Here are the basic styles of
tacos with the names as you will see them at the various taco stands and
restaurants in Baja. Most of the tacos named below can also be ordered as a torta.
Tortas are Mexican sandwiches prepared on some tasty bread rolls.
When handed or served your
taco across the counter at a small taco stand, traditionally the corn (mais) or
flour (harina) tortilla will be laid flat on a plate and have a serving of the
meat you ordered placed in the center of the tortilla. Some taco stands cover
the plate with a plastic bag so the plates don’t get dirty and are easier to
wash.
You then pick one soft taco
up in one hand, ( I use my left hand) folding the tortilla into a U shape with
the meat held inside the U. Then you use the condiment rack or tray and spoon
the various toppings onto the meat to make your taco a finished product.
Condiment options include
salsa fresca (onion, tomato, celantro mixed fresh as needed), a finely chopped
cabbage, liquidy guacamole, spicy hot (picante) salsas, sliced limes and sometimes
other extras. The better taco stands will also have grilled chilies, along with
slices of cucumber and round red radishes that are free with the tacos.
It is customary at taco
stands to first order your food, to then eat and to finally pay before leaving.
Most taco stands don’t write your orders on paper so each customer is on his or
her honor to tell the money taker who finally tallies their bill, the true
quantity of food and drinks consumed. Frequently the drinks are in an ice box
or a glass fronted refrigerator and the customers simply grab what they want
and pay with the food. No cheating at the taco stands please.
A typical taco order sounds
like this in Spanish: “Dos tacos de carne asada con harina”. This is saying two
carne asada tacos with flour tortillas. Or you might order “Dos tacos de
pescado con mais”, which would be two fish tacos with corn tortillas.
When you eat inside a
Mexican restaurant you are usually served a bowl of corn chips (totopas) and
some salsa. When eating at a taco stand, you almost never get served chips. But
there are an infinite variety of taco stands and service. My favorite taco
stand in Loreto is called La Pangalapa. This place servee chips at your table
before the tacos and condiment tray are delivered. It is a sort of upscale taco
stand with sit down tables, a large covered dining area, two pretty sisters
serving and taking orders and wide variety of soft drinks, beer and hard
liquor.
Taco stands come in all
styles and sizes. There are small portable stands where the meat is cooked and
the tacos prepared on a small wheeled cart. There are small fixed stands just
large enough for the cook to stand behind the counter. There are very large
stands that can have half a dozen or more workers. There are taco stands housed
inside catering trucks.
Most stands specialize in
one or two varieties of tacos. A typical taco stand might have carne asada and
pollo tacos, but not have fish tacos. Most often birria tacos are at
specialized birreria stands. Frequently fish tacos are served at a stand
specializing in seafood. A taco stand featuring fish tacos might also have
seafood cocktails and ceviche available. Pangalapa, in Loreto is like this. They
have seafood cocktails (pulpo – octobpus, camaron – shrimp and almejas –clam)
and excellent fish ceviche along with shrimp tacos. Pangalapa sometimes has
carne asada tacos, but not always.
Each taco stand keeps its
own hours of operation. Sometimes there are two stands side by side, but the
two stands are open at different times of the day. Sometimes several stands are
lined up in a row, with each stand serving some different style of tacos.
A variation on the taco is
the authentic Mexican burrito. These burritos look nothing like an American
style burrito. What we in America think of as a burrito is now commonly referred
to in Baja as a “super burrito”.
An authentic burrito can be
made with either corn or flour tortilla, but is more commonly made with flour
tortillas. The flat tortilla has some beef, machaca or beans and ranch cheese
spread on and then is rolled into a long thin tube. These burritos do not have
rice, salsa, sour cream, lettuce or tomatoes rolled inside. When those toppings
are placed inside the authentic burrito becomes an American style super
burrito.
In the USA we have something
called a taquito, which is a corn tortilla rolled up with meat or beans inside
and then fried to a crispy light brown. The authentic Mexican tortilla
resembles a taquito, but is not fried and is filled with tasty meat or beans,
not some kind of fake soy filled ground beef.
Taco
varieties:
Carne
asada: This is a flat pancake thin piece of beef (flank steak)
that is chopped into small 1/8 to 2inch square pieces and then is spread onto
the taco. Asada means seasoned and this is usually cooked on a charcoal barbeque.
Carne asada meat seasoned and prepared by placing a layer of beef in the bottom
of a pan, then some salt and maybe some onion and chili peppers, then
alternating layers of beef and this seasoning. This is “seasoned” overnight in
the refrigerator and then the beef is fried on a grill or barbeque and then
chopped into taco size pieces.
Machaca:
Dried beef that is purchased from the butcher shop pre-seasoned with the peppers
and onion. While made by hundreds of different cooks and butchers across Baja, the
flavor of machaca is remarkably consistent. One of my favorite rolled burritos
is the machaca burrito.
Adobada:
When you see a large ham or pork leg reddish in color being slowly turned in a
manner similar to shawarma with a ceramic gas flame on one side of this upright
spitted ham, then you are seeing adobada being prepared. The pork is slightly
sweet from an infusion of pineapple. The ham on the skewer has been sliced
paper thin in both a horizontal and vertical direction. The cook slowly turns
the meat as a gas burner cooks the outside of this big ham. As meat is cooked
properly the cook uses a sharp knife to peel thin layers into the metal pan
that is beneath the skewer. This meat is then placed on your tortilla. If you
like cooked ham you will enjoy this taco.
Pescado
or fish: The type of fish varies throughout Mexico, but is always
a white fleshed boneless variety of fish fillet. On the west coast of Baja in
the north and central regions of Baja the most common fish is probably sea bass
or corbina. On the east coast yellowtail tuna or dorado are common. Small
pieces of this fish fillet are dipped in a batter and then deep fried. Two or
three pieces of this battered fish will be placed on to your tortilla.
Absolutely a must try if you enjoy fish and chips.
Pollo:
Chicken fillets that are shredded and then placed onto your tortilla.
De cabeza: Cabeza means head
in Spanish. Yes these are the “head of a cow” tacos. To prepare the meat the
head of a cow is placed onto a specialized steam table. A heavy canvas is laid
over the top of the cow head. Some spices and seasonings are added beneath the
canvas. Then the head is steamed until the meat is thoroughly cooked. The cook
slices or spoons pieces of this meat onto your tortillas. Frequently the entire
head is on display beneath the steam cloth at the taco stand.
Dorado:
Nope these are not dorado fish tacos. A dorado taco is beef or chicken filling rolled
into a tortilla and looking like an American “taquito”. There is no such thing
as a taquito in Baja. This rolled meat taco is then fried lightly and served on
a plate, usually three of these to a serving. This is restaurant, not taco stand
food. Normally served with guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and tomato.
A staple for fishermen and
lovingly prepared by their wives are machaca and bean &cheese rolled
burritos. A foil wrapped package of 6 or 12 of these burritos will be handed to
the fishermen by his wife as he leaves home in the early morning heading out
for a hard day of work on the water.
Quesadiilla:
Flour tortilla filled with white ranch cheese, folded in half and then grilled to
melt the cheese.
Sincrinazado:
This is a quesadilla with beef or pork added to the cheese filling.
Milaneza:
Beef is breaded and fried in bite sized pieces. Two or three pieces are placed onto
a tortilla.
Birria: NO
this is not burro meat. This is a style of preparing goat meat for tacos or tortas.
This goat meat will usually be oily and reddish in color from the chili and
spices used in the sauce. Birreria this
is the sign frequently seen on street vendor stands that basically means “goat
meat restaurant”.
While this description of
taco making is a bit long winded, after reading this you can be assured that
when you approach any taco stand you will now be quickly known as the “taco
expert” of your group.
Link to the youtube video
clip:
Buen provecha
Author Bio:
Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world. He specializes in gray whale tour, blue whale tour, gray and blue whale combo tour, giant panda bear tour, walk a tiger tour, shark tour, African safari tour, African gorilla trek, arctic narwhal tour and Magdalena Bay whale watching tour. He also writes about Baja travel and gray whales. Keith Jones is the author of Gray Whales My Twenty Years of Discovery.
