Navajo tacos
Fry bread wearing the works: seasoned beef and beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese.
55 min
Liner notes
Every state fair has a stand selling something called an Indian taco, but the real thing belongs to the Diné. In Navajo country it comes big as a dinner plate, loaded past the edge of the bread, and the whole family eats off paper plates in the shade. The beans in the topping matter too: the same government commodity cans that made fry bread possible fed everything else on the table, and mothers built feast food out of both.
- Track 1 · Why it hits
- The hot topping does double duty — it seasons the bread and melts the cheese, so nothing needs a second pass under heat. Simmering the beans with the beef instead of dumping them cold is what makes it taste like a stand at the fair rather than tacos on fry bread.
- Track 2 · Backstage tip
- Serve the lettuce and tomato cold and the topping hot. The contrast is the whole architecture: warm soft bread, hot saucy meat, cool crunch on top.
Ingredients
4 servings
Steps
- 1Start the fry bread dough first so it rests while you cook the topping.
- 2Brown the beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it small, then stir in the beans, taco seasoning and water. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until thick and saucy.
- 3Fry the bread and keep the rounds warm in a low oven, loosely covered with foil so the steam keeps them soft.
- 4Build on a plate, not a board: bread down, a generous ladle of the hot beef and beans so the cheese melts on contact, then lettuce, tomato, cheddar and a spoonful of sour cream.
- 5Eat with a fork and your hands at the same time. Everyone does.