# Authentic Mexican tacos question



## letsjumpnow (Apr 27, 2008)

Hi all,

I'd like to make authentic mexican tacos (cilantro, onion, lime, chicken, corn tortillas) of the sort you can get in Chicago and NYC, but I always see these guys adding seasoning to the chicken, and that seems to be what does it. I'm kind of suspicious of generic taco seasoning--is it the kind of seasoning they'd use on, like, American-style hard-shell beef tacos, or will it do the trick? Any recommendations on specific brands? Or can I make the seasoning from what I might have in my spice rack already? 

Thank you!

Alec


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## docsmith (Aug 4, 2008)

Minor gripe of someone who can't stand cilantro.

I grew up on Mexican food, I even lived a block from the biggest Mexican neighborhood in Chicago and made frequent trips for about as authentic as you can get without going to Mexico Mexican food, and in all that time I never ran into cilantro until the last 10 years or so.

The key always seemed to be very fresh steak/chicken, and only minimal seasoning in the spicy range. My mother used to make the out of the box tacos mix style tacos when I was a kid and its nothing like what I had living in Chicago. 

Unfortunately I wasn't much of a foodie then and it was almost 10 years ago so I can't tell you what they seasoned with, but the feeling was always 'light'. After that I really developed a dislike for the taco seasoning mixes.

I doubt the family run place right next to my apartment remembers me after 8 years but I was on friendly terms, shame I didn't ask when I lived down there.


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## elchivito (Jan 25, 2009)

As a genyou-wine Mexican, I can tell you for a fact that you'll find as many seasonings for tacos as you'll find Mexicans. We're from Northern Mexico and New Mexico, and our tacos are typically made with flour tortillas, although we sometimes use corn. We sometimes make chicken, more often our tacos are either made of cabrito or carne asada. Whatever the meat, we use and have always used Goya Adobo all purpose seasoning for tacos. It's available at most any Latino market. If I were you, I'd pick out my favorite taqueria, and ask the cook what that stuff is he's shaking on the meat. Regarding cilantro, we've always used it in salsa, as an addition to menudo and posole, but never as a garnish or an addition to our tacos. Americans have sort of gone hog wild on cilantro, but it's always been around, just more in the background. Our typical garnishes are sweetened vinegar marinated red onions, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, sliced radishes and queso cotija, sort of Mexican feta. We broil whole fat green onions as a side. 
Now I'm hungry again.....


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

Hi there...welcome 

My favorite taco's in the Chicago area are from the vendors at the Mawell Street Market (no longer on Maxwell St.). What I've noticed is that only the Tacos al pastor were spiced (with an adobo type seasoning/marinade). The chicken and steak seems as though they were only seasoned with salt. I usually order mine simple on a corn tortilla with just onion, cilantro, squirt of lime and roasted tomatillo salsa.

take care,
dan


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

Bro you should try Taco Grill on Odgen avenue in Westmont, hands down the best Mexican Fast food in the Midwest, possibly the nation.


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

They all do it differently, working on the South Side for many years, Back of the Yards and McKinnley park I've had lots of tacos, they put anything from dried chili power, to achiote, to types of things you'd find in mole. I like using what you mentioned above, plus a little Mexican Oregano. 

Also a lot of places marinate the chicken meat first. 

I would not recommend the packets of taco seasoning.

PS. The Al Pastor he mentioned is the style of cooking which is mainly only done with pork, but I guess you could do it with other meats, its the shepard style of cooking.


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## chalkdust (Feb 18, 2009)

ho to latin or mexican grocery store, see what they have

i have a meat tenderizer consisting of salt, sugar, papain (papya enzyme)

and msg


so

very tasty.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Abe-
You are absolutely right about the Taco Grill in Westmont. They have some really great tacos, as well as a wide range of other well-prepared dishes.

The tacos al Pastor are especially good. They also have a great serve-yourself salsa bar with about twenty-four different salsas and condiments, from mild to killer.

Taco Grill is on the south side of Ogden in Westmont about two blocks west of Cass Avenue. As a matter of fact, it's just two blocks from Katy's Dumplings, (east off Cass behind the Jewel) so you can have two great lunches in one trip! :bounce: Hang around the western 'burbs for the afternoon and you can have dinner at Lao SeChuan, a little further west on Ogden in Downers Grove.

Mike


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

What's Katy's Dumplings and Lao SeChuan? I haven't been there.

Get this, I was in Taco Grill and I overheard the owner talking about when Rick Bayless came in, he was asking the owner some questions, and the owner not realizing who he was said he was giving him answers to the extent of, "I'm busy, get away from me", LOL

I guess he's been there quite a few times.


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Authentic tacos?

I presume that means "the way they are prepared in Mexico", correct?

Too many years ago to confess to, I ate "tacos" in Juarez, Mexico, from a street vendor, a tortilla filled with "boiled Donkey head meat", fried in lard, topped with finely chopped Iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, and, I'm sure, a locally concocted hot sauce.

Now, I use ground beef, preferrably "chuck", cooked in water, not fat. drained, filled into a corn tortilla, folded, fried in LARD until "crisp-tender", drained, and stuffed with finely chopped Iceberg lettuce, chopped tomato, extra-sharp grated cheddar, and Sirracha.


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

I'll be sure to give them a try sometime!

thanks,
dan


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## bixaorellana (Feb 27, 2009)

Not a genuine Mexican like ElChivito, but I've lived in Oaxaca for almost 12 years, on the border before that, and have traveled all over Mexico. There is a certain essential Mexican-ness that can be tasted in all authentic tacos. I think one basic thing to remember is to slightly over-salt the filling, as it's going to be offset by the tortilla.

Don't use those taco seasonings -- they're always harsh with cumin. I think one of the secrets of real Mexican tacos is that the cooks are willing to use more grease in cooking the meat than we usually would at home. It does make for a moister, more flavorful product.

Here's a salsa I make to put on cooked chicken. You might want to experiment with briefly marinating the raw chicken for your tacos in it:
Finely smush together garlic, fresh chile, oregano and salt in a mortar. Scrape it out into a bowl, then squeeze lime juice into the mortar to get the rest of the goop. Pour that into the bowl and mix. Add a little water if you wish.

If you want a really authentic wet seasoning rub for pork, use this. The pork thus prepared is frequently cut up & cooked for tacos around here:

Adobo for cecina, Oaxaca-style. (in Oaxaca, cecina is pork, not beef)
Toast some guajillo chiles on a griddle or dry skillet. 
Simmer them in a small amount of water until soft.
Put in blender jar with vinegar, salt, black pepper, oregano, garlic, cloves, and cinnamon and blend as finely as possible, adding a little water if necessary to make a smooth paste.
Smear this all over whatever pork you're using. (suggest cutting a piece of pork into scaloppine for maximum coverage & absorbtion, or use thin pork chops).
Let it set for a couple of hours, loosely covered, before using.

No two meat vendors make the same version, so vary the ingredients above to your taste.

About cilantro -- I'm sure it was always there on Mexican tacos. Maybe the reason it's been noticed more in the States in the last ten years is simply because it became more available?


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## elchivito (Jan 25, 2009)

Your recipe for adobo sounds really good bixaorellana, and once again points up that old bugaboo about "authentic" that's come up in several threads. There are so many kinds of tacos and tamales in Mexico that trying to pin one down as authentic is a fool's errand. I do agree with you about the use of fat, and oversalting the meat. I'd say that's pretty much a given anywhere you go, and I don't believe I've had a taco in years that had lettuce on it. Maybe in some touristy area where they're serving mostly gringos, but cabbage is what I see most often. Have you people discovered flour tortillas down there yet?:look: It's been a long time since I was in your neck of the woods, but I do remember getting almost exclusively corn tortillas at all the taqerias I stopped at in Oaxaca. In the borderlands, it's now much more common to be offered a choice of corn or flour.


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## bixaorellana (Feb 27, 2009)

ElChivito, Soriana was offering wheat tortillas, but I don't think they were ever very popular. Also the commercial bread brands have a wheat and whole-wheat tortilla product. 
There is a taco here called a gringa which is puerco al pastor & (I think) cheese served on wheat tortilla. It's not rare, rare, but you would have to search for it. 
I've never been offered a choice of wheat or corn tortilla here -- tortilla means corn!
And I've never seen lettuce on a taco in Mexico. (eeeeuwwww!)


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Cabbage in tacos, huh? Is it common or not? Is it used raw, pickled or ...?


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## elchivito (Jan 25, 2009)

Shredded fine. In place of the iceberg lettuce normally found on American tacos. Very common. Like I said, no lettuce on tacos in Mexico except maybe in places catering exclusively to American tourists.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Can I just put in a quick bid for shredded, julienned, or thin-sliced radish, preferably lightly salted and allowed to drain? That's fabulous, especially with the cabbage.


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

I second that.

Those are good with pozole too.


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

PS. The menudo is really good there, they only have it on weekends though.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Abe-

My mentions of Katy's Dumplings and Lao SeChuan are based on discussions in the Chicago-based foodie forum

LTHForum.com • Index page

I've eaten at both, and they're both quite good.

Also, there's a good BBQ joint just south on Cass Avenue - Uncle Bub's, just south of the Burlington tracks. Lots of choices, though I don't think you can cover them all in a single trip. 

Hey- next time you're out this way, PM me and we can have lunch together! :bounce:

Do you remember the joke about a guy and the famous bandito Pancho Gonzales "having lunch together'?

Can't print it here. 

Mike


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## elchivito (Jan 25, 2009)

We often put out thin sliced radishes, and sometimes we marinate them in sweetened vinegar, as we do with red onion. My grandmother always used "seasoned" rice vinegar, and I've seen it used a lot in the southwest and Sonora for the same purpose.


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## dmt (Jul 28, 2006)

Alec,
I dare say that what you are describing as "authentic mexican tacos" in places such as Chicago and New York are concoctions created to blend in with what the locals "think" is Mexican food.

As others have said, there are variants to the food, depending on the region of Mexico that is represented (Baja, Sonora, etc...), but your description of cilantro, onion and lime as ingredients is not what I've experienced as traditional Mexican fare.

I'd recommend a bit of research beyond 'Better Homes and Gardens' recipes for the actual ingredients and construction of the venerable (and authentic) taco...

Chicago & NYC. Sheesh...

Best of luck with your adventure.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Thank you for the info. I thought probably the local tacos here were not all that authentic even though I like some of them a lot. Seems what we have here is more like an American sandwich in tortilla clothing. Not bad, but not authentic either.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

I've been following this thread since it's inception and it's getting weirder and weirder. I didn't want to jump in at the NYC, Chicago thing with "superior SoCal" knowledge, because it would have been offensive.

Look. There's no such thing as a single quintessential Mexican taco. And there's no such thing as the "best" taco stand in the US. And for all I know they make great tacos at Bannigans in Iowa City. For all you know, too.

Mexican cuisine is rich and varied. And when you talk about tacos -- even tacos in _el Norte_ (that's the US of A and Canada for you _gabachos_), you've hit the motherlode.

A taco can be small, almost tiny. That's very common in taquerias with big selections, places where tacos are very cheap (those things go together); in D. F. (_el Distrito Federal_ is Mexico City's real name) where they have big selections and cheap tacos, etc. A taco can be also be fairly large and overstuffed.

A taco, _con todo_, can be meat, onions, cilantro and a little salsa. 
Some people might say you can't put beans in a taco, but who are they to say? Some people put lettuce and/or cabbage in theirs. Do you judge them? Some people get radishes, carrots, jalapenos either raw or _en escabehe_, and put them in the taco, others eat them along side. Who's right? What do you know about it?

Is a _taco suave_ (taco in a soft tortilla) the only true taco? _Tacos dorados_ (crispy tacos) simply don't count? Where is that written?

Of these, what's the true taco filling? And what doesn't meet (sorry, can't help myself) your standards.

Al pastor
Tripa
Machaca
Suadero
Mollejas
Buches
Asada
Ropa vieja
Lengua
Birria de chivo
Carnitas
Picadillo
Cabeza
Pollo
Cecina
To name a few

As of the 2000 census, there were more than 2,000,000 Mexican hispanics who live in Los Angeles County (not City). If you expand it to the megalopolis that L.A. really is (including Ventura, San Bernadino, Riverside, and Orange Counties) the number is something like 3,000,000. More if you add San Diego and Santa Barbara -- which you very easily could consider part of greater Los Angeles.

Greater Chicago had about a quarter of that. NYC has a lot of hispanics, more than 2 million, but so many are Caribbeans -- I think the number of Mexicans was actually a little lower than Chicago.

There is no best taco stand. How can you compare some place in Chicago with a place in "East Hollywood" that sets up at night in a body shop's parking lot? Especially when you've never been to East Hollywood, and even the location is unfamiliar? Who has the best buche?

There are thousands and thousands of taco stands here. There are hundreds of _taco blogs_ for cry sakes! And by "stand," I don't just mean permanent building but carts, trucks, and the hundreds of "tables" that get set up in parking lots at night. How could anyone experience enough of them to seriously undertake the concept of "best?" And even then, how could you compare the lengua at one to the tripas at another? Plus, the quality of the taco served depends on a number of variables which vary from hour to hour. One place could be the best cabeza today, but only very good tomorrow. Of you could get a piece of gristle...

Al pastor alone... Do you only count it off the spit? Or is marinated and grilled good enough?

If El Chivito wants to eat flour tortilla tacos, that's his business. If that's how his family did it -- more power to them. My personal take on it is that flour is more Southwestern than Mexican, but who am I to say? It's not how people from the areas that feed the migration through Los Angles eat them. And you know what? If Chivito went to a taco stand and tried to order a taco in a flour tortilla in East LA, they'd just look at him -- sadly. But so what? That doesn't make him wrong. The tradition of Mexican cuisine holds his taco with as much pleasure as it does mine.

If Chris likes shredded cabbage on his, like the USC boys who go down to Ensenda -- more power to him. That may not be the way they eat them in Sinaloa, Jalisco and Michoacan, but so what? The way they eat them in Sinaloa, Jalisco and Michoacan isn't the way they eat them in Oaxaca either. Or in DF or Vera Cruz or around Guadalajara.

I mean really.

So what is a taco? The word means something cylindrical, like a bolt, a ladies shoe heel, a plug for a hole and doesn't have any culinary meaning at all in Spain. That implies that back in the 16th C., when the Dons stumbled on the tortilla, people rolled food up in them. They usually don't come rolled anymore. But if one did, would it still be a taco?

Now it's mostly some kind of food, folded into a tortilla.

At home it's frequently leftovers. Any leftovers. This expands the universe of tacos to the universe of whatever a Mexican will eat which is a pretty inclusive set of foods. You cup a tortilla in your hand, you put some food in it, you fold the tortilla, you eat the taco.

Some taquerias in DF have more than 20 choices of tacos. Probably not as good as the ones in Chicago though.

Here in SoCal, what you expect from a proper taco stand, truck, cart, or "table" is two corn tortillas, properly softened by being moistned with oil and heated on a piece of flat steel; a scoop of filling (lots of possibilities); onions, cilantro, a little fresh salsa on top; and a little bit of vegetable garnish and/or chiles to eat on the side. No cabbage, except for fish tacos. No lettuce. No tomatoes. No cheese. Not ever? Well, no. Because sometimes...

Sometimes there's one salsa, sometimes a choice. Almost always, unless there's at least three, none of them will be "fresh salsa" with chunks of fresh tomato. If there's only one, it will usually be reconstituted dried chiles, pureed in the soaking water.

And so it goes.

If you like the mystery meat, crispy tacos from Jack In The Box are the bomb, I'm not going to tell you no.

By the way, the chicken in a chicken taco is most often simply grilled (on a griddle or flat top) with salt and pepper -- then served with onions, cilantro and salsa. Unless you're at a pollo ala brasa place, then it's not ala parilla. If you know what I mean.

Experience the wonder that is the taco,
BDL


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## elchivito (Jan 25, 2009)

Well said boar d laze! One of my favorite tacos, that we never have any longer, is one my grandmother made. A taco dorado, stuffed with nothing more than mashed potatoes and a ton of butter, salt and pepper, then fried. They were in corn tortillas. She said she made them to remind us of when we were poor. The flour tortillas I'm speaking of are common in Sonora, that state being a large producer of wheat.


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## chalkdust (Feb 18, 2009)

i like the al pastor and carnitas varieties

i cant remember what i had in the yucatan tho


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## letsjumpnow (Apr 27, 2008)

How? In what? 

Thanks everyone!

AQ


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

All "al pastor" is pork. Anything else is something else. "Al pastor" is actually pork shwarma (aka gyros). It was introduced to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants probably around the 1920s. Most of the best al pastor is made on a vertical roti, and sliced fresh, just like the shwarma it is. That way you get the sweet, juicy, tender inside and a little _dorado_ on the edges.

BDL


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## jezzy (Apr 8, 2009)

Thank you BIXAORELLANA for your marinate recipes, can you tell me how to prime a mexican clay bean pot, I have the powder stuff (gal) however I don't know how much to use or how long to boil it in the pot. Thanks!:crazy:


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## chalkdust (Feb 18, 2009)

fascinating!!!!!


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## bixaorellana (Feb 27, 2009)

Hey Jezzy ~~
The powder stuff = cal? I don't know about using that to prime a pot. The only uses I know for cal are for turning corn into hominy, and also to "paint' a clay comal to keep the tortillas from sticking.

(Be careful with cal -- it's slaked lime.)

The clay pots from around here are glazed on the inside, so they don't leak or sweat liquid. As far as I know, you only need wash the pot well before the first use. You could let it soak in water a while, as with a clay flower pot, if you wish, or just boil some water in it on the stove. Sorry ~~ I don't feel like I was much help.


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## ranita36 (Dec 19, 2010)

bixaorellana said:


> If you want a really authentic wet seasoning rub for pork, use this. The pork thus prepared is frequently cut up & cooked for tacos around here:
> 
> Adobo for cecina, Oaxaca-style. (in Oaxaca, cecina is pork, not beef)
> Toast some guajillo chiles on a griddle or dry skillet.
> ...


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## bigaengus (Jul 27, 2010)

IMO Best Chicago area tacos are from a small, "hole-in-the-wall" place called El Tizon in Bridgeview, at about 9014 S. Harlem Ave.
My personal favorite is the Al Pastor.


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## benway (May 24, 2009)

Below is the recipe for an upscale taco I've served. Authentic probably not but beautiful? Yes. Tasty? Yes. They are very small and more like an appetizer than a street food. We made our own corn tortillas for this.

For the Shells:

10 3" Corn Tortillas

Oil for frying

Drop the tortillas one by one directly on the oil. Push it down into the fat with the side of a pair of forks such that the shell will have a squarish bottom that might stand on its own. Remove the shells when crispy.

For the Guacamole:

flesh from 2 avocados

juice from 2 limes

1/4 of a big onion diced

8 cilantro leaves

1 oz of queso oaxaca

~1/2 oz of olive oil

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely diced

Blend avocado, lime juice, onion, cilantro, and cheese in a food processor. Add the oil and and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and remove from food processor. Fold in the tomato.

For Fried Pork Belly:

12 oz of pork belly

1 c water

1/2 c AP flour

1 c olive oil

Place pork and water in pressure cooker and cook at 15 psi for 1/2 hour. (1.5 hours boiling covered in water without a pressure cooker) Let it cool. Remove the fat and fray the pork into very thin threads. Flour the pork belly threads and fry in olive oil at 345 degrees F. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

To assemble the dish spoon or pipe guacamole into the shells, heaping fried pork belly threads on top.


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## megans6 (Dec 26, 2012)

I hope this helps. Doesnt look like anyone else has been much of a help for "authentic"...

If you aren't familiar with authentic cooking methods for tacos, just follow these guidelines.

*Preparing the chicken:*

1 whole chicken
3 cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 handful of chopped cilantro
1 bulb onion diced
Juice of 1 lime
2T cooking oil
1t ground cumin
1t sea salt
1t chili powder
1t ground cayenne pepper
Using a very sharp knife, disjoint the chicken at all joints and cut into pieces. Peel the skin off and remove all bones and tendons. Cut the chicken meat into 1 inch pieces. Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinate overnight.

*Prepare the toppings:*

1 bulb onion finely diced
1 handful of chopped cilantro
1 lime cut into 8 wedges
Using a sharp knife, cut up each topping and set aside. Remove the chicken, yellow or white corn tortilla, and crema from the fridge and let sit until it reaches room temperature.

*Cook the meat:*
Heat up a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken mix in the skillet and sauté until the chicken is cooked through. Stir and flip the chicken frequently.

*Prepare and serve:*
Turn the burner on your stove to medium heat. Place two tortillas on top of each other and place on the burner. Once the bottom starts turning brown, flip the tortilla stack and heat until the other side begins turning brown. Separate the tortillas onto a plate with the uncooked side faced up. Slather a small amount of crema on the tortillas. Add meat on top of the crema. Sprinkle on the fresh cilantro and onion. Squeeze the lime juice onto the tacos and serve.

The recipe is from a blog and if you PM me, I'll provide the link.


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## adriyaya (Jan 13, 2011)

Authentic Mexican tacos vary depending of the region you are from.  I live on the border with the northern part of Mexico and the way that we make the tacos here are called Tacos Dorados.  On a corn tortilla you take a ground beef, ( season with mustard, salt pepper and chopped cilantro) and shape into a half moon and stick it on half of the corn tortilla, and fry in oil and when the tortilla is soft enough fold it over to enclose the meat between the corn tortilla, serve with chopped onion, shredded cabbage and cheese, lime and salsa of your choice.  Hope that helps


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## moisesso (Sep 30, 2016)

Hi Alec, Mexicans do not use the tex mex nor ****** seasonings., For Grilled Chicken you can use just plain lime juice, salt and pepper

for beef salt and white pepper. You can bake pork in pasilla or ancho marinated or do your chicken in pibil marinated.

Serve tacos on warm corn tortillas with side toppings cilantro, chopped onion, lime, green, red, salsa.


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## steve tphc (Sep 18, 2012)

Carniceria El Mercado Carne Asada Tacos con Todas

Their asada is perhaps the best I have had at a "fast food" counter. Understand that these are made fresh with their own in-house masa tortillas made daily. These are made with flank or skirt steak and the meat itself is very tasty, having been marinated perhaps overnight. The tacos are served with fresh Pico-de Gallo, fresh Queso fresco (their own cheese made daily), and a wedge of avocado. The Pico de Gallo has both jalapenos and cilantro. "Con todo" (with everything) includes broiled Mexican bulb scallions, grilled jalapenos, and a wedge of lime.

On the side, they serve two sauces, one tomatillo based, the other chili based. There both good, but the tacos are moist enough and flavored enough that the need no sauce at all.

I make these at home using skirt steak. The dry rub is made with aji Amarillo, Pasilla, Mulato, Merken (Mapuche), garlic powder, salt, pepper.

In Greensboro, NC, find this on Yelp:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/carniceria-el-mercadito-greensboro-3?osq=carneria&search_key=43086

see image: https://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/5N-wPrJ8s5p33c6QBepheg/o.jpg





  








o.jpg




__
steve tphc


__
Sep 30, 2016


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## midlife (Jan 1, 2016)

Somewhere up in this tropic there's a post from someone who said they lived in the Northern Mexico/New Mexico area and their tacos were usually made with flour tortillas. I've seen food board discussions in which the very idea of a 'real' Mexican taco being on a flour tortilla is simply treated as rubbish. I haven't travelled in Mexico beyond maybe three trips (Cancun, Puebla, Tijuana) so I can't draw on my own experience on this. 

Question: What is the extent of the use of FLOUR tortillas in Mexico itself? Yes? No? Regional? Personal taste?


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Flour tortilla is more common in northern states of Mexico.

Mexican food, actually, is much more regional than many folks realize.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

BrianShaw said:


> Mexican food, actually, is much more regional than many folks realize.


It's funny, I was just about to post "Mexico is BIG."

I met a Mexican recently who had never ever heard of burritos in his home country until he set foot in the United States.

Apparently flour tortillas are more recent than corn tortillas, but that doesn't mean _some_ Mexicans don't eat them.

If you think about it, in my home country, France, go back a few centuries and we had no potatoes, no bell peppers, no eggplants... those were "exotic" produce. Does that make ratatouille not an authentic French dish? How about gratin dauphinois? Pommes dauphines? Eggplant caviar? Etc etc...


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Burritos (fried or not) are American...not sure if TexMex or not.

However "everyone" around here will have flour tortillas as a bread sub with meals (breakfast tacos on flour are pretty much a given) as corn can be a bit stale and flimsy when not cooked at least a bit.

So we see the corn being used more for crispy tacos and casseroles (enchiladas).

I lean more to corn but do enjoy a good fresh homemade flour tortilla with my fajitas.

mimi


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

The most prevalent style of burrito is from San Francisco: the "mission style".


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## planethoff (Apr 25, 2011)

BrianShaw said:


> The most prevalent style of burrito is from San Francisco: the "mission style".


Back in the day I use to live off of mission burritos. Would have at least 5 a week. Cancun and El Farrolito changed my world. Seeing Chipotle, Moe's, Qdoba, etc so popular is nice, but I feel so bad for people who never get to experience "The Real Deal". But, with the gentrification of the mission district, time may be running out for that experience.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Planethoff said:


> Back in the day I use to live off of mission burritos. Would have at least 5 a week. Cancun and El Farrolito changed my world.


You got me curious. What are Cancun and El Farrolito burritos like?


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

French Fries said:


> You got me curious. What are Cancun and El Farrolito burritos like?


Check this out, and then do like me... start thinking of a vacation in San Francisco:

http://sfist.com/2015/03/11/the_12_best_burritos_in_san_francis.php


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## planethoff (Apr 25, 2011)

French Fries said:


> You got me curious. What are Cancun and El Farrolito burritos like?


I can't begin to describe the experience of having a true mission burrito. I love all Mexican food and have travelled all through Mexico and the Western USA, but the SF mission burrito is something to behold. It is the reason the relatively bland and boring mission style burritos have stormed the country.

BrianShaw gave you a good start to the concept with that link, but I will add this one and repeat his statement emphatically. Go try one! I would literally fly across the country will the sole purpose of having a Taqueria Cancun carnitas burrito. (I am partial to Cancun, but all the ones listed in both links are the real deal)

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/san-f...sion-burritos-in-sf-according-to-fixie-riders


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## aupied (Oct 31, 2016)

I love a good taco, and who doesn't? I definitely agree that everybody has their own take on it--their little touches. This depends on the person and the region. I've had tacos in Mexico, Chicago, all over California as well as several cities in North Carolina. I think the main thing is trust the ones making the food! I've had too many friends/family try to Americanize a delicious taco--in my opinion ruining it. 

Radishes are great! Lime of course, I like to throw some blazing hot salsa on there. Don't over complicate it. I do not however know much about seasoning the meat. I wish I did. I would probably only eat tacos if I did...

Unsurprisingly this idea of traditional still being very much unique stretches across cultures. My future mother in law is from Thailand and her food has a different take on it than the friend I grew up with. She does randomly make amazing guacamole though--which she brought to dinner with her Papaya salad last Thanksgiving.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

There used to be an authentic Mexican place in a town near me. They went out of business because to many claimed the food wasn't spicy hot so it couldn't be authentic... Traditional MX home cooking is not always sear your mouth hot! Sure they use chilies to add flavor and some heat but not the over the top we see in the USA. Cumin is a base spice as is a mild ancho chili according to some friends from MX.


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## midlife (Jan 1, 2016)

Given what passes for 'authentic' Mexican food in some places, this isn't that surprising. SAD, but not surprising.


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## chalkdust (Feb 18, 2009)

elchivito said:


> As a genyou-wine Mexican, I can tell you for a fact that you'll find as many seasonings for tacos as you'll find Mexicans. We're from Northern Mexico and New Mexico, and our tacos are typically made with flour tortillas, although we sometimes use corn. We sometimes make chicken, more often our tacos are either made of cabrito or carne asada. Whatever the meat, we use and have always used Goya Adobo all purpose seasoning for tacos. It's available at most any Latino market. If I were you, I'd pick out my favorite taqueria, and ask the cook what that stuff is he's shaking on the meat. Regarding cilantro, we've always used it in salsa, as an addition to menudo and posole, but never as a garnish or an addition to our tacos. Americans have sort of gone hog wild on cilantro, but it's always been around, just more in the background. Our typical garnishes are sweetened vinegar marinated red onions, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, sliced radishes and queso cotija, sort of Mexican feta. We broil whole fat green onions as a side.
> Now I'm hungry again.....


love menudo and pozole man. good post bredda


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## chalkdust (Feb 18, 2009)

French Fries said:


> It's funny, I was just about to post "Mexico is BIG."
> 
> I met a Mexican recently who had never ever heard of burritos in his home country until he set foot in the United States.
> 
> ...


mexico was home to regional civilizations with languages as diverse and different from each other as the romance languages, or even more so. a good cook book, though not extensive, is roasas:


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

There is one and only one true, authentic, American recipe for meatloaf that every home cook in America follows without deviation.

mjb.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Mexican cuisine is so regional that I think talk of the "authentic" is usually wrongheaded. There is a lot of good thinking here, which marks an unusual and positive development.

Let's face it: Yucatán cooking and Sonoran cooking aren't the same at any level. Sure, there are gross family resemblances, but these are very different sorts of cooking. It's like Cantonese and Sichuan, for example.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

MaryB said:


> There used to be an authentic Mexican place in a town near me. They went out of business because to many claimed the food wasn't spicy hot so it couldn't be authentic... Traditional MX home cooking is not always sear your mouth hot! Sure they use chilies to add flavor and some heat but not the over the top we see in the USA. Cumin is a base spice as is a mild ancho chili according to some friends from MX.


Sad.

No...worse than sad ....ridiculous.

Was it one of those mom and pop places with everything from scratch?

The hot as you can get it crowd makes me wonder why they bother eating at all.

Surely they cannot taste the nuances of a dish that has been smothered in "hot as hell" or "hot as hell and back" sauce.

Pointless.

mimi


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## rpooley (Dec 1, 2015)

Good carnitas recipe:

1(3 ½-to 4-pound) boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to ⅛ inch thick, cut into 2-inch chunks

Salt and ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 small onion, peeled and halved

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime

2 cups water

1 medium orange, halved

18 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed

Lime wedges

Minced white or red onion

Fresh cilantro leaves

Thinly sliced radishes

Sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine pork, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, onion, bay leaves, oregano, lime juice, and water in large Dutch oven (liquid should just barely cover meat). Juice orange into medium bowl and remove any seeds (you should have about 1/3 cup juice). Add juice and spent orange halves to pot. Bring mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover pot and transfer to oven; cook until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with fork, about 2 hours, flipping pieces of meat once during cooking.

2. Remove pot from oven and turn oven to broil. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; remove orange halves, onion, and bay leaves from cooking liquid and discard (do not skim fat from liquid). Place pot over high heat (use caution, as handles will be very hot) and simmer liquid, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy (heatsafe spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 8 to 12 minutes. You should have about 1 cup reduced liquid.

3. Using 2 forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet or on broiler pan (meat should cover almost entire surface of rack or broiler pan). Place baking sheet on lower-middle rack and broil until top of meat is well browned (but not charred) and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, flip pieces of meat and continue to broil until top is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and garnishes.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

flipflopgirl said:


> Sad.
> 
> No...worse than sad ....ridiculous.
> 
> ...


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