Taco Meat

What You'll Learn

• How to use a stovetop burner
• How to brown ground meat
• How to break up and stir meat while it cooks
• How to tell when meat is fully cooked (no pink!)
• How seasoning packets work

Watch & Learn

Ingredients & Tools

Let's Cook!

1. Set up your station
2. Pan on burner, handle turned to the side — never sticking out where someone could bump it
3. Turn on the heat: With your adult watching, turn the burner to medium-high
4. Wait about 1 minute for the pan to warm up
5. Add the ground beef. It will sizzle!
6. Break it up: Use the wooden spoon to press down and chop at the meat. Break it into small pieces. Keep stirring.
7. Stir every 30 seconds for about 7–8 minutes. You want all the pink to disappear.
8. Check for doneness: No pink anywhere? It's done. If you see pink, keep cooking.
9. ADULT drains the grease from the pan
10. Season: Sprinkle the taco seasoning packet over the meat. Pour in 2/3 cup water. Stir together.
11. Simmer: Turn the heat to LOW. Let it bubble gently for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. The sauce will thicken.
12. TURN OFF THE BURNER. Always check that the stove is off.
13. Build your tacos: Shell + meat + ketchup. Done!

Skills Checklist

• The pan handle stayed inward the whole time
• I broke the meat into small, even pieces
• I stirred regularly so nothing burned
• I confirmed all the pink was gone before adding seasoning
• I turned off the burner and checked it's off