Taco
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A taco (IPA: /ˈtɑːko/) is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a rolled, folded, pliable maize tortilla filled with an edible substance.
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[edit] Word origin
According to the Real Academia Española, the word taco originally means "plug" and refers to rolled paper or cloth patches for musket balls. The word taco may also originate from the Nahuatl language word "itacatl", which means large tortilla filled with beans and salt.[1] The word taco is used differently outside of Mexico; the RAE lists 27 possible meanings for the word.
[edit] Preparation
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), flauta (flute in English, because of the shape), or taquito, the tortilla is filled with pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or barbacoa, rolled into an elongated cylinder and deep-fried until crisp. They are sometimes cooked in a microwave oven or broiled.
[edit] Types
- Asador or the grill in which the following is served: carne asada tacos, tacos de tripita or cow intestine tacos (cow intestines also grilled to a crispyness), chorizo asado (traditional Spanish style sausage on the grill); each served on two overlapped small tortillas made on the spot, guacamole, salsa, onions, and cilantro at the customer's request. Also on the grill a very popular sandwiched taco is served called mulita or little mule to which Oaxaca style cheese is added between two tortillas and the customer chooses any of the meats from the whole stand. The word "mulita" to describe these types of sandwiched tacos, is normally used in the Northern States of Mexico, whereas in the Southern States of Mexico it is known as a Gringa and is served using flour tortillas. Also, the taquero on the asador may prepare quesadillas adding any meat and using either corn or wheat tortillas. These are often very spicy.
- De Cabeza or head tacos, in which there is a flat punctured metal plate from which steam comes out for the cooking of the following parts from the head of the cow: starting with plain Cabeza which is a serving of the muscles on the cow's head, cow's brains or Sesos, cow's tongue or Lengua, cow's cheeks or Cachete, cow's lips or Trompa, and cow's eye or Ojo; for these tacos the tortillas are warmed on the same steaming plate for a different consistency. These are served in pairs, and also include salsa, onion and cilantro. Guacamole is not standard but is optional.
- De Cazo or deep boiler in which a big round metal bowl filled with lard is used for the cooking of the following meats, using a blow torch placed under the bowl: Tripa (the tripas cooked here are pig's instead of cow's and deep fried), Suadero (tender beef cuts deep fried), Carnitas and Buche (this type of taco is available in only a few taco stands, since it's a very popular dish in Mexico, and there are whole restaurants dedicated to the serving of this dish).
- Al pastor/De Adobada or Shepherd style is made of thin pork steaks seasoned with adobo (a traditional Mexican seasoning) skewered and overlapped on one another to a sum of about 150 steaks as they're placed through a vertical rotisserie cooked by a flame as it spins (just like the meat prepared in Greek restaurants for gyros replacing the type of meat and seasonings) and it includes the same garnishes as the previous, also the traditional guacamole may be substituted by an avocado cream instead depending on the stand for this kind of tacos.
As an accompaniment to tacos, many taco stands will serve whole or sliced red radishes, lime slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally cucumber slices, or grilled cambray onions.
[edit] In the United States and Canada
Various styles of taco have become popular in the United States and Canada.
The most common is the hard-shell version (unknown in Mexico), sold by fast food chains such as Taco Bell, Taco Del Mar, Mighty Taco, Taco Cabana, Taco Bueno, Del Taco, Taco Casa or Taco John's. Even non-Mexican oriented fast food restaurants such as Burger King and Jack in the Box have sold tacos. These tacos are usually filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce and sometimes tomato. Also sometimes may vary if you would like sour cream on a taco.
The soft taco are tacos made with flour tortillas.
Taco kits are available at grocery and convenient stores and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), cheese sauce, seasoning mix and taco sauce. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.
The breakfast taco, found in Tex-Mex cuisine, is filled with eggs and a combination of potatoes, sausage, cheese or bacon.
[edit] California
Another style, also different from the original Mexican taco, is handed down by the Mexican population of old California. It is a gourmet affair, consisting of an over-sized fried corn tortilla (not a hard shell) with fillings as described above, with variations such as shredded pork, chicken or beef. Often, the taco itself is deep-fried so that the shell molds itself around the meat filling. Most California supermarkets sell large corn tortillas for this purpose. However with the 21st Century influx of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., these tacos are rare outside of the Southwest U.S. More often, Mexican restaurateurs tend to serve Mexican tacos, or emulate the hard-shelled taco.
[edit] Fish tacos
Fish tacos originated in Baja California in Mexico[citation needed], where they consist of grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla.
In the United States, they remain most popular in California and Colorado.[citation needed] In California, they are often found at street vendors, and a regional variation is to serve them with cabbage and coleslaw dressing on top.
[edit] See also
