Indian Fry Bread Tacos
Often called Navajo Fry Bread Tacos, Indian Tacos are a delectable hand-held Native American food that is very popular at country and state fairs. Also known as Navajo Fry Bread Tacos, they are served hot and fresh and the wait in line is almost always a long one.
Servings: 6 tacos
Chef Alli
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Ingredients
Fry Bread Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt or 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2-3 cups oil for frying as needed
Taco Meat
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 Tbs. Black Dog Salsa and Pepper Jelly Salsa
- 1-2 Tbs. Twisted Pepper Tex Mex Seasoning Mix
- 15 oz. can of Ranch-Style Beans may substitute chili beans
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded Alma Cheese cheddar cheese
- Your favorite toppings as desired - sour cream, salsa, sliced olives, guacamole, Sour Cream, Guacamole (and more Black Dog Salsa and Pepper Jelly Salsa!)
Instructions
Make the Taco Meat
- Get the meat filling going while you work on preparing the dough. In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the ground beef with the Twisted Pepper Tex Mex Seasoning Mix, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Once the ground beef is fully cooked throughout, drain any fats that have accumulated.
- To the ground beef mixture, stir in the Black Dog Salsa and the beans; simmer for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low; reserve and keep warm.
Make the Fry Bread Dough
- Meanwhile, prepare the fry bread dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, mixing until the dough comes together.
- Sprinkle some flour onto a clean work surface, placing the dough on top of the flour. (If the dough is too sticky to remove from the bowl, stir in a bit more flour until the dough in the bowl until is workable. The dough should still be slightly sticky when you remove it from the bowl.)
- Knead the fry bread dough, adding flour a little at a time and only as you need it, until the dough no longer sticks to your hands or the counter and has a smooth exterior, approx 2-3 minutes; let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Fry the Bread Dough
- While the dough rests, add the oil to a large, deep heavy skillet or Dutch oven until it’s about 1 1/2-inches deep. Over medium-high heat, let the oil heat to 350 - 365 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer for temping the oil, you can always insert a wooden spoon into the hot oil as a test; if the oil bubbles around the spoon as it’s inserted, the oil is hot and ready.)
- While the oil is heating, portion the ball of dough into 4 equal parts, rolling each portion into a small ball.
- Using your hands and fingertips, flatten each ball of dough into a thin tortilla-sized circle. The fry bread dough needs to be worked until its pretty thin before going into the hot oil since it will definitely puff up and almost get rather fat.
- Working one at a time, place the flatted fry bread dough into the hot oil, frying until golden brown on each side, turning only once; repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Place the hot fry breads onto a paper towel-lined plate to pull the excess fats away. (The fry breads could also be placed onto a baking sheet and kept warm in a 200 degree F oven until its time assemble them.)
Assemble the Tacos
- Top each warm fry bread with the prepared warm ground beef mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and salsa, plus any other toppings you prefer. Enjoy at once!
Notes
You can use a rolling pin to roll out each portion of dough if you prefer. However, the beauty of fry bread is how “rustic” and homemade each piece of fry bread looks. If you roll the dough out, it will be smooth on the top and bottom. There’s nothing wrong with this, just different!
Also, remember that the fry bread is going to be loaded with lots of toppings – warm meat filling and all your favorite taco toppings. If the fry bread is a little irregular in appearance, no worries!
When frying fry bread dough, use a nice deep skillet. Even better, use a Dutch oven to keep the hot oil more contained so it doesn’t splatter all over your stove top and kitchen.
Making extra dough for your first batch of Indian Fry Bread Tacos is a brilliant idea. This gives you enough dough to get a good feel for it as you are kneading and pressing out each portion of dough to fry. Also, if your first few fry breads don’t turn out like you prefer, you still have some dough to perfect your technique.
Plain golden-brown Indian fry bread is delicious served warm, dipped in honey (similar to sopapillas) or spread with jam as a breakfast treat or snack with coffee.
Here’s the best way to reheat leftover fry bread – in the oven on a baking sheet or in your air fryer. Meanwhile, warm up the meat filling in a skillet. Assemble the fry bread tacos with your favorite toppings on top. Leftover Indian tacos are delish!
Nutrition
Calories: 860kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 24gFat: 68gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 912mgPotassium: 579mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 544IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 273mgIron: 6mg
Nutritional Disclaimer
Chef Alli is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate.
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