# Need authentic Mexican recipes for Pico de Gallo, Guac, Hot Sauce, & etc please.



## gatogato (Jun 16, 2009)

Hi, I am starting a Mexican food truck and need authentic recipes for Pico de Gallo, Guac, Hot Sauce, and Mild sauce please. Please post up your recipes.

Thank You


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

it's called the search function. seriously, you will find most of those here. best of luck.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

True, these dishes have all been discussed here and can be found in a search, but let me apologize for Pete. On behalf of Cheftalk, that was not an appropriate response.

I'm curious though. Why do you want to run a truck if you don't have the knowledge of the cuisine to already have these basic recipes?

And while I applaud your desire to make these fresh from scratch, you should consider that the extra work and fresh quality ingredients could make a commercially pre-fabricated solution more realistic on a year round basis.


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

Yes, one does wonder how you get to the point of starting up the business without the proven recipes.
A plethora of recipes exist on the 'net, and many of them have been reviewed.
Most will not give you a recipe at this point, but would be willing to critique a recipe you provide, especially if you also post your opinion of the recipe(s).
Good luck in your endeavor.
Be sure to pop back in and let us know how it goes.


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## gatogato (Jun 16, 2009)

What do you guys think about these recipes:


Guacamole:
6 avocados peeled and pitted
1 serrano minced
1 jalepeno minced
2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
3 tablespoons red onion minced
Juice from 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic
.5 tsp. habenero spice
2 Roma tomatoes
.5 tsp. S&P

Pico de Gallo
4 ripe plum tomatoes
1 small onion
.5 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 jalepeno peppers
1 tablespoon lime juice
.5 tsp. S&P
1 clove garlic minced

Mexican Hot Sauce
1 dried guajillo chile
1 dried chile ***** (pasilla) pepper
1 ancho chile
1.5 cups boiling water
2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp white vinegar

Mexican Mild Sauce
6 jalepeno pepper
2 cups boiling hot water
2 tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Steak Taco Seasoning/marinade
1/2 medium onion quartered
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 teapoons pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cumin

Thank You,
Jeff


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The guac seems it may be hotter than perceived as normal. That mostly comes down to how hot your habanero spice is. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just my perspective. i like a little bit of cumin in guacamole and that may provide a warm flavor note without actual heat. 

Pico, my only critique is in handling the lime juice. There will be times in the year that the tomatoes have more acidity and other times less. Use the lime juice at the end, tasting as you go, to achieve the right balance. Some times that may be more, other times less. And on occasion, a pinch of sugar might be needed for balance.

I don't have any experience making hot/mild sauces. They look a little low in acidity but I've not tasted yours to really know. 

Your marinade will do the job. I have a fondness for a little ground coriander seed to provide a little citrus note. Try a little and see what you think.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Guacamole: Amounts depend on the size and ripeness of your avacados. However, not enough citrus, not enough salt. No black pepper. Everything else is optional.

Pico: Looks okay.

Salsa Rojo Picante: "Mexican Hot Sauce"?! I mean, really! A bit mild for my tastes. Also, the chile choices are pretty pedestrian. Don't you think guajillos are a bit too mole for salsa? Maybe some cascabels instead or in addition.

Salsa Rojo Suave: Looks okay, if by "jalapeno" you mean fresh and not dried jalapeno. Dry jalapenos are pretty hot for gabachos. I'd go with California chiles instead.

Missing In Action: Two red sauces aren't enough. You need a salsa chipotle and a salsa verde (made with tomatillo, fresh chiles and cilantro). Both on the mild side (I'll tell you why, later).

"Steak Taco Marinade": If you mean carne asada, I don't like the marinade. It can't make up its mind. Better to either go very simple -- just sea salt for instance; or something which really works with the meat -- a beer marinade for instance.

And -- again with the language. "Steak tacos" _mi culo_. Are you trying to make and present Mexican food, or are you trying to make sandwiches using tortillas? If you're competing in a market which has any kind of Mexican population, it's going to be tough sledding at that level of naivite. You certainly don't need to translate for this forum. Those with enough sophistication to help you, are familiar with the actual names. Those who aren't, won't be much help. Something similar is true for your clientele.

The traditional garnish for a taco is neither "pico de gallo" nor guacamole -- not to say they aren't nice and not to say I wouldn't help myself, gracias. It's simply chopped onions and chopped cilantro and a spoonful of salsa rojo or verde. You should not only have onions and cilantro in your mise en place inside the truck, but on ice where the customers can self-serve -- along with sliced radishes and escabeche and at least four salsas.

At some point you'll want to try selling one or two of your salsas by the quarter and half pint. Your two best bets will probably be chipotle and salsa verde. Give yourself a chance with them.

_Dos tripas; dos al pastor; dos mollejas; dos suadero; y dos de lengua, por favor.

Buena suerte,_
BDL


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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

Personally I would be willing to bet that you didnt test these. I dont mean to come off as ugly but you asked. 

The Gauc is going to be VERY HOT and bland

The Pico is going to be dry and bland and for the record Pico is very simply tomato, onion, lime, oil and cilantro with S&P TT

Your Mexican Hot Sauce, as you are calling it, is using very mild roasted "Mole" type chili's as BDL so perfectly put it. The Guajillo, Pasilla and Ancho are all considered mild peppers by all standards with Scoville units all below 4000.

Your Mexican Mild sauce is going to be lightyears hotter than the hot(Jalapeno's have a Scoville rating in the 5K - 15K range for fresh.), I recomend changing the names around and adding some seasoning to it like you had in the Hot, cumin, corriander, vinegars....

The Steak seasoning is going to be over powering in garlic with not much else going on. Is this going to be used as a rub, marinade or pureed and used as a baste? 

I would recommend spending some time and doing some extensive research, cook for friends, family, even strangers on the street and get some feed back on recipes. Keep detailed notes and go from there. Good luck


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## even stephen (Oct 10, 2005)

I agree with BDL for the most part......guajillo, *****, and ancho chiles may carry a lot of heat if you leave the ribs and seeds in them after boiling....I will usually rinse, deseed, and devien before I puree them. Last week I made a carne enchilada marinade and the above chiles packed a punch. I agree that the guac needs more lime...your meat marinade seems like a mojo without sour orange....it will work...just go light with it.....at home we would serve
salsa verde, pico de guillo, and salsa quemada. Pick three good things and do them well. Or pick one thing to do every day....tamales one day, tortas 
one day, tacos one day, etc.........you can make a lot of cash,,,,,,,,,,,


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## marmalady (Apr 19, 2001)

I had two initial thoughts when I saw your recipes; firstly, if you're serving the 'masses', some of those sauces are going to be way hot for the 'average joe'. My second thought is that you're running a food truck - to my mind, that means fast, fast, fast food. If you're going to be standing at the counter explaining your sauces to people, the lines are going to be very long indeed. Too much of anything confuses people - like those 10 page diner menus? 

Have you given thought to your 'purpose'/reasoning for the food truck?
-Who will you be serving? (your 'average joe' person who likes the flavor but not the heat, or some savvier folks who will say 'wow' at your sauces?).
- Food truck = Fast, in my opinion. Have you thought about your timing, what you'll have ready to go and what you'll prepare at the last minute?
- How can you simplify your operation to put out the very best food you can without getting in the weeds because you have too much on the menu.
-Have you investigated licenses, health dept. requirements, etc for your town?
- Where will you park your truck?

Just some thoughts.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

Keyword Authentic...........I travel to Mexico and find a different Authinic hot sauce every 20 feet. What block do you want to pick from, and what city.........Authentic doesn't mean good. I think there may be a better way of asking Chefs to go out of their way to post proven recipes to start your business. This post is to much like a chore... Im just happy your not getting into the medical field and had to ask for different ways of doing a heart transplant....................Bill


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## even stephen (Oct 10, 2005)

A couple of good points in the last two posts.....I assume your not going to be serving the average Joe, but, the average Jose'. Assuming your going to be serving construction crews in large cities, which as luck would have it, are
for the large part hispanic, specifically Mexico, Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua......in the South anyway...you need to identify what foods you will offer by finding out where most of these people are from...for example...in Atlanta...you might find an abundance of people form Guerrero....St. Marcos, Acapulco, and the surrounding areas....their preferences will differ from, say, someone from the more northern states....San Luis, Laredo, etc. I still say...prepare one thing per day really well and cycle through them...perhaps 5 or 6 things...they will come to expect them each day, and the clear winners will surface quickly.....good luck


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

even stephen raises an excellent point. 

Sohistication regarding Mexican cuisine generally, and tacos in particular, grows by leaps and bounds throughout the country. You're obviously looking to go beyond the Taco Bell stage. But still... You're not doing anyone a favor by witholding your location and the nature of the clientele whom you intend to serve. 

About all I know so far is that, at one time, you planned for your truck to include both a grill and flat top -- based on an earlier thread you started.

It's one thing to have a taco truck just outside East Los Angeles and another to have a lunch wagon which mostly does tacos just outside Indianola, Indiana. the more specific you are about what you're planning to do, the more specific we can be about helping you. This is especially true for questions regarding which and how many salsas, and which and how many meats. 

For instance, you couldn't survive in any urban part of California offering steak and chicken tacos. Here, you either have to specialize in one or two things -- say al pastor (homemade, off the roti) and suadero (special pan) -- as well as offer a few other mandatory choices -- asada and carnitas for sure, probably chicken, and cabeza and/or lengua. 

The alternative for a street vendor is a broad selection, including all of the above as well as things like tripas and buches. 

Here in Southern California, you either offer two salsas (not including pico de gallo): mild and hot; or, three or four (besides pico de gallo): one hot, one or two medium, and one or two mild; at least one has to be a salsa verde. Rest assured that in California, customers are not confused. 

Of course, these types of operations might not fit your area and might not (probably isn't) what you're planning on doing. Given that you were looking for a grill, we can GUESS though that you're planning on highlighting carne asada. On one hand it's a good idea; who doesn't like asada? But it's a bit worrisome in that you don't seem all that competent with asada yet -- at least insofar as your marinade which, while not bad, is very much nothing special. 

I'm guessing you're not planning on operating in SoCal -- or you'd be buying a "production" taco truck instead of trying to plan a custom, one-off. But that's just a guess. It would be helpful to all of us if we had more to go on.

BDL


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