When Mike and I initially found out that we were moving overseas, along with the excitement and anticipation of moving, I had two thoughts race through my head: 1) I’m going to miss the food, and 2) I’m going to miss my family and friends.
Priorities, lol. (Kidding, mom!)
At home there’s a taco chain called Mighty Taco that blows just about every other taco chain out of the water (IMHO anyway…but I’ll admit, I’m biased). I’ve talked to people who were disappointed in the place, but I think that’s because they were expecting it to be something it’s not. It’s not fancy on any level, so don’t expect linen tablecloths, soft background music, or ambiance of any kind (no matter…hello, drive-through); it’s just your run-of-the-mill fast food joint. But it’s actually one of the select few fast food chains I’ll eat from, and their Super Mighty Beef Taco on a soft whole wheat tortilla with guacamole is killer.
I knew I’d miss their beef when I moved, so I wanted to re-create it (or at least my version of it) before I left.
Full disclosure here, although this meal is a no-brainer (you literally just dump everything into a pot and let it do its thing), this isn’t a quick meal to make. There is about four hours of cook time, but other than an occasional stir, it basically cooks itself. I haven’t tried this in a crockpot yet, but I bet it would be fantastic (if you make it in a crockpot, let me know in the comments!).
What’s your favorite food chain?
- 3 lbs (1.4 kg) lean ground beef
- 9 cups (2 liters) water, divided into 8 cups/1 cup
- 1 (14.5 oz/410 g) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juices
- 3 medium-large onions, diced
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and minced (or 1 tablespoon dried diced jalapeno pepper)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Add the beef and 8 cups water to a 5.5-quart pot; bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down and simmer 45 minutes, skimming off the fat as it rises to the top and stirring occasionally.
- Stir in all remaining ingredients (including the remaining 1 cup water), turn heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the liquid is evaporated out, about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Use the beef to make tacos or taco salad; store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (it’s even better after the first day!).
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Rosa says
September 13, 2013 at 6:27 amScrumptious! I am a big fan of tacos.
Cheers,
Rosa
Deana says
September 13, 2013 at 7:30 amI didn’t know you were moving… you will miss that great area you were living in… I’ve thought of moving up there many times.
Hope you enjoy your new place (where?) and can make your own great tacos all the time!
Faith says
September 13, 2013 at 8:24 amDeana, Sorry about that…I feel like I’ve talked about my move in just about every post for the past couple of weeks, and I was starting to feel like I was bombarding my readers so I didn’t want to mention it yet again, lol! We moved to Kuwait. :)
Anne says
September 13, 2013 at 8:49 amAHHHH my friends who have left Buffalo are going to be so happy to see this! Now if only there was a good substitute for Rosie’s Loganberry :)
dixya| food, pleasure, and health says
September 13, 2013 at 10:24 amI hope this was close to your taco joint :) If I try the slow cooker version – will report you.
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says
September 13, 2013 at 11:23 amFood that remind you of home are going to be very important for sure. This sounds like an amazing taco. I am not a food chain kinda girl, I like one of a kind places more.
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
September 13, 2013 at 11:56 amMy favorite fast food is Chipotle! It’s so true about moving Faith – the things I miss the most are the people and the food!
Ashley - Baker by Nature says
September 13, 2013 at 1:07 pmYou’re such a rockstar with these tacos, lady!!! Hope you guys are doing great over there! xo
Erica says
September 13, 2013 at 1:08 pmThese look perfect! Totally trying this recipe. I’m with Alyssa- Chipotle is the bestest
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
September 13, 2013 at 1:33 pmOh Faith! Will we ever meet, now that you are moving?!?
Tasty tacos and I LOVE the styling here :)
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
September 13, 2013 at 3:11 pmI love tacos, these look fab!
Caroline says
September 14, 2013 at 12:01 pmI’d have to say, tacos would be something I’d miss too! We have a Chipotle near us that I have an affinity for, so I can totally relate! These look delicious! I will most definitely be making these…I’ll give the crockpot a try (great idea!) and will report back!
chris says
September 14, 2013 at 7:03 pmI’m a native Buffalonian living in the DC area. I *crave* Mighty like it’s nobody’s business. It’s also my first stop any time I go home (literally – my family is well aware of my priorities :) )
Anyway thanks for the recipe. I’m totally sharing with all my transplant friends and making some for myself!
Melissa says
September 15, 2013 at 8:18 amI usually don’t go to fast food chains, but Mighty is definitely an exception. I could eat there every day. It doesn’t help that there is one about 2 minutes away from my house! I’m going to have to try this recipe because it sure would save us some money!!!
Ash-foodfashionparty says
September 15, 2013 at 10:32 pmThis looks like a mighty yummy dish, hope you are doing good there.
angela@spinachtiger says
September 15, 2013 at 10:43 pmThat has made me hungry and it’s late at night. I wish we had that taco place around here. I love slow cooked ground beef.
Sarah m says
September 22, 2013 at 10:45 amI Am canadian and use to live near the buffalo border and am definitely a mighty taco addict! Whenever I go for a cross border trip everyone knows that is where we have to go so I can stock up on tacos for a few days! So when I saw this recipe my heart leapt with joy! I made it last night following the directions to the letter but after 5 hours there was still a lot of liquid. So I put it in the crockpot overnight on low. Now 12 hours later – still lots of liquid. Any thoughts?
Faith says
September 23, 2013 at 1:25 amSarah, I have no idea about the liquid, that is very strange. It’s just science and the laws of evaporation – cook something for a long time and liquid evaporates off. For me, the approximate 4 hour cooking period resulted in moist taco beef (it’s pictured in the blue dish above). Eventually, the liquid will evaporate off if you keep cooking it, but I’m completely stumped as to why it would take longer than the 4 hour cook time. I wish I could be more help, but I am really baffled on this one! Since you’re a Mighty fan I really I hope you’re able to make it – I am so excited to be able to replicate their tacos when I’m living across the world!
shannon says
September 25, 2013 at 9:57 amI used to work there all throughout college. Even though I’m still in Buffalo, I’ll have to try this. So crazy to see the words ” mighty taco” popping up on pinterest as only locals and former locals know what it is. I’m shocked people here even go to Taco Bell at all as mighty is the superior choice!
Daneen says
December 31, 2013 at 3:36 pmI’m a Buffalo native and me and my cousin were just talking to my aunt about fedexing us Mighty Taco! Everyone I go home I go there or Jim’s steakout and all other food places they have there that we don’t have here in NC!El Niño and loganberry! I cant wait to try this recipe. Do you know what kind of cheese is used because I want the exact replica!
Faith says
January 2, 2014 at 8:23 amDaneen, I’m pretty sure Mighty Taco uses sliced white American cheese in their tacos. Hope you enjoy making a replica – so yummy! :)
Tom Vlahoff says
July 16, 2018 at 8:19 pmSwiss american blend!
Daneen says
January 2, 2014 at 3:43 pmThanks..lol I thought so, but I wanted to just make sure I have the full pleasure and enjoyment of my taco! I invited my family over tomorrow and told them I have a surprise for them so I hope I get it right. I’m a pretty good cook, so I’ve been told, so I think I can get it the first time. Thanks so much and I will let you know the results!
Kelly says
February 5, 2014 at 4:23 pmThank you for this recipe! I am a die hard super mighty xhot, sour cream fan. Grew up in Buffalo, but live far away now. My family ships mighty to me in dry ice, it still loses something in the ‘translation’ and Mighty started shipping food,but only burritos…weird.
I can not wait to make these!!
Mike says
June 7, 2014 at 5:51 pmI actually asked at MIGHT TACO about the cheese. I was told its an American Swiss blend. I have yet to find it anywhere though.
Faith says
June 8, 2014 at 2:59 amMike, That’s good to know, thanks. I can help with where to find it – Wegmans carries American-style Swiss cheese! Here’s what it looks like in case you want to buy it: http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=368840.
Mallory says
January 4, 2015 at 7:08 pmI cannot believe how close this is! I had my doubts when i looked at the ingredients but I honestly can’t imagine it being better from home. i used a thin strip of white american and an even thinner strip of mild swiss under the beef since my grocery store doesn’t have a blend. And my lovely sisters bought me a bottle of Mighty Taco’s mild sauce so the combo was absolutely perfect! thank you for saving me a 3.5 hour drive and coming up with this game changer!
Kiki says
July 6, 2016 at 4:17 pmHave you or any of your readers had any luck making this and then freezing a portion of it?
Faith says
July 7, 2016 at 8:54 amKiki, Yes, this freezes really well. I let it cool to room temperature, put it in a freezer-safe container, and then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top (to help prevent freezer burn) before putting on the container’s lid and freezing. It should be fine for up to three months in the freezer. Then when I want to use it, I thaw it in the fridge overnight or for for a few hours at room temperature. (Be sure to remove the plastic wrap before reheating.) Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
Kiki says
July 7, 2016 at 10:40 amAwesome! Thank you! I’m going to try it this weekend – crock pot and all. I’ll let you know. :)
Kent Kaspar says
August 27, 2016 at 5:05 pmDoes anyone have a clue as to how to make the hot sauce? For me that was the best part of a Mighty burrito.
Robin says
January 25, 2017 at 7:16 pmI was so psyched to be able to make a Super Mighty in my kitchen. It tasted great – thank you. Unfortunately, like another person, I have a ton of liquid. Any ideas? I’m mystified. Maybe I had the heat too low? Simmer (to me) means just of the edge of bubbling. Also – you mention simmering with the cover on. How does the liquid evaporate if the cover is on? Thanks for any insight…
Faith says
January 25, 2017 at 9:05 pmHi Robin, I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe! Sorry to hear about it being liquidy. Without getting too much into the physics involved (because it definitely isn’t my area of expertise), with a regular lidded pot (i.e. not something like a pressure cooker with a sealed lid) the seal isn’t tight enough to prevent evaporation, which is affected by the following factors: temperature and humidity, air pressure, the rate of airflow, and surface area. That being said, on a cold and/or humid day, the rate of evaporation is likely to be slower than it would be on a hot and/or dry day. I hope this helps!
Gabby says
February 9, 2017 at 5:33 pmThis was awesome! I too was a little skeptical given the ingredients for this but it tastes so much like Mighty. I haven’t lived in Buffalo for 10 years but I still miss Mighty Taco so much.
Mine had tons of liquid at the end but I simply drained it and it was fine. I may use less water next time.
Do you by any chance know what I could use to re-create their nacho cheese sauce? I love it.
Faith says
February 17, 2017 at 9:31 amGabby, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this!! I haven’t tried re-creating their nacho sauce, but if I do I will definitely share it! :)
Greg says
January 26, 2018 at 12:27 pmBorn and raised in WNY, Mighty Taco had always been a staple. I moved to Louisville, KY nearly 2 yrs ago and have been able to make just about all the foods I missed…everything except Mighty. Until now. I made a batch of this up last night and finished cooking it down this morning. OMG, this is spot on!!! I can’t thank you enough for posting this. It is an amazing knock off of one of the things I missed most from home.
The only thing I am going to add to your instructions is to be patient. It took me a lot longer to simmer off the liquid. Next time I make this I will give it a good 8 hrs to simmer. Don’t dump the liquid or you dump the flavor.
Sandy says
January 30, 2018 at 10:50 pmI finally got around to making this and it is the bomb! Absolutely fantastic. Anyone making this, you definitely need patience to get great results. I think I cooked mine for over 5 hours to get the right consistency but it is so worth it.
Thanks for posting. This is a keeper.
Debbie says
June 8, 2018 at 7:11 pmI made this tonight. OMG….amazing!!! We moved to Tennessee from western NY several years ago. I crave Mighty Taco from time to time. After a recent visit to NY, I was craving Mighty more than usual. So I ordered some Mild sauce and Hot sauce and was going to attempt to freestyle a recipe. Then I found this recipe. I cut in 1/3 since I only had 1lb of beef. It turned out great. With the addition on authentic Mighty Taco mild sauce, it was perfect. My husband never ate his Mighty Tacos with sauce. So he made his tacos sans the bottled Mighty sauce and he, too, raved about how much this tasted like authentic Mighty. Thank you for helping me cure a craving.