I've made fry bread before, but I'd never tried using it for tacos. Cook's Country had a recipe for fry bread tacos though, so I figured I'd give it a try. Their fry bread is a bit different than the type I've made before but, as I noted in that write-up, there's a lot of variability in fry bread recipes. The folks at Cook's Country opted for a yeasted dough. This does mean it takes a little longer than the chemically leavened fry breads, but I just made the dough first and then worked on the taco filling and side dish while I was waiting for the breads to be ready to cook. It actually worked out quite well.

The dough seemed really sticky when I was first mixing it. Even after kneading for a while (which I did in the bowl), it still seemed pretty wet. But it tamed down a bit after its first rise and I actually found it surprisingly easy to work with when rolling out my rounds. I figured it'd stick and tear all over the place, but I just slapped it down on the bench and went at it with the rolling pin and it behaved quite well! (My bench top is bamboo and my rolling pin is marble. I have a maple rolling pin as well, but I figured the marble one might stick less.)

I found the taco filling a little underwhelming, but that could be due to the fact that I ran out of chili powder and had to make some substitutions. And it could also be due to the fact that, since I didn't want to have to use one-and-a-half packages of ground beef, I used tofu as a stand-in for the last 225g of beef. Don't get me wrong, it was still tasty, just not as punchy as I'd hoped. I'd be inclined to toss in some chipotles in adobo or pickled jalapeños next time.

Fry Bread Tacos

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2018

Ingredients

Fry Bread

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 20g skim milk powder
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 3/4 c. warm water
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Filling

• 1 Tbsp. oil or bacon grease
• 1 onoin, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 680g ground beef
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. salsa
• sour cream, to serve
• grated cheese, to serve
• shredded lettuce, to serve
• extra salsa, to serve

Directions

Fry Bread

1. Combine flour, milk powder, salt, and yeast and mix well.
2. Drizzle in water and butter while mixing until dough forms.
3. Knead in bowl for 5-10 minutes.
4. Cover and let rise for 30-60 minutes. (You can use this time to do a little mise en place for the filling ingredients.)
5. Knock the dough back and knead it a few strokes, then divide into eight equal portions.
6. Round each one and cover. Let rest for a couple minutes.
7. Grease two baking sheets.
8. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out into a thin round 2-3mm thick. Do not use any flour when shaping or rolling out the fry breads.
9. Place the round on one of the greased baking sheets, cover, and repeat with remaining dough balls.
10. Let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, pour ~3cm of oil into a wok or Dutch oven and heat it to ~190°C (375°F).
12. Once the fry breads are puffy, cut a small slit in the centre of each one.
13. Working with one fry bread at a time (or maybe two if you're frying in a large Dutch oven), carefully add the dough round to the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes per side.
14. Remove from oil and set on wire rack to drain.
15. Do not stack fry breads as you finish cooking them, keep them in a single layer.

Filling

1. Heat fat over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook for ~1 minute.
4. Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
5. Add salsa, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.

Assembly

1. Top each fry bread with some filling, cheese, sour cream, extra salsa, and shredded lettuce.