Tag Archives: Taco Bar Service

Taco Mountain: They Came, They Assembled, They Conquered

"Burachos" Pork Filling for Taco Mountain

Back in the day when my children were pre-teens, “Grandma” found a recipe in the newspaper called “Taco Mountain.”  Grandma is Mick’s mom, Ruth Roberts.  And Ruth Roberts has done one thing very well since I’ve known her now for 28 years –  she feeds large groups of people and doesn’t really get anxious about the prospect.  At all.

Case in point: A tradition at the Roberts’ home on the 4th of July is to barbeque a large portion of meat and have lots of people over to enjoy the day together.  I’m not talking ten or twenty pounds of meat, folks…I’m talking one hundred, 150 or even close to 200 pounds of meat.  But that’s another story for another day.  Back to Taco Mountain…

Basically this “recipe” is simply instructions to make a large amount of ingredients we in the South or Midwest generally see together on a plate when having tacos, and then let everyone just build their own.  Hers called for shredded lettuce, seasoned taco meat, rice, chopped tomatoes, etc.

Some families have “build your own nachos” bar, or something else very similar.  But since the time of the first serving of Taco Mountain at Grandma’s house in Jenks, Oklahoma, our own family also adopted the tradition.  And, since our normal Sunday evening dinner was going to include extra guests last night, “Taco Mountain” became the evening choice for service.

Our Taco Mountain has morphed, evolved and changed quite a bit since our first time at Grandmas.  And YOUR Taco Mountain could look completely different than ours.  But in case you’ve not tried this particular approach to serving guests before, I’ll share OUR approach to give you a starting point.  Who KNOWS where your own creativity will lead you!?

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Taco Mountain, al la the Mick and Kelly Roberts Family Approach

  • Make seasoned ground or shredded beef.  We use local organic beef, and I simply use McCormick low-sodium taco seasoning.  I usually double the recipe and use two packets for large crowds.
  • You can also include chicken or pork.  Last night I made the pork I created for a recipe contest called “Tacos Burachos.”  I love that recipe.  Here is the link if you’d like to check it out. I love the tang from the tequila and lime mixed with the smoke of the chipotle tomatoes.
  • Homemade guacamole:  Continue reading Taco Mountain: They Came, They Assembled, They Conquered