Tacos Pirata
Crispy beef tacos with shrimp and a garlicky chipotle sauce—a playful "pirate" twist that combines two proteins for bold, smoky flavor. Ready in under 30 minutes.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 385
- Protein
- 28g
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef
- ¼ lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 cloves garlic cloves, minced
- 2 peppers chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 6 tortillas corn tortillas (6-inch)
- 1 lime fresh lime
Instructions
- 1
Mince the garlic until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about the size of pencil-tip dots. Place the minced garlic in a small bowl.
- 2
Finely chop the 2 chipotle peppers until they are in very small pieces, about the size of peppercorns. Add them to the bowl with the garlic.
- 3
Cut the lime in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Set both halves aside on a small plate.
- 4
Place a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Wait about 90 seconds until the oil shimmers and slides quickly when you tilt the pan.
- 5
Add the ground beef to the hot skillet in a single layer. Let it cook without stirring for 2 minutes until the bottom is browned and crispy.
- 6
Break the beef apart into bite-sized pieces using a wooden spoon, pressing it into smaller chunks. Stir constantly for 2 minutes until no pink remains.
- 7
Pour the garlic and chipotle mixture into the skillet with the beef. Stir constantly for 30 seconds until the mixture becomes fragrant and turns a darker color.
- 8
Add the shrimp to the skillet in a single layer around the beef. Let them cook without stirring for 90 seconds until the bottom of each shrimp turns from gray to pink.
- 9
Flip each shrimp over using tongs or a fork. Stir everything together and cook for another 90 seconds until all shrimp are fully pink with no gray remaining.
- 10
Remove the skillet from heat. The filling should smell smoky and garlicky with the beef and shrimp in small, bite-sized pieces.
- 11
Place a corn tortilla directly over a gas flame on low heat for 5 seconds per side until it is warm and slightly softened, using tongs to rotate. (If you have no gas flame, warm tortillas in a dry skillet over medium heat for 10 seconds per side.)
- 12
Repeat step 11 with the remaining 5 tortillas, stacking the warm tortillas on a plate as you finish each one.
- 13
Place a warm tortilla on a plate. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the beef and shrimp filling down the center of the tortilla, from the left edge to the right edge.
- 14
Squeeze a small wedge of the lime over the filling. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
- 15
Serve all 6 tacos immediately on a plate while the filling is still hot.
Tools you’ll need
- 12-inch skillet
- wooden spoon
- small bowl
- small plate
- tongs or fork
- cutting board
- knife
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