Beef Taquitos

Tired of the flimsy, flavorless taquitos in the freezer section? You’ve come to the right place. This Mexican street food staple, a close cousin to the taco (taquito literally means lil’ taco), is made by filling a corn tortilla with seasoned beef or chicken, rolling it tightly, and frying until crispity-crunchy. To keep this cheap and simple and lessen the mess, I turned to ground beef for the filling and included an option for baking the taquitos instead of frying them. Grab one for a quick snack or three or four with a side of avocado salsa and refried beans if you’re looking for a full meal.

What Are Taquitos?

Taquitos are a type of taco in which small corn tortillas are tightly rolled around a filling and then fried until crispy. They are generally topped with condiments like guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

How To Make Beef Taquitos

INGREDIENTS

• Oil: For frying, I use a neutral oil with a high smoke point (the temperature at which it smokes and begins to break down). Corn oil and sunflower oil are my go-tos.
• Pickled Jalapeños: To lend some brightness and zing to rich beef filling, I opted for pickled jalapeños over the usual fresh chiles.
• Ground Beef: I prefer to use ground beef that’s on the leaner side—90% lean is ideal—since there’s plenty of fat in the dish and little chance of the beef filling drying out.
• Cheese: Sharp cheddar and kicky pepper Jack form a hard-to-beat pair that melts like a champ. If you’re looking for a little less heat, feel free to swap Monterey Jack for the pepper Jack.
• Taco Seasoning: An incredible shortcut ingredient. Just 1 Tbsp. is all it takes to transform ground beef into a taco filling.
• Flour: I use a combination of flour and lime juice to make a paste that keeps the tortillas sealed during cooking.
• Tortillas: Small corn tortillas are what we want. That means 4" to 6" in diameter. Look for thinner tortillas as they tend to be more pliable.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First up, we’ll make a sofrito turbocharged with a few superhero ingredients: zippy pickled jalapeños, spicy-savory taco seasoning, and umami-bomb tomato paste. Start by cooking the onion and jalapeños in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the onions are starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it darkens in color (a sign that it’s caramelizing!).

Time to get the beef involved. First grab a wooden spoon since we’ll want to scrape up any of the super flavorful caramelized browned bits that are likely to stick to it. Add the ground beef, taco seasoning, and some salt to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat with that wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the meat loses its pink color. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the filling cool slightly.

Let’s get ready to roll. First toss the cheeses together in a small bowl and set aside. In a second small bowl, whisk the flour and 4 Tbsp. lime juice until a smooth paste forms; this will be your tortilla glue.

Working 5 tortillas at a time, wrap tortillas in a clean kitchen towel and microwave just to heat through; we need the tortillas to be soft and pliable so they won't crack and fall apart when rolling. Now, spread out a tortilla on a work surface and arrange 2 Tbsp. beef filling and 1 Tbsp. cheese on one side.

Tightly roll up the tortilla three-quarters of the way, leaving one edge exposed. Brush the exposed edge with some of the flour paste (our glue), then finish rolling the tortilla into a tight cylinder. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Now’s a great time to whip up the crema we’ll use as a condiment. Just stir together the sour cream, cilantro, and 2 Tbsp. lime juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and chill until you’re ready to serve.

At this point, you can either bake the taquitos in a 400° oven until crisp and golden or you can go the traditional route and deep-fry them. If frying, heat 2 cups oil in a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven until it registers 375° on an instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Fry the taquitos in batches of 4 or 5, turning occasionally with tongs, until golden and crisp all over, about 5 minutes. As you work, transfer the fried taquitos to paper towels or a wire rack to drain.

Congratulations on your taquitos! Sprinkle them with some chopped cilantro and serve them up with the cream and some store-bought guac and/or salt alongside.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• What’s the difference between a taquito and a flauta? Taquitos and flautas are prepared the same way—a tortilla rolled with savory filling and fried or baked. It comes down to the type of tortilla. Taquitos are made with small corn tortillas, while flautas are made with large flour tortillas.
• How can you get taquitos to stay rolled up? One of the most frustrating parts of taquito assembly is getting the darn thing to stay tightly rolled, especially if you’re working with high-quality nixtamalized corn tortillas, which tend to be slightly stiffer. There are two crucial steps to keep the tortillas from unraveling: (1) Microwave the tortillas in batches of 5 to 6 in a wet paper towel for at least 40 to 45 seconds before you begin assembly. As you start to fill and roll the tortillas, keep the rest of them wrapped in the paper towel and covered with a kitchen towel as you work. (2) Seal the taquitos with flour paste. In the right ratio, a blend of flour and water creates a paste that basically acts like tortilla glue. Brushing that on the edge of the tortilla as you finish wrapping it will help the tortilla stay sealed during cooking.
• Is it better to fry or bake taquitos? This part is totally up to you. Shallow- or deep-frying is certainly the more traditional Mexican method for cooking taquitos, but baked taquitos come out just as crispy with a fraction of the time and mess. Baking is also a safer method if you’re still learning your way around the kitchen or teaching someone new to cooking. We’ve included instructions for both so you can choose your own adventure.
• Can you freeze taquitos? Please do! Taquitos freeze very well and make for a great after-school/after-work/midnight snack. Once you have the taquitos rolls, arrange them in a single layer on a sheet tray. Place the sheet tray in the freezer for at least an hour to set the taquitos in their shape 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer-safe zip-top bag or airtight container to keep for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then cook as directed.

Make Ahead

Like most crispy foods, taquitos are best eaten right away. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be prepped ahead. In fact, they can be assembled (but not cooked) up to 4 months ahead. Freeze on a sheet tray until they hold their shape, then transfer to a zip-top freezer bag continue to freeze.