Crispy Beef Smash Tacos with Homemade Taco Sauce

https://youtu.be/ynzuR5iidxg

These crispy smashed beef tacos are made with thinly pressed beef, melted Cheddar, fresh toppings and a quick homemade taco sauce. The beef gets smashed directly onto the tortilla and cooked until deeply browned and crispy, giving you that perfect combination of juicy beef, a crisp tortilla and plenty of flavour.

Crispy Beef Smash Tacos with Homemade Taco Sauce

Makes 8 tacos

Smashed Beef

500g beef mince, ideally 15–20% fat

1 tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

8 small flour tortillas

100g mature Cheddar, grated

1 tbsp neutral oil, for cooking

Quick Taco Sauce

100g mayonnaise

35g ketchup

15g American-style yellow mustard

A splash of pickle juice (around 1tsp)

½ tsp smoked paprika

Pinch of fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

To Serve

½ small white onion, very finely diced

2–3 gherkins, finely chopped

Small handful shredded iceberg lettuce

1 tomato, finely diced

For the sauce, add the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice and smoked paprika to a small bowl. Season with a little salt and black pepper, then mix until smooth.

Set aside while you cook the tacos.

Place the beef mince in a bowl and add the salt, black pepper.

Mix gently until just combined. Don't overwork the mince.

Divide into 8 roughly equal portions and loosely roll each into a ball.

Heat a large frying pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a very small amount of oil.

Place a ball of beef into the hot pan and immediately place a tortilla on top.

Using a sturdy spatula, press down firmly on the tortilla, smashing the beef into a very thin layer underneath.

Hold it down for around 10-15 seconds to get good contact with the pan.

Repeat with as many tacos as comfortably fit in the pan.

Cook for around 2–3 minutes, until the beef has developed a deeply browned, crispy edge.

Flip the taco over so the tortilla is now against the pan.

Sprinkle the beef with some grated Cheddar and cook for another 30–60 seconds, until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is lightly toasted.

Remove the tacos from the pan and immediately top with a little of the diced onion, gherkin, lettuce and tomato.

Drizzle over the taco sauce, fold and serve immediately.