Who doesn’t love a good taco on taco Tuesday!? These grain-free tacos make taco night even better because they are both healthy for you and super easy to make! I love the fact that these tacos a made entirely from scratch, everything from the taco seasoning you use to the homemade tortillas to the taco toppings, everything can be made from scratch. Talk about a modern pioneer meal! These grain-free tacos are made with homemade tortillas and flavorful venison taco meat. You can add any toppings you want to these grain-free tacos, they will still taste delicious!
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Modern Pioneer Recipe
While actual tacos may be a more modern recipe, tortillas were (and still are) quite a staple in the southwest! Since tortillas use simple ingredients and were easy to make, they were a common food you would find in the restaurants of old southwest towns. Not to mention the Mexican/Spanish influence during the settling periods of the southwest states like New Mexico and Arizona.
While the earlier southwest settlers probably had their tortillas with more heritage foods like beans, frijoles, or eggs, I like to turn my homemade tortillas into delicious tacos! Of course, another favorite way to use my homemade tortillas is by making breakfast ‘tacos’ out of them using scrambled eggs, which is absolutely delicious!
Either way you look at it, these grain-free tacos with homemade, heritage tortillas is both a pioneer recipe and a modern pioneer recipe! This modern pioneer recipe is also super allergy-friendly! I made my tortillas so that they are….
- gluten-free
- grain-free
- dairy-free
- egg free
- corn free
- nut free
- sugar free
- anti-inflammatory
Taco Meat Guide
Now, like I mentioned earlier, the grain-free tortillas can be used for multiple recipes, like cheesy quesadillas, egg wraps, or enchiladas, but I mostly use them for tacos.
I make my taco using ground venison meat and taco seasoning. The venison tends to be a drier meat, so I often have to add water to my taco meat and allow it to simmer for a few minutes before serving. You can use a variety of other meats for your taco, even combine different meats to make a flavorful combination!
Here is a simple guide to some of the meats you can use to make tacos with:
- ground venison- a drier meat with a stronger flavor, but one of my favorites!
- ground turkey– a soft meat with a subtle flavor, tends to produce a moist taco
- chicken (ground)- I haven’t tried this one before, but it sounds good and I assume it would be similar to working with ground turkey
- pork (ground)- has a stronger flavor and makes for a fattier taco meat
- ground beef- a drier meat that has a more distinct flavor
Personally, I think that ground venison or ground beef make for more pioneerish tacos since those were the two most available meats during the early pioneer days. I use venison the most frequently because we always have a freezer full of venison!
Homemade, From Scratch
I love that everything about these grain-free tacos can be made from scratch! The tortillas, the taco meat, the taco seasoning, even the toppings can all be homemade!
For the longest of times I wanted to try making my own taco seasoning. However, I got stuck in a rut of using my favorite store-bought taco mix because I would ‘forget’ to try a homemade version. I was also stuck with the mentality of how could I make anything from scratch that would compare to a store-bought taco mix?
But I eventually did it and now I’m hooked! I created my own taco seasoning blend and realized how easy and simple it was to create! Like a lot of homemade recipes, I think it even turned out better than any store-bought taco mix! The meat was moist, flavorful, and had that special thick consistency that I always loved about the store-bought taco mix.
If you want to find my recipe, just go check out this delicious From Scratch Taco Salad recipe, it includes my special homemade taco seasoning blend!
As for the tortillas, you will quickly realize how simple and easy it is to make your own tortillas from scratch! The mixture of cassava flour and tapioca flour in my tortilla recipe creates the perfect tortilla that is both flexible, sturdy, and very tortilla-like.
I’ll discuss more about toppings in the next section, but there are many homemade taco toppings you can include in a pioneer taco bar!
Pioneer Taco Bar
The fun part about tacos is that each person can customize their own taco! The toppings for tacos are endless! You could put an Italian spin on your taco, try a Mediterranean blend, or stick with traditional toppings! Here are just a few topping ideas to get you started:
- raw cheese
- dairy-free cheese alternative
- organic romaine lettuce
- diced, organic tomatoes
- organic salsa
- onion slices
- homemade coleslaw
- avocado
- organic peppers
Many of these toppings can easily be homemade, to stick with the ‘from scratch’ taco theme that we’ve been going with! I absolutely love my homemade salsa that I can every year and it goes wonderfully with tacos! You can also make your own cabbage coleslaw or guacamole to go with your tacos.
As for homegrown ingredients, you can easily plant a taco garden including pepper, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and onions. If planting a garden isn’t feasible for where you are in your modern pioneer journey, then try to buy local produce and support local farmers in your area.
If you’re so lucky as to have your own dairy animal, you may even be able to make your own cheese from scratch too! I can’t wait until I’m at that point in my modern pioneer journey!
For now, my favorite taco toppings are Daiya cheddar cheese shreds, romaine lettuce, and onion slices! I also like to have Beanfields nacho chips or plantain chips with my tacos!
Recipe Tips
The taco meat part of this recipe is pretty straight forward. You pretty much can’t go wrong when using a homemade blend of taco seasoning and following the instructions for simmering the meat. It’s the homemade tortilla part that may sound a little daunting! But don’t worry, once you get the hang of it, you will be able to whip out tortillas like nobody’s business!
Here are few tips that I have learned from my tortilla making experiences:
- This tortilla recipe can be hand-rolled out or put into a tortilla press.
- Tortilla Press Tips- Make the tortilla dough a little softer by adding a smidge more water. Use two pieces of parchment paper to sandwich the dough between to keep it from sticking to the tortilla press.
- Hand Rolled Tips- While this may be the longer method of making tortillas, it is definitely a tried and true method that I always revert too! You just need a piece of parchment paper and little extra flour to pat out the tortillas into thin disks.
- You can use olive oil, avocado oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil in this tortilla recipe.
- Use warm water and add it slowly until the dough is soft and workable with your hands. The dough should not crumble when you break it off into pieces but it should also not be sticky.
These grain-free tacos are super easy to make and are perfect for a delicious, nutritious modern pioneer meal! Plus, you can even freeze the leftovers (both the tortillas and the taco meat) for a later meal! I love that they are made from scratch, allergy-friendly, and have early pioneer origins!
Grain-free Tacos
Ingredients
Grain-free Tortillas
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp. coconut oil for the frying pan
Taco
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 1 batch of homemade taco seasoning (approx. 2-3 T. taco seasoning)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
Instructions
Grain-free Tortillas
- Melt a 1/4 tsp. of the coconut oil in a 12" cast iron skillet over medium heat. The frying pan need to be steaming when you cook the tortillas.
- Combine the melted coconut oil, cassava flour, tapioca flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add a 1/2 cup of the water and stir. Continue adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a ball but is not too sticky.
- Roll the dough into a ball and place it on some some parchment paper. Flatten the ball slightly and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough ball into eight pieces (cut it like a pie). Pat out each dough piece on some parchment paper until it is very thin.
- At this point you can either pat out each dough piece on some parchment paper until it is a very thin circle or shape each dough piece into a ball and flatten them using a tortilla press. Either way, the tortillas should be no more than 1/8th of an inch thick.
- Gently flop each tortilla, one at a time, in the frying pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side. You may need to add a little bit more coconut oil as you fry each tortilla.
- Once fried, place each tortilla on a plate and cover with a towel to serve the tortillas warm. Alternatively you can cool the tortillas on a cooling rack and then just reheat them before you go to serve them.
Taco Meat
- Melt the 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a 12" cast iron skillet over low heat.
- Place the ground venison in the frying pan and cook until there is no pink showing. Use a stainless steel spatula to break up the meat while it cooks. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the meat and stir it in.
- Add the water and stir. Let the taco simmer for 3-4 minutes until it has reach the desired consistency. Scoop into a serving dish and serve with the tortillas and toppings of your choice!
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- Otto’s cassava flour
- Nutiva coconut oil
- Primal Palate taco seasoning
- Supplies: 12″ cast iron skillet, cast iron tortilla press, parchment paper, stainless steel spatula
You can make these grain-free tacos completely from scratch, which is just one of the many things I love about this meal! Homemade tortillas are a simple and heritage recipe to whip up and can be used for many other recipes besides tacos. Make sure you also try out the homemade taco seasoning blend to have flavorful, moist taco meat to fill your homemade tortillas with! Taco Tuesday can’t get any more simple, heritage, or allergy-friendly with from-scratch taco meat, homemade tortillas, and home grown toppings!
Also, don’t forget to join the modern pioneer wagon train and don’t miss any more chuck wagon recipes! We can’t wait for you to join us on this modern pioneer journey of living sustainably and eating wholesome, nutritious foods prepared from scratch!
by Alexa
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