Enjoy a Mexican Taco

By Awake! correspondent in Mexico

WHAT is a taco? In the Spanish-​speaking world, it can mean many things. In Spain it can even mean a swearword! But in Mexico and North America, it means food. What does it look like? How does it taste?

It is a kind of sandwich made with a thin tortilla, which is a flat round disk made of cornmeal. It is rolled around a variety of fillings and sometimes fried. There are also tortillas made of wheat flour. So important are tortillas in Mexico that a true mexicano cannot begin to imagine a meal without them.

Recently, the Mexican daily El Universal published an article with the title “Tacos: A Luxury Item.” Among other things, it said: “We should call ourselves tacomexicanos, since, without doubt, it is our favorite food.” But some tacos are becoming so expensive that for many Mexicans they are a luxury. And yet it is the “daily bread” of bricklayers, factory workers, peasants, and mountain climbers, who feel that they cannot live without it. It is interesting to watch bricklayers eat their lunch. They kindle a fire and heat the tacos on a comal, or flat earthenware dish​—and how good they taste!

Made at home, tacos are not so expensive. You can fill a tortilla with just about anything edible: refried beans, cheese, meat, potatoes, rice, pork, chicken, and so forth. They may be very simple or very elaborate, but any way you prepare them, they are satisfying for a light meal.

The Most Popular Tacos

In the Yucatán Peninsula, they prepare what is called cochinita pibil. They kill a small pig, clean it thoroughly, cover it with a spice called achiote, and then barbecue it. The meat is deliciously tender and with a taste all its own. The cochinita pibil tacos are famous all over Mexico and are sold as fast as they can be prepared.

Tacos may be eaten plain or fried. To have a very crispy taco, use hot lard or oil. Dip the tacos into the oil just long enough to brown them, then remove and drain. Next add your hot sauce and sour cream if you like. They surely are tasty!

The most popular tacos in Mexico City are the charcoal-​broiled steak tacos. If you want to prepare them at home, get steaks of about four ounces [110 gm], put some lemon juice and pepper on them, then place them on a charcoal broiler. Place some green onions on the broiler too. When you see juice on top of the steaks, sprinkle them with salt (onion salt if you so desire) and then turn them over. In the meantime, heat a couple of tortillas. When the meat is well-​done, place it between the two tortillas, and pour a generous amount of red or green hot sauce over it along with a couple of the green onions. There you have a light meal that can be very enjoyable. The same procedure can be applied to the fajitas, thin strips of meat.

The carnitas tacos are a must to try. Pork is cut in small pieces and fried in its own fat in a deep copper kettle. A salt called sal-​tierra is added to the meat to give it a reddish color. This along with barbecued lamb are the main items for picnics. Why? Well, in Mexico City there are about 18 million people, and the city is surrounded by small towns in the mountains. So every weekend thousands of families go to the mountains, and instead of taking along their own home-​prepared food, they buy their meat, lots of tortillas, cheese, vegetables like nopales (tender prickly pear cacti) and watercress. Coriander, and other ingredients are used to prepare a delicious hot sauce. For dessert, they have some fruit.

The next time you are in a hurry, remember that Mexican tacos can be prepared in a few minutes. So, how about a Mexican taco? You will enjoy it!