Beef burrito wraps
Freezer-friendly flour tortillas wrapped around a reduced, cohesive filling of seasoned ground beef, beans, rice, and melted cheddar, with fresh toppings kept separate.
Adapted from Delish's freezer-burrito construction, with an original beef, bean, rice, and cheddar filling and USDA ground-beef and leftover-safety guidance
Ingredients
Written for a 30 cm pan
Units
Temperature
Servings
Beef, bean, and rice filling
- 600 g lean ground beef rounded
- 15 ml neutral high-heat oil, use only if the beef is very lean rounded
- 180 g onion, finely diced rounded
- 20 g homemade Tex-Mex seasoning rounded
- 30 g tomato paste rounded
- 120 ml water or low-sodium beef broth rounded
- 300 g cooked pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed rounded
- 300 g cooked long-grain rice, cooled and grains separated rounded
- 120 g mature cheddar, coarsely grated rounded
Wraps and optional fresh accompaniments
- 8 large flour tortillas, 60 to 70 g each rounded
- 120 g crisp lettuce, finely shredded and served separately rounded
- 200 g ripe tomato, diced, drained, and served separately rounded
- 160 g sour cream, served separately rounded
- 200 g fresh guacamole, served separately rounded
- 40 g pickled jalapeño slices, drained and served separately; optional rounded
Method
- Keep raw beef and its utensils away from the ready-to-eat toppings. Heat a 30 cm skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil only if the beef is very lean, then brown the beef and onion for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat into small clusters.
- Before adding anything else, verify several beef clusters in the center have reached 71°C. Drain excess fat if necessary.
- Add Tex-Mex seasoning and tomato paste. Stir for 1 minute, then add water or broth. Scrape the pan and simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Fold in drained beans and cooked rice. Cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring gently, until the filling is hot, cohesive, and moist but not runny. Remove from the heat and cool 10 minutes before wrapping so steam does not soften the tortillas.
- Warm the tortillas until flexible. Put one eighth of the filling below each center, add 15 g cheddar, fold in the sides, and roll tightly. Toast seam-side down in a dry skillet if serving immediately.
- Serve lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and jalapeños alongside. Do not put wet or cold toppings inside burritos intended for storage or freezing.
Ingredient substitutions
- Pinto beans are soft and creamy; black beans are earthier. Kidney beans work in Germany and Canada but stay firmer, so lightly crush one quarter of them to help the filling bind.
- Mature Gouda is an accessible German substitute for cheddar. Monterey Jack is common in Canada and melts more softly. Use the same weight, but expect a milder flavor.
- German supermarket tortillas are often smaller than Canadian burrito-size tortillas. Make 10 smaller burritos with about 80 percent of the filling per wrap rather than overfilling eight.
- Brown rice may replace white rice at the same cooked weight. It stays firmer and makes the filling less cohesive; add 15 to 30 ml extra water while reducing.
Notes
- Cool leftover filling in a shallow container within 2 hours, refrigerate at 4°C or below, and use within 3 days. Reheat to 74°C throughout.
- For freezing, cool the filling fully, assemble without fresh toppings, wrap each burrito individually, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat from frozen until the center reaches 74°C. Add fresh accompaniments only after reheating.
- Above 1.5 times the recipe, brown the beef in batches or use a larger pan. Crowding makes the filling watery.
Sources consulted
- Delish: Freezer Burritos
- USDA FSIS: Ground Beef and Food Safety
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety
Good with
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer