My time spent living in Texas brought me the wonders of Tex-Mex food, a lovely blend of Mexican flavors with the bold punch of Texas ease in the kitchen. This viral mashup recipe which is part taco and part burger is the perfect place to have fun with this style of cuisine. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t suggest simply adding more cheese and a tortilla to top after the flip and turning this into a tasty quesadilla.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 25 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 6 tacos |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (80% meat, 20% fat)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (I like Tillamook Mexican 4 Cheese here)
- Six 6-inch corn and flour blend or flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 2 Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Instructions
- For the sauce: In a small food processor, add the crema, mayonnaise, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, lime juice, garlic powder and cumin. Blitz until smooth, then taste. Add salt, if needed. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- For the burgers: Make 6 balls of beef equal in size. On a cast-iron griddle on medium heat, sprinkle a few pinches of salt and some grinds of pepper all over. Add 6 equal piles of onion and jalapeño, leaving space for spreading. On each pile of veggies, add a ball of beef, a nice pinch of cheese and a tortilla.
- Use your hand or a spatula to press the tortillas down on the ingredients, making sure to flatten the beef as much as possible so it reaches the edges of the tortilla. Cook without moving until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Flip and allow the tortilla to cook for about a minute to make slightly firm. Remove and fold into a taco. Top with the lettuce, tomatoes and a drizzle of the sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 552 |
| Total Fat | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Cholesterol | 119 mg |
| Sodium | 1019 mg |
Reviews
Like another reviewer, 80/20 was too greasy and the meat needed more seasoning (I used sprinkles of taco spice, S&P). I’ve made smash burgers for years with 80/20, but by adding the tortilla, the edges ended up lying in grease and getting soggy. Very messy to flip, as well. My husband liked them, but I did not think it was worth a repeat. One thing that I found helpful was to start with more of a disc than a ball to increase the surface area for the cheese–then smash.
Fantastic mashup, Sunny! It was delicious and fun to make!
Fantastic! Delicious! thank you Sunny:)
This recipe was awesome Sunny! I ate every bite and then took a nap. Yummy
Sunny you cook for real! This was delicious. I love you,Jeff and GZ. You all had the credentials to be where you all are today.
Meat needed seasoning, to much fat, after drained off the pan. Tortilla was soggy.
I make recipes all the time from Food Network, and love most of them. This is the first review I’ve ever left…why?…because Sunny struck an arrow of love through the hearts of burger/taco lovers. I made the recipe as written except I had to substitute plain Greek yogurt for the Mexican Crema I didn’t have. My hamburger/taco connoisseur, doubting Thomas husband, LOVED this mashup. All excellent and the sauce takes it over the top! Thank you Sunny!!!
OUTSTANDING! My wife’s eyes lit up when sat her down to watch this segment on The Kitchen, and I knew I had to make it. Looking forward to tweaking on the next go (more jalapenos, and maybe a smaller ball so the cheese doesn’t get quite as done). But Oh! That sauce!!
I made burger patties, not balls and continue to layer the ingredients as Sunny did. These are so good!! (Didn’t use jalapeno and adjusted the sauce too .,, can’t do hot/spicy).
I understand the intention, but I like a smashburger or a taco, not both in the same sandwich. For me the difficulty came in timing the cook on the burger. With it covered with tortilla, cheese and veggies I couldn’t see the doneness and it was a little over cooked at 4 minutes. With a few more tries I’d get it.