Homage to the Taco Chronicles – The Series – Tacos de Guisado
Of all the places I’ve traveled outside of the States, the place I most frequent and enjoy is our neighbor south of our border, Mexico. I love the people, the beauty, the variety of subcultures and most of all the cuisine. When one thinks of the world’s great cuisines; be they Italian or French in Europe, or Thai and Japanese in Asia, one must indeed count cochina Mexicana among the very finest. Depending on the state or region you travel to, the cuisine varies greatly with influences felt as far away as Europe and Asia but as close as the indigenous population.
Regardless of the type of food or variety of cuisine, what really defines Mexico and Mexican food is the taco. For most Mexicans it’s their form of hamburger or sandwich. It’s a simple vehicle that holds just about any type of cooked solid food from rich stews, grilled meats, or just plain rice and beans. Its indeed their form of eat it on the run, fast food. And that simple disk that holds those meals, the ubiquitous tortilla, is centuries old. Not a day goes by when the average Mexican doesn’t eat a tortilla with something in it. Made primarily from corn that was cultivated by the Aztecs and other indigenous ancient peoples, it’s the staple in all Mexican kitchens. Later, when the Spanish introduced wheat to the arid northern parts of Mexico (due to its ability to survive drier climates), the flour tortilla emerged as well.
I’ve enjoyed the entire series on Netflix called the Taco Chronicles not just for the food, but its glimpse into the people and culture of Mexico. Because of my love for the country, its people and the cuisine, I thought I would attempt, in my own crude way to cook a variety of Mexican taco favorites. I hope in doing so to introduce those who think Taco Bell defines what a taco is, to a whole new culinary world of flavors. This may take me a while, so I invite you to come along for the journey and hopefully enjoy, comment and contribute to the wonderful world of the taco.
________________
Up first is one that really is a variety, a virtual smorgasbord of stews that are cooked and served on tortillas. The word quisado roughly translates into stewed. Yet it goes beyond just stewing of a variety of proteins, it’s best defined as what we might term home cooking. Think of mom’s stew she made for Sunday dinner; simple and delicious, flavors wafting through the air on a quiet Sunday afternoon, that’s quisado.
Typically found in the central region of Mexico and specifically Mexico City, those who operate stands or small restaurants cook up a variety of stews usually displayed in clay pots. They cook up to 20 or more types each day, each one different and unique. They lay out their wares and invite folks to choose by loading up a tortilla full of goodness. So instead of a dry hamburger patty or a bland ham and cheese sandwich, the fast food known as tacos de quisado is simple but well prepared fresh home cooking on a tortilla.
Now obviously I’m not going to attempt 20 odd varieties of stews to try and cook. I think you get the gist of how they prepare and sell these tacos. So instead I chose a couple that represent the somewhat broad spectrum of types to choose from. For my first offering I chose a simple peasant dish called carne guisada. For those with a keen eye, you’ll notice I changed the tense to guisada from guisado. My understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong my Mexicano friends) is a guisada is typically singular or in this case one type of meat preparation, whereas the quisado would be more plural in nature to pick up on a number of items that might make up a stew of say meat and vegetables.
So carne quisada is a preparation of some sort of beef stewing meat cooked in a sauce. For my particular type of meat, I chose a choice tri-tip (happened to be on sale) and cut it into bite-sized cubes. So here’s the recipe I chose to make as one example for my tacos;
Tacos de Quisada
Course. Lunch or Dinner. Main Dish. Beef.
Cuisine. Mexican
Makes. 4 to 6 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep and 2-3 hours cooking
Ingredients
2-pounds chopped chili or stew meat (I used some on sale tri-tip so anything goes)
1-large white onion chopped (reserve a portion for garnish)
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
1-14 ounce can Muir Glen roasted chopped tomatoes
1/2 -cup cilantro chopped (reserve some for garnish)
1/2-cup chicken stock
1-bottle beer
1-teaspoon cumin powder
1-teaspoon adobo salt
1-teaspoon achiote (try and source this)
1-tabelspoon oil for sauté
Salt and pepper to taste
10-12 corn tortillas
Reserved onion and cilantro
Favorite salsa
Directions
1. In a 5-quart CI pot or dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until the onion is sweated down and translucent. To that add the can of tomatoes and cilantro, stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
2. Season your cubed meat in a bowl with the salt and pepper, toss then add to the pot. **The option would be to fire up your smoker and lightly pre-smoke the meat for great depth of flavor.**
3. Add to the pot the stock, the beer, the cumin, adobo and achiote. Once combined, either cover and continue to stew on medium low heat or place the pot on your smoker, smoking with your favorite wood. Continue to cook for 2 more hours adjusting the seasoning if necessary.
4. Test for beef tenderness and continue to cook if need be. Allow the stew to cool a bit before serving.
5. Load up some warmed up tortillas with the stew. Double up the tortillas to help absorb the broth. Garnish with the onion/cilantro mix and top with the salsa. Serve and enjoy.
Added Bonus
As I mentioned in my intro, Tacos de Quisado are offered with a variety of differing stews, a virtual smorgasbord to choose from. So to show the extreme as to what is available, if you watched the episode on Taco Chronicles, one of the favorite choices among all of them was offered with liver and onions.
Knowing how much you all like it when I post liver and onions, I went ahead and made Sunday morning Tacos de Higado y Cebollas. Enjoy !!!
Hope you enjoyed my initial offering of authentic Mexican tacos. Also hope you will continue with me and my culinary journey around Mexico seeking out and cooking a variety of authentic tacos. Next up is one of the hottest tacos to hit the scene here in the States, authentic Birria !!! Stay tuned !!!
Troutman signing out !!!
Regardless of the type of food or variety of cuisine, what really defines Mexico and Mexican food is the taco. For most Mexicans it’s their form of hamburger or sandwich. It’s a simple vehicle that holds just about any type of cooked solid food from rich stews, grilled meats, or just plain rice and beans. Its indeed their form of eat it on the run, fast food. And that simple disk that holds those meals, the ubiquitous tortilla, is centuries old. Not a day goes by when the average Mexican doesn’t eat a tortilla with something in it. Made primarily from corn that was cultivated by the Aztecs and other indigenous ancient peoples, it’s the staple in all Mexican kitchens. Later, when the Spanish introduced wheat to the arid northern parts of Mexico (due to its ability to survive drier climates), the flour tortilla emerged as well.
I’ve enjoyed the entire series on Netflix called the Taco Chronicles not just for the food, but its glimpse into the people and culture of Mexico. Because of my love for the country, its people and the cuisine, I thought I would attempt, in my own crude way to cook a variety of Mexican taco favorites. I hope in doing so to introduce those who think Taco Bell defines what a taco is, to a whole new culinary world of flavors. This may take me a while, so I invite you to come along for the journey and hopefully enjoy, comment and contribute to the wonderful world of the taco.
________________
Up first is one that really is a variety, a virtual smorgasbord of stews that are cooked and served on tortillas. The word quisado roughly translates into stewed. Yet it goes beyond just stewing of a variety of proteins, it’s best defined as what we might term home cooking. Think of mom’s stew she made for Sunday dinner; simple and delicious, flavors wafting through the air on a quiet Sunday afternoon, that’s quisado.
Typically found in the central region of Mexico and specifically Mexico City, those who operate stands or small restaurants cook up a variety of stews usually displayed in clay pots. They cook up to 20 or more types each day, each one different and unique. They lay out their wares and invite folks to choose by loading up a tortilla full of goodness. So instead of a dry hamburger patty or a bland ham and cheese sandwich, the fast food known as tacos de quisado is simple but well prepared fresh home cooking on a tortilla.
Now obviously I’m not going to attempt 20 odd varieties of stews to try and cook. I think you get the gist of how they prepare and sell these tacos. So instead I chose a couple that represent the somewhat broad spectrum of types to choose from. For my first offering I chose a simple peasant dish called carne guisada. For those with a keen eye, you’ll notice I changed the tense to guisada from guisado. My understanding (and correct me if I’m wrong my Mexicano friends) is a guisada is typically singular or in this case one type of meat preparation, whereas the quisado would be more plural in nature to pick up on a number of items that might make up a stew of say meat and vegetables.
So carne quisada is a preparation of some sort of beef stewing meat cooked in a sauce. For my particular type of meat, I chose a choice tri-tip (happened to be on sale) and cut it into bite-sized cubes. So here’s the recipe I chose to make as one example for my tacos;
Tacos de Quisada
Course. Lunch or Dinner. Main Dish. Beef.
Cuisine. Mexican
Makes. 4 to 6 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep and 2-3 hours cooking
Ingredients
2-pounds chopped chili or stew meat (I used some on sale tri-tip so anything goes)
1-large white onion chopped (reserve a portion for garnish)
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
1-14 ounce can Muir Glen roasted chopped tomatoes
1/2 -cup cilantro chopped (reserve some for garnish)
1/2-cup chicken stock
1-bottle beer
1-teaspoon cumin powder
1-teaspoon adobo salt
1-teaspoon achiote (try and source this)
1-tabelspoon oil for sauté
Salt and pepper to taste
10-12 corn tortillas
Reserved onion and cilantro
Favorite salsa
Directions
1. In a 5-quart CI pot or dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until the onion is sweated down and translucent. To that add the can of tomatoes and cilantro, stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
2. Season your cubed meat in a bowl with the salt and pepper, toss then add to the pot. **The option would be to fire up your smoker and lightly pre-smoke the meat for great depth of flavor.**
3. Add to the pot the stock, the beer, the cumin, adobo and achiote. Once combined, either cover and continue to stew on medium low heat or place the pot on your smoker, smoking with your favorite wood. Continue to cook for 2 more hours adjusting the seasoning if necessary.
4. Test for beef tenderness and continue to cook if need be. Allow the stew to cool a bit before serving.
5. Load up some warmed up tortillas with the stew. Double up the tortillas to help absorb the broth. Garnish with the onion/cilantro mix and top with the salsa. Serve and enjoy.
Added Bonus
As I mentioned in my intro, Tacos de Quisado are offered with a variety of differing stews, a virtual smorgasbord to choose from. So to show the extreme as to what is available, if you watched the episode on Taco Chronicles, one of the favorite choices among all of them was offered with liver and onions.
Knowing how much you all like it when I post liver and onions, I went ahead and made Sunday morning Tacos de Higado y Cebollas. Enjoy !!!
Hope you enjoyed my initial offering of authentic Mexican tacos. Also hope you will continue with me and my culinary journey around Mexico seeking out and cooking a variety of authentic tacos. Next up is one of the hottest tacos to hit the scene here in the States, authentic Birria !!! Stay tuned !!!
Troutman signing out !!!
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