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The taco you eat standing up. A single serving bag of corn chips split down the side, taqueria seasoned beef spooned in hot enough to melt the cheese on contact, then cold pico and shredded lettuce piled on top and a stripe of Cremosa Fuego squeezed straight down the middle. No plates. No forks unless you want one. Everybody builds their own and nobody sits down. This is the food that makes a tailgate a tailgate.

Ingredients

Taqueria beef

• 1½ pounds ground beef, 80 percent lean
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅓ cup water or light beer

Fuego crema

• ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 3 tablespoons SoCal Cremosa Fuego
• Squeeze of lime

To build

• 6 single serving bags of corn chips, about 1½ ounces each
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or sharp cheddar
• 1½ cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup pico de gallo
• ½ cup sliced pickled jalapeños
• More SoCal Cremosa Fuego for squeezing
• Lime wedges

Directions

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat, breaking it apart, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon off all but about a tablespoon of the fat.
2. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and salt and let them toast in the fat for a full minute. This is where the flavor comes from, so do not rush it.
4. Pour in the water, scrape the bottom of the pan clean, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes until the meat goes glossy and just barely saucy. Keep it warm.
5. Whisk the crema together with the Cremosa Fuego and a squeeze of lime.
6. Open each chip bag along the long side seam so it lies flat like a boat. Crush the chips once with the flat of your hand.
7. Spoon the hot beef straight onto the chips, then the cheese so it melts on contact, then the lettuce, pico and jalapeños.
8. Finish with the Fuego crema and a straight squeeze of Cremosa Fuego down the middle. Hand it over with a lime wedge and a fork for anyone who wants one.

Tips

Open the bag along the side seam, not the top. It lies flat, holds twice as much, and nothing tips out while somebody is talking with their hands.

Build them one at a time and eat them right away. The whole point is hot meat hitting cold lettuce while the chips are still loud.

Set the toppings out in bowls and let people build their own. It turns dinner into the thing everybody is doing instead of something they line up for.