definitely more “Mexican”. I’ve seen some of the copy-cat recipes include diced tomatoes. I haven’t been to a Jimboy’s in years, so maybe tomatoes have been added. All I know is that the original Jimboy’s was a shell, seasoned meats, melted cheese and shredded iceberg lettuce. Along with that signature dusting of Parmesan. I will admit, for Hubby I do add the tomatoes most of the time. He thinks a taco without tomato is somehow naked. He also passes on the crumble cheese, which I say makes a Jimboy’s style taco worth eating.
One last piece of advice – make sure you fry the filled tacos until the outside is semi-crisp. Otherwise, the shell might just fall apart. That’s okay, a little messy, but still awesomely delicious.
Jimboy Style Seasoned Ground Beef Tacos
Taco Meat Seasoning
1-1/2 tablespoons Masa Flour
1 tablespoon New Mexican Red Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons Dried Minced Onions
In a small bowl, combine Masa Flour with all the seasonings. Mix well, set aside.
Beef Filling
1 lb Ground Beef
3/4 cup Beef Stock
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble ground beef into the skillet, cook while breaking the meat into small pieces with a spatula. Drain off any excess grease.
Add beef stock and the seasoning mix to the ground beef. Mix well, simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until most of the moisture has been cook away. Keep meat warm until ready to serve.
While the meat filling simmers, prepare the rest of the ingredients for tacos.
Tacos
1 cup Iceberg Lettuce, shredded
1/4 cup Oil for frying
10 soft Corn Tortillas, Taco Size
3/4 cup Nacho Cheese Sauce
3/4 cup Mexican Crumble Cheese, finely crumbled
Break lettuce leaves from the head, stack together and roll tightly like a cigar. Slice to shred. Separate the shredded lettuce, set aside until ready to fill tacos.
In a shallow skillet or tortilla pan, heat oil for frying the shells. Once hot, friy taco shells flat, turning several times. Lay out on a flat workspace, blot excess oil from one side only. This is the side to fill.
Spread a little Nacho cheese Sauce on the blotted side of the tortilla. Place about 2 tablespoons or so of meat filling down the center. Fold tortilla over the filling and set aside. Repeat until all the shells have been filled with cheese and meat.
Working in batches, light fry the filled tacos. Place on a platter, hold in a warm oven until all the tacos have been fried.
Carefully open shells, add shredded lettuce. Sprinkle with crumble cheese on the outside and serve. Awesome with a side of refried beans.
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