Tacos

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does anyone have a good recipe for some salsa to go along with the tacos or some sort of sauce, and for filler, i think beer-battered fish woudl go well hehe
 
I watch my salt intake, too, and so like to make my own version of refried beans....basically cooked seasoned beans without much salt and pureed.....then spice it up with homemade salsa and the other goodies.........I also like to add fresh tomatos, shredded lettuce, low-fat sour cream, and a tad of shredded cheese along with some onions.......serve it with a fruit salad and it's a very nutritious and filling meal.......of course if you have chicken, beef, or pork on hand that's just icing on the tortillas or burritos
 
I also love pico de gallo:

2-3 hot peppers (jalapeno or serrano) chopped (use less or more according to taste buds
2-3 small roma tomatos (less pulp juice than regular--or just seed regular)
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt (kosher or sea salt if you have it)
2 Tbsp. of water

We live on this stuff but it doesn't keep more than a day and is best served fresh and is delicious on tacos, burritos, beans, rice, etc........and it's really expensive in the stores already made up......also good served with some fresh chopped avocado
 
I like the taco kits with the hard shells that have a flat area ( instead of the traditional curved ) This way they stand up and make it easier to fill.

I used to just layer the stuff on. But as I got to the last few ingredients ( lettuce, cheese .....) I often ran out of room. So now, I just make a taco salad ( meat fried with the taco seasoning ( morning star farm crumblers = fake chopped meat since im a veggie) lettuce, cheddar cheese, onions, tomatoes, black olives) I ill mix it all up. If too dry, Ill add a little of the taco sauce that was included in the kit or some sour cream or both. Then , once the taco salad is all mixed up, I just stuff the taco shells with it and enjoy.
 
Pacanis - I must also admit that my taco philosophy definitely follows yours. I have no problem whatsoever using commercial hard taco shells &/or hard taco shell "dinner" mixes.

I particularly like Old El Paso's "stand-alone super stuffer" hard taco shells. Those flat bottoms definitely make them easier to fill.

I saw those flat bottomed shells. Very cool idea :cool:
I have a metal rack for my tacos, but if I didn't I'd be all over those flat bottoms. Sheesh, the things they come up with to make life easier :)
 
Big Dog - I'm sure Emeril's Essence (which I mix up myself as well) would work just fine.

Even when I use the packaged taco mix I still "tweak" it. Add chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ground cayenne pepper, dried oregano, cumin, coriander - whatever's at hand. In fact, I probably don't even need the taco mix at all - lol!!!
 
sounds good, Larry,.......they really should supersize them......nobody eats just one anyway :)......that's what I like about using soft tortillas instead.......you can get them small or large and still stuff them with all the goodies but I do like the crispiness and flavor of the tacos, too
 
Big Dog - I'm sure Emeril's Essence (which I mix up myself as well) would work just fine.

Even when I use the packaged taco mix I still "tweak" it. Add chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ground cayenne pepper, dried oregano, cumin, coriander - whatever's at hand. In fact, I probably don't even need the taco mix at all - lol!!!

really you should, BC.........yours is probably a lot tastier and fresher than the packaged anyway:LOL:
 
I'm surprised Dina hasn't chimed in here with the lowdown on real Mexican tacos. The "tacos" we eat in the US are really Tex-Mex, I guess. In Mexico, the taco "shells", aka tortillas, are never hard and crisp. They are always soft. Before serving, they are just heated briefly on the comal/griddle. In our area, they are usually served flat, two to a plate, with filling that consists of some kind of meat, sliced onion, sliced radishes, cucumbers, maybe some cabbage. No cheese, no lettuce. Salsas on the side, also the ever-present lime wedges. Beans are often served on the side and they are piled on. Not usually rice. BUT - Mexicans use tortillas (corn, in this part of Mexico) like others use bread...they are eaten with almost every meal and the food offered (beans, rice, meat) is just scooped up into the tortilla. It is yummy. Flour tortillas are used for fajitas and sometimes quesadillas. Every little tienda (corner store) has fresh,warm tortillas available all day. The main tortilleria in town delivers them in coolers stacked in the back of a pickup truck, picking up the empty from the day before. If you look just inside the door, there is always an insulated "cooler" with warm tacos. They tend to run out by late afternoon, though. They are SO good.
 
Grocery shopping day is usually taco or tostada day for us. I usually buy the premade taco shells (but fry corn tortillas when I make tostadas). I don't like packaged taco seasoning--too salty. My tacos are pretty simple I guess. In order from bottom--taco shell, ground beef that has been browned and then had chopped onion and garlic added, shredded cheddar or Mexican blend (cheddar and Jack), shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. I usually put too much sour cream and guacamole and end up with a mess, so I always have a fork handy! lol My tostadas are not much different. From bottom--fried corn tortilla, refried beans, cheese (same as above), ground beef (same as above), onions (raw, in addition to what was cooked with the meat), lettuce, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, salsa. If I have them, I add black olives. I'm making myself hungry!

:)Barbara
 
OK, that does it. I better take some burger out to thaw because I've developed a hankerin' for some tacos :)
 
The "tacos" we eat in the US are really Tex-Mex, I guess. In Mexico, the taco "shells", aka tortillas, are never hard and crisp. They are always soft.

I can't remember the last time I had one of those Ortega hard tacos. We only use tortillas, and lately only 6" corn tortillas.

I chopped up the leftover meat and added it to a mixture of jarred taco sauce, chopped onion and an array of peppers from my garden. We had some leftover bell pepper rice so a scoop of that went on the tortilla too. Sides were homemeade red beans and fried plantaines.

I would really like an authentic recipe though, if anyone has one. TIA
 
My favorites are the 6 in corn....white or yellow....warm a bit, and put anything in the world in them....leftover, warmed up a bit Catfish tacos for lunch anyone??:)
 
Jeekinz said:
I would really like an authentic recipe though, if anyone has one.

Sounds like what you are doing is pretty authentic to me. Practices vary by region here, but where we live, there is no real "recipe." You just take what you've got and put it in a hot, soft corn tortilla. Add salsa - at least 3 are usually offered here. One is salsa verde; another is a more picante salsa ranchera, and usually some version of a sauce with avocado - not guacamole, much more liquid than that. As for the meat, it could be chicken simmered in a spicy red sauce, fried chorizo, pork with verde or red sauce, or the local favorite - carne asada. That is just barbecued or grilled beef steak. It is made from paper-thin sliced steak, cooked very quickly and then cut up so fine it is almost minced. Our favorite taco place also has tacos with lengua (tongue) and birria (goat meat). I've never seen a taco here made with ground beef. Ground beef and pork are used to stuff poblana chiles, as in Chiles en Nogada, but generally not widespread or popular. Tacos pastor are also yummy, but take special rotisserie equipment, and tacos canasta are cooked ahead of time and wrapped in a towel, so they are steamed. For a taco "gordo" or "gordita" you use a slightly larger tortilla and swipe it through the sauce before it is filled.

And Uncle Bob? That catfish taco sounds wonderful...fish tacos are more prevalent up in the Baja area, but we have a few restaurants who serve them here.
 
For tacos, I always go to a street corner taco truck. 10 tacos for 10 bucks. Since I'm in LA there are taco trucks parked everywhere. There's never a shortage of them.
They also give you bags of chopped onions, cilantros, radishes, grilled peppers, lots of salsa, etc.... There's always more than enough condiments left over for use in other cooking during the week.
 
I would really like an authentic recipe though, if anyone has one. TIA


not really sure what you're after here Jeenks..

there's like a million diff "taco fillings", it's like "pizza toppings"...

you looking for a certain type?

Eric, Austin Tx.
 
I would really like an authentic recipe though, if anyone has one. TIA


not really sure what you're after here Jeenks..

there's like a million diff "taco fillings", it's like "pizza toppings"...

you looking for a certain type?

Eric, Austin Tx.

I just wanted to get an idea of some authentic fillings excluding ground beef and Ortega taco mix.
 
well...

there as diverse as

Nopales, small strips of pickled cactus, quit good, vegetarian fair..

There is Bean and Cheese, I like rice also...

There is eggs, with anything you can think of...

There is Pork, which is a very rich dish, see "Carnitas", it is often fried slowly in lard..

There is Tripas, "tripe", Lengua, "tongue" my personal fave.., there's Chicharone... that is rendered Pig Skin, but soft, not like the Fried Pork Rinds you buy in a bag like potato chips...

There is probably like 100 diff styles of Beef. Carne i thinks is a just a Generic word for meat, so you may see Carne Guisada, Carne Asada, Carne Adobodo....

Then there is the whole " fish Taco" thing from California...

Here in Austin, I can "literallly" walk 2 blocks down the street and get any of these...

In fact, it's getting difficult to find a standard "egg" and Hash browns breakfast around here anymore!

Eric, Austin Tx.
 
Jeekinz, here are two authentic recipes for taco fillings...the carnitas are wicked, but delicious beyond description. Use lard if you can get it. The chicken tinga is a very common taco/enchilada filling, and very good also. In my little town, the meat would be heaped on an open soft corn taco - two to a large plate - and then adorned with sliced onion, thinly sliced radishes, maybe some avocado, and lime wedges. Salsas on the side. You just fold the taco in half, gabbing it firmly to enclose all the goodies, and chomp away. Maybe some beans also on the side - not refried.



http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/gotpork/r/carnitas.htm

Chicken Tinga Tostados - Allrecipes
 
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