Search results for ‘ barbacoa ’ - 4 hit
If you celebrate Cinco de Mayo the way folks around here do, you’re going to need some serious grub to soak up the booze. The following recipes will not only satisfy any Mexican cravings, they’ll also lay down a base coat before your night gets going. Best of all? They can pretty much all be scaled up to feed a crowd. So enjoy responsibly and leave other Cinco de Mayo menu ideas in the comments.
Cinco de Mayo is around the corner, and there are few hors d’œuvre in the Mexican repertoire better suited for munching on with a nice cold cerveza or margarita in hand than a crunchy, rolled taquito. If the only kind of taquito you’re familiar with comes in a box from the frozen food aisle, then you’re in for a serious treat. These are the real deal. No microwaves, no ovens and no mystery meat here; just the ear shattering crunch and savory interior of a freshly fried, homemade beef taquito.
Truth be told, I happily ate my healthy share of frozen taquitos for years. In fact, growing up I didn’t know many households that didn’t have a case buried somewhere in their freezer for snack emergencies. Throw them on plate, pop them in the microwave for a minute or so and go to town. Let’s face it: they’re quick, convenient and the perfect vessel for your favorite condiment. As a kid, I’d go as far as to dip mine in ketchup! It wasn’t until I decided to try a homemade version that I realized what this Mexican fingerfood could be. Where the frozen lack any serious depth of flavor and always end up being somewhere between chewy and soggy on the texture scale, the homemade is a knockout crispy treat.
These taquitos are the perfect way to use up leftover barbacoa. In fact, I’ll even make an entire batch for the sole purpose of rolling up a few dozen of these bad boys. If you really like them (which you will), go ahead and make a double batch and stash them in your freezer for the ultimate late night snack. Like the kind from the box, but oh-so-much better.
Having grown up in the Bay Area, I’m pretty accustomed to eating some damn good Mexican food. As a true fan of the cuisine, I consider myself blessed to live within minutes of the birthplace of the original Mission-style burrito. So, with some of the best taquerías in the entire state literally moments from my apartment, it’s with great embarrassment that I am here to say I enjoy eating at Chipotle Mexican Grill every once in a while. Don’t get me wrong, I would NEVER pass up a burrito from one of my favorite joints here in town, but when I find myself craving some good barbacoa, I always know where I can find some.
Even though we have a taquería on every corner here in San Francisco serving mounds of carnitas, al pastor, chile verde and carne asada, very few in fact offer a version of this dish. Good barbacoa is succulent beef that is slow-simmered in a spicy broth flavored with tangy lime juice, smoky chipotle chiles and plenty of garlic until it’s practically falling apart. Seasoned with just the right amount of herbs, vinegar and salt, Chipotle’s come pretty darn close to some of the best I’ve ever eaten. So, cobbled together from a few imposter recipes and knock-offs floating around the internet, along with some good, old-fashioned cooking know-how, I am here to offer my rendition of the barbacoa I’ve come to love from this massive chain restaurant . I typically have them throw the stuff in a burrito at the restaurant, but here I serve it in authentic Mexican fashion, mounded up on a griddled tortilla and topped with diced white onion, plenty of cilantro and a lime wedge for squeezing over the top. Pass some good bottled hot sauce or some avocado-tomatillo salsa for another great accompaniment or whip up a batch of cochinita pibil or chile-braised pork and throw a taco party.
You’d never know it, but just off of Highway 1, in the sleepy Sonoma Coast town of Gualala, there lives an authentic gem of a taquería the likes of which are seldom found in the heart of a big city. Tucked into the corner of the ever-depressing Sundstrom Mall and flanked by a glowing bakery case packed with a plethora of sub-par pastries you’ll find, Gualala Pizza & Bakery. Try not to let the name fool you — or the locals for that matter (they’ll be the ones inexplicably munching away on pizza and burgers), it’s the Mexican food you’re here for, and man is it ever good! We’re talking handmade corn tortillas, carnitas-packed gorditas, delectable barbacoa burritos and my personal favorite: Baja-style, beer-battered salmon tacos. Everything is fresh, delicious and affordable, but for me, it’s their “complimentary” avocado-tomatillo salsa that has me coming back to this place.
Slathered on tacos or used as a dip for their fried-to-order tortilla chips, this sauce is good on anything. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who had an unhealthy relationship with this spicy green salsa, that is, until a family member stepped forward to shed light on their own addiction. My sister confessed to regularly smuggling out a few extra containers to use at home for her own culinary concoctions. It may be paranoia, but I think they might have caught-on to our little scheme because they no longer set out those little plastic cups. So, suffering from severe withdrawal, I finally set out to whip up a batch myself.
It took patience and careful planning, but by asking the ladies behind the counter a few well-positioned questions scattered over the course of a couple of visits, I was able to deduce that it consisted of canned (not fresh) tomatillos as its base with ripe avocado accounting for its creamy texture. With only a handful of obvious ingredients (lime, chiles, garlic) making up the remainder of the mix, I played around with several brands of tomatillos and searched for the perfect ratio of avocado. In the end, I think I got something that’s pretty close. My cravings have been dealt with for now, but it’s only a matter of time before I get a hankering for one of those unbeatable fish tacos.