First, pour 3 cups of cold water into a medium bowl. Then add all of the seasoning mix ingredients. Whisk the mixture together well and set aside.
Next, heat a pan or skillet to medium-high heat and brown the ground beef. Be sure to stir consistently so it doesn't burn. Pour out the grease as needed. Pour the blended seasoning mixture into the pan with the ground beef. Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for one minute, while stirring. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until very little liquid remains. The ground beef should be moist but not soggy.
Then cover the beef mixture and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5-7 minutes to tenderize the meat and infuse all of the flavors. Transfer the ground beef mixture to a food processor and process until the texture is fine. Return the beef to the skillet, and cover with a lid.
Heat a skillet on low heat, and place the corn tortillas on the skillet one at a time to soften them.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the beef filling mixture into each tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and press closed. Leave a 1-inch opening at the top so you can add the lettuce later. Repeat this for all 16 tacos, and place them in a freezable container overnight or until you're ready to deep fry them.
Preheat a deep fryer or a skillet to 365°F and fry each taco one at a time for 1 minute. Place the cooked tacos on a paper towel to drain the grease.
Cut each slice of American cheese in half into triangles. Then shred the iceberg lettuce. To assemble the tacos, open each taco and place one triangle of the sliced American cheese as well as 2 tablespoons of shredded lettuce inside. Close the tacos, and serve hot.
