I hadn’t made these in a long time.  What makes these tacos so very good is the fry bread.  The dough is made from very basic ingredients…flour, shortening, baking powder and water.  No yeast.  The fry bread is rustic, flattened and shaped by hand and then fried in hot oil.  Fry bread dates back to the mid 1800s and originated in Arizona.  It reminds me of the sopaipillas we love in New Mexico.  My daughter went to a restaurant in Denver Colorado a few years ago that specialized in tacos served on fry bread.  And fry bread was named the official state bread of South Dakota in 2005.  The fry bread.  It’s what makes these tacos stand out.

Fry bread Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 T lard or shortening

2/3 cup cold water

peanut oil for frying

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like fine meal.  I cheat and use my food processor…it works great!  With the food processor on low slowly add the water until the dough comes together.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until the dough is smooth.  Wrap the dough in Saran Wrap and set aside while you make the chili.

Chili Ingredients:

1 medium onion diced

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1 T chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried oregano

3 T canola oil

1 pound ground pork (or beef)

3 T minced chipotle in adobo sauce

1 T tomato paste

1 can pinto beans

salt and pepper to taste

Measure out the spices and dice the onion and mince the garlic.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and sweat the onions, garlic and spices together  for a few minutes until the onions are tender.

Add the ground pork, chipotle and tomato paste.  Cook until the pork is no longer pink.

Stir in the beans and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Cover and keep warm in the oven while you fry the bread rounds.

Heat the oil to 375.  I use a wok for deep frying.  The oil maintains a more consistent temperature, it’s less likely the oil will splash and it’s fairly easy to lift things out.  This is a trick I learned reading “The Food Lab” by J. Kanji Lopez-Alt.  An awesome book I highly recommend.

Cut your dough into six pieces.  On a lightly floured surface use you hand to flatten and shape the dough into a disc.  Keep the discs covered with a clean kitchen towel or Saran Wrap until you are ready to fry them.

Drop the discs, one at a time, into the hot oil. Cook a couple minutes on each side until the fry bread is golden brown.

I line a jelly roll pan with paper towel and put a rack on top of the  paper towel.  As the breads finish frying I put them on the rack and keep them in a warm oven until I am ready to assemble the tacos.

Get your favorite toppings ready so that you can assemble and serve the tacos.  I used shredded sharp cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, black olives, jalapeño and sour cream.  Well, no jalapeños on mine.  You could also use diced onion and salsa.  Avocado is my favorite topping but I did not have any.

Put a generous serving of the chili on a fry bread and choose your toppings.  Squeeze on some fresh lime juice.

If you have fry bread left over you can warm it and enjoy it with a little honey, jam or powdered sugar.

NOTE:  You can increase or decrease the seasoning based on your personal taste.  Mine were a little spicy tonight.  Or use your own favorite recipe for tacos.  Like I said, what makes these so special is the fry bread.

I usually open a couple cans of chipotles in adobo sauce at a time and run them through my small food processor.  I put the purée in an ice cube tray and freeze it.  Once the chipotle cubes are frozen I put them in zip lock snack bags and keep them in the freezer.  Recipes typically call for one or two tablespoons and this ensures that the rest of the can doesn’t go to waste.