Teeny, tiny street-style tacos with a hugely flavorful chorizo and potato filling, cooked until super crunchy. That’s some solid gold stuff right there, my friends. These Crunchy Chorizo and Potato Tacos are very crowd-pleasing things, honestly – because what’s more delightful than a plate piled high with tiny tacos? Maybe a plate piled high with tiny tacos that have been pan-fried until golden, and served up with a garlicky, chipotle cream sauce and lots of juicy limes? Okay, yes. Let’s carry on, shall we?

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Why are they called “street tacos?”

A street taco is a very traditional Mexican taco, the kind you’ll find most often as you wander through this most delicious county (I ate my fair share in July when we were there, let me tell you). Typically, street tacos feature corn tortillas with a seasoned meat, some raw onions, and usually cilantro.

What you won’t find on a classic street taco are cheeses, tomatoes, or shredded lettuce. Those are toppings that one tends to see on more Tex-Mex style tacos in the States.

What is chorizo?

Chorizo is the star of these tacos today, absolutely. Chorizo is a Mexican and/or Spanish-style sausage that is traditionally pickled (yes!) which gives it that very distinctive, bright and punchy flavor. It is made from ground pork and plenty of spices and seasonings.

Alternatives to chorizo in these potato tacos

If you are unable to locate the fresh chorizo that I call for here, please feel free to use any ground meat that you like. Just be sure to season it generously as you brown it in the pan. Lots of garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, coriander and, if you have it – Mexican Tajin.

What you’ll need to make these Crispy Potato and Chorizo Tacos

Opportunities for alterations and swapping abound here, but I quite like the combo of creamy, flavorful potatoes and punchy, pickled chorizo (chorizo is a pickled sausage, technically). It’s lovely and I think just great the way it is written.

That said, you could swap some ground pork in for the chorizo and flavor that up with garlic, cumin, Tajin seasoning (the BEST) and some ancho chili powder. A good sprinkle of salt and pepper, and that would be great. You could use a good quality meat substitute or a vegan chorizo, store-bought or homemade, if you want to keep this vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

14-ounces fresh chorizo sausage

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups finely diced potato (any variety, but I prefer yellow/gold)

¾ cup stock (any kind, optional)

24 small street-taco sized corn tortillas

Neutral cooking oil such as canola or vegetable oil, as needed

¾ cup sour cream

1 chipotle pepper, finely chopped

½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced/grated

Toothpicks, to help secure the tacos

For serving: Chopped fresh cilantro, cut limes

How to make these Potato and Chorizo Street Tacos

Okay, so. These are easy to make – they just take a little time. Reason being, we’re hand frying them which we need to do in batches so as to not crowd the pan. You could actually bake these in the oven, but we would never really achieve the super golden, shattering crunch that we can get when hand frying them on the stove. I actually don’t do much frying, but I will do it when the end product is worth it – when it’s really good. These tacos are REALLY GOOD.

They’re not totally unlike my favorite black bean taquitos, they just come in a different package. We’re also using corn tortillas here, for a bit more authenticity and because the flavor of punchy, pickled chorizo and corn is delicious.

DIRECTIONS

Cook the chorizo in a large, deep skillet over medium heat until done, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and leave the drippings behind.

Add about 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the onion and potatoes, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the stock and (just as you would risotto) gently stir and allow the liquid to cook out. Once it has, add another ¼ cup and continue until you’ve used ¾ cup. The potatoes should be cooked now, very tender and flavorful thanks to the stock. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Add enough cooking oil to the pan to fully coat the bottom and increase the heat to medium high. While the oil heats, assemble the tacos: place a heaping teaspoon of both the chorizo and the potato mixture onto one half of a tortilla, using more or less as needed. Fold it over and secure with a toothpick (note: sometimes doubling up on the tortillas can help secure things, as they tend to tear easily). Repeat with the remaining filling, as needed.

Working in batches, fry the tacos in the hot oil for a couple/few minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. Pressing down on the tacos, almost like a panini, helps to both seal and crisp them. Transfer to a baking rack or paper towel-lined tray until you’re ready to serve. Also, you can hold them in a warm oven (170 degrees), until ready to eat.

Serve the tacos family-style with limes for squeezing, crumbled cotija cheese, freshly chopped cilantro, and the chipotle cream (see below)

For the chipotle cream:

Combine the sour cream, garlic or garlic powder, the chipotle and any adobo sauce from the can that you want. Blend/process until smooth and season with salt to taste. Adjust the amounts of anything to suit your preferences.