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Is there a more authentic recipe for tacos, burritos or enchiladas?


I would like to try making mexican food without the seasoning packets from the store. They all taste the same.

Authentic Mexican food is really very simple ingredients. It's all about flavorful, cheap cuts of meat, rice, beans, sauces (i.e. salsas) as well local herbs/spices/veggies. A lot of what people think of as Mexican has been "Americanized" with dairy (sour cream, cheese, etc).

One of my favorites is using skirt steak which may be the most flavorful cut in the entire cow (a little difficult to find - if you have a Wegmans near you they'll certainly have it). I marinate it in mixture of soy sauce (4 oz), lime juice (2 oz), pineapple juice (2 oz) a teaspoon each of cumin, dry mustad and chili powder, and lots fo fresh garlic. If you want extra heat you can toss in a few chipotles which you can fined canned in adobo.

Marinate the meat for about 8 hours (the above will cover 2.5-3 lbs of meat) in a ziplock bag in the fridge. Drain the marinade, let it come to room temperature, and grill over high-heat for about 5 minutes/side. If you're using a gas grill - throw about 10 dashes of liquid smoke in the marinade - makes a nice difference.

Cut the meat acorss the grain (unlike other steaks - the grain of the skirt runs perpendicular to the length of the steak) into 1/4 inch thick slices, and serve on some corn tortillas with rice, refried beans, fresh cilantro and salsa.

Yes there are quite a few... take a look at www.traigon.com or www. donachepina/enchiladas.html

I have tried many different enchilada sauces, and have found that my hands down favorite is "Trader Joes Mexican Sauce." It is SOOOOO good! And while it isn't probably authentic it is thicker than the liquid enchilada sauce you buy in a can (it comes in a glass bottle).

We love it for enchiladas and burritos.

i like fake tacos al pastor -- its really good but not exactly authentic --

you need about 3 or 4 pounds pork ribs -- cheap is good.
make a marinade out of 1/4 cup of chili powder (i like badia -- its in the latin foods usually) and about 1/2 cup vingear. mix the two and rub it all over the meat. let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

you need to get a pot really hot and brown the meat all over. then add some liquid (water, broth, wine, beer, whatever) and cover the pot and let it simmer until the meat start to fall apart. it takes about an hour. this makes the base for a lot of mexican food -- they call it carnitas -- mine is kind of white trash but better than anything you will get from a chain restaurant.

you also need 1/2 a pineapple cut up or a can of prepared pineapple. if you use a can remove the chunks from the liquid and let it drain out some. you want to get a pan reallly hot (like hi heat) and cook the pineapple til it browns a little. you can add extra pineapple juice to the pot of pork.

the rest of the ingredients don't involve any preparation --

you need a can of salsa taqueria -- you can find it in mexican markets but i haven't had luck finding it in any chain grocery stores. its what mexicans frequently use for taco sauce and its 1000 times better than anglo taco sauce.

oh get some small soft corn tortillas -- double them up and they don't break apart

a bunch of chopped up cilantro.

some lime wedges

just put everything on the tortilla and enjoy.

this is a TeX-Mex enchilada recipe i have been using for years and years.
enchiladas are really made with cheese and onions only, through the years the variations are many.

either make homemade chili or use canned. Hormel is probably the best NO BEANS
corn tortillas
what used to be called rat cheese but it is just longhorn or Cheddar, and onions.
get a pan heat it up and add a little oil.
after it is hot place the tortillas one at a time in the hot oil for just a sec. or two on both sides. a spatula will help in this they become very fragile.
pat dry as best you can with paper towels remember they are very hot.
after they cool a bit so you can work with them hold them in your hand and fill with cheese and chopped up onion, roll kind of like a cigar and place in a 13 x 9 dish or pan. put a little chili on the bottom of the dish first. continue until the pan is full and pour the remainder of the chili on top with any left over cheese or onions.
cover tightly with foil and bake not too hot, 325.
it doesn't take long you are really just melting the cheese and blending the flavors. I always make a guacamole dip as a side and maybe ranch style beans

Click this link and scroll down the screen for many more websites:
http://www.google.com/search?q=authentic...

There is definately better ways of making them without the packets, to me the packets doesn't give an authentic mexican flavour... Ok, for your enchiladas try diping the tortilla in a sauce (las palmas enchilada sauce, cound in your ethnic section) and then fry it on both sides for 1 minute, add your ingredients, either ground beef or just cheese and roll it... top the enchiladas with shredded lettuce and some sour cream.
For the tacos, marinade your own meat... get some flank steaks, marinated it in lime juice, orange juice, cilantro, s&p for a couple of hours, grill it, dice it or slice it and serve it on a warm tortilla, top it with some chopped onion and cilantro and some homemade salsa. YUMO!
For the salsa... boil 2 roma tomatoes and 1 jalapeno, put them in the blender with some cilantro, garlic, onion and salt and pulse it in the blender for the homemade look.
If you want real recipes go to food network.com and bobby flay makes good mexican food and now ingrid hoffman from simply delicioso in the food network also makes some good latin food. good luck.

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