Picadillo, a Latin American classic, is typically made with beef, but juicy turkey stands in well here. Scented with cumin and chili powder, the filling for these crunchy tacos is sweet and savory.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons corn oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup chopped canned tomatoes
- 3/4 pound ground turkey
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- Oil, for frying
- 12 (5-inch) corn tortillas, preferably white, or prepared taco shells
- 1/4 head romaine or iceberg, thinly sliced
- 3 ripe medium tomatoes, cored and diced
- 1 to 2 Hass avocados, diced
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
- Sour cream, for garnish
Instructions
- Put the oil, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and spices in a medium skillet, season with salt and cook over medium to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until tender, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes and boil to thicken, about 2 minutes. Stir in the turkey and chicken broth, adjust the heat so the mixture simmers and cook until the turkey is cooked through and the mixture thickens but is not dry, about 12 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and cover.
- To make the taco shells: Pour enough frying oil into a small skillet so it’s about 3/4 of an inch deep; heat over medium to medium-high. Holding 1 edge of a tortilla with tongs, lay the other half in the oil, keeping it flat with a spatula. Cook until crisp, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip the tortilla over and repeat with the other half, holding the first side of the tortilla at an angle to make an open shell, cook for about 1 minute more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Put the fixings and meat in individual bowls and the taco shells on a platter. Serve, encouraging your diners to build their own tacos, with meat in the shell and the fixings on top.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 918 |
| Total Fat | 80 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 69 mg |
| Sodium | 888 mg |
Reviews
I make this all the time. It’s delicious. I change a couple of things: 1 teaspoon of chili powder- not the 1-1/2 tablespoons called for. I use a can of rotel tomatoes with green chiles in place of the can of diced tomatoes and jalapeño. It works beautifully and is tasty but not too spicy.
No. R
N. Moo
Excellent! Served with soft flour tortillas, rice and beans.
Great flavor – easy to make !
Delicious and so simply to make. I didn’t fry up the tortillas so just heated them up and they were still amazing. Someone asked why you would add the turkey later, it makes for the meat to be juicy and not dried out. Also, I didn’t have chicken stock and it was still fantastic. I topped them with avocado, cheese and sour cream and drizzled them with taco sauce. Yum!
This has been a fav recipe I make weekly. Happy to see it on the food network! Curious why tomatoes are added before the turkey though? They’re usually the last thing I add & just cook down. I add a splash of apple cider vinegar to make the flavors pop even more. I also add green olives or capers to it. Delicious!!!
I love this recipe. The ground turkey breaks down nicely cooked like this. The spices are perfect. I used fresh diced cherry tomatoes instead of canned and also a fresh jalapeño from my garden. I’m giving this 5 stars but the website won’t let me 🙁
Cooking it right now. A little perplexed how the ground turkey goes in ~after~ spices, onion, and can of tomatoes. I can’t tell when the turkey is actually cooked because of the red tomato sauce already in the pan. No way to judge it visually. I thought cooking the turkey with onion/jalapeño first made more sense and I still feel that way. I get the combo of this recipe but would recommend cooking turkey first then add the rest.
Delicious!! My son and I love these tacos and make them often!!