Soft Corn Tacos with Ground Bison, Pepper Jack, Ramps, and Microgreens

Contains:  Dairy, nightshades (seasoning).  Is: Gluten-free, quick and easy.  

An excellent lunch, eating two of these!

What is rather sad on a small-scale level these days (considering there are a lot of much  larger-scale sadnesses going on) is that at taco bars the cheese to sprinkle on is at the end of the line, instead of near the hot items such as the refried beans or the beef.  I like my taco cheese to melt.  I hereby believe it should appear right after the hot ingredients, and before the lettuce, tomato, scallions, or whatever that is typically added cold.

Well, currently I’m Home Alone, and so I can make my tacos any way I want.  I even took the melting a step further than needed even by me.  Why not?  Home Alone!

Note: this is a Corn Tortilla week.  Three recipes and we’ll give the ingredient a break!

I have two taco variants today.  One contains meat, and the other is vegetarian.  I’ll post the other one shortly after this one goes up.  The ground buffalo/bison here comes from WildIdeaBuffalo.com– a site I found a few years back with range-raised Montana bison.  If you are in the US, and want range-raised meats, check them out.

Prepped and ready to wrap! They were awesome!

Regards ramps:  check the earlier post about them – they are an amazing and tasty, and very seasonal allium.

This recipe was written for one person – if you have several people here wanting to plate up their own tacos, don’t melt the cheese in  the skillet, but DO set it near the hot ingredients so it has a better chance of melting nicely, for those of us who prefer that!

Prep Time:  10 minutes.
Cook Time:  10 minutes.
Rest Time:  No.
Serves:  2 tacos per person.
Cuisine:  Tex-Mex inspired.
Leftovers:  Best to make as needed.

Soft Corn Tacos with Ground Buffalo, Pepper Jack, Ramps, and Microgreens

•  1/4 pound ground buffalo meat (or whatever you prefer / have).
•  Two soft taco shells (corn tortillas).
•  Two or three ounces of pepper jack (or other meltable) cheese.  Shred or finely chop.
• 2 ramps, chopped.
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (heat level to your preference, I used “medium hot”)
• Salt and pepper to taste.  (Keep the salt low – a little is good but you can always add more at the table.)
• 1 tablespoon butter or cooking oil.
• A couple small handfuls of fresh microgreens.

This recipe makes two soft tacos per person, and is written up per person.

Prep everything and have it ready.  Pull out your skillet, and add a tablespoon of butter/oil.  Let it melt at medium heat.

My soft shell tortillas were getting a bit old, so I let them soffen in the skillet, 30 seconds per side.  If yours are fresh, skip this step.  Remove and set aside.

Break up and grill the ground meat, adding the chili powder, salt and pepper as you pan fry this.  Continue to break up, but do not mush.  Move to the side.

Ramps and cheese can be cooked briefly in the skillet, another minute, just let the ramps get warm to release flavor (if you DO get ramps with the root bulbs, add that part to the skillet and cook that a minute longer). Remove skillet from burner/hob.

Add the meat to each tortilla, half of this to each one, as a central line.

Add the ramps and cheese atop that central line.

Grab those microgreens, and top.

Fold and eat.  Serious simple yummers!  (PS, somewhere around here I have taco stand devices, but I think they’re in an yet-unopened – and unlabeled – box from the move…)

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So, what does ground bison taste like, I hear you ask?  

I would compare it to grass fed and finished beef, but a bit more flavor.  Bison, at least from this farm, get to free range over acres and acres, and were meant to eat wild all year round in regions such as Montana, getting nutrients as they’d done for millennia.  But yes, the animals are related to cattle, and the meat does taste very much like quality beef.  I do note (when I’ve made burgers) that the texture seems a bit “wetter”.  I don’t know if this is a usual thing, or dependent on cuts used for grinding.

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