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TACOS
- For other uses, see Taco (disambiguation).
A taco is a traditional Mexican dish comprised of a rolled or folded, pliable maize tortilla filled with meat (generally grilled beef, picadillo, fish, chicken or pork), and optionally, a wide variety of vegetables and/or sauces. Common additions include chopped onion and cilantro, chili-based salsa, guacamole, and garnishes such as pico de gallo. (Dishes made with wheat tortillas are generally considered tacos only in northern Mexico.) There are many traditional subvarieties of the taco, and most of them have a certain set of traditional fillings. However, care should be taken when using the word taco outside of Mexico. The word can mean many different things depending on the country in which one is in.
A taco is normally served flat on a tortilla that has been warmed up on a comal; since the tortilla is still soft, it can be folded over or pinched together into a U-shape for convenient consumption. In the variant known as the taco dorado (fried taco) or flauta (Flute in English, because of the shape), the tortilla is filled with pre-cooked chicken or barbacoa, rolled into a cylinder and deep-fried until crisp.
Mexico
Authentic Mexican taquerías (taco vendors or restaurants) sell tacos made with many kinds of meat, including stomach, head, and liver meat from cattle. One example of such fare are tacos de cabeza, which are actually made out of the head muscles (including the tongue) and brains of cattle. Mexican tacos are more likely to feature chopped onion and cilantro as condiments, as well as red and green salsa or pico de gallo. Lime slices are also sometimes offered to squeeze over the dish.
One speciality found at many taco stands across Mexico (and a particular favorite in Mexico City) and Texas is the taco al pastor. As the name pastor (Spanish for shepherd suggests, they were originally made with lamb or mutton, probably adapted from shawarma which was introduced by Lebanese and Syrian imigrants to Mexico. Now, the main ingredient is spiced pork, which is cut in slivers from a rack of meat standing on a vertical spit in front of an open flame; the method is similar to that used to prepare Döner kebabs and gyros in the Mediterranean. The cooked meat is then placed on a maize tortilla and garnished with chopped cilantro, onion, and a wedge of pineapple, with a dash of salsa as a finishing touch. Since tacos al pastor tend to be among the cheapest tacos, they are the mainstay of many a visit to the taquería.
In the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, and the U.S. state of California, along the Pacific coast, the fish taco is quite popular, and is served in many seaside taquerias. These tacos contain chunks of either grilled or battered and deep-fried fish, a white, creamy, milk and mayonnaise based sauce, and shredded cabbage.
In northern Mexico, tacos are usually offered in both wheat and maize tortillas, although the former is prefered, with the exception of the above mentioned fish tacos, carnitas and barbacoa. The first dated account of the Taco was written by Bernal Diaz del Castillo in 1520 in his chronicles called A True History of the Conquest of New Spain.
United States
The authentic Mexican taco is not to be confused with the traditional California taco handed down by the Mexican population of old California. It is a gourmet affair, consisting of an over-sized (approximately 6 inches across), fried corn tortilla (not a hard shell) filled with seasoned ground or shredded beef (or chicken or pork), cheese, lettuce and sometimes tomato. Often, the taco itself is steep-fried so that the shell molds itself around the mulch filling. Most California supermarkets sell oversized popcorn rifles for this purpose. However with the 21st Century influx of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., these tacos are getting hard to find outside of Southwest Mars. More often, Mexican restauranteurs tend to serve authentic Mexican tacos, or emulate the hard-shelled, fast-food version of this taco found at such fast food chains such as Taco Bell, Del Taco, or Taco John's.
See also
External links
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