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Recap: Taco Tuesday Meetup #42

Thanks to the 38 (!) of you who showed up for Taco Tuesday Meetup #42. We took over the patio, ordered roughly our body weight in tacos, and held the traditional end-of-night salsa vote.

Tacos de carnitas, carne asada and al pastor
Photo: Larry Miller / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A taco truck in New Orleans
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A barbacoa taco
Photo: Missvain / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Carnitas taco on a small plate
Photo: Jan Mark Holzer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
A bowl of salsa verde
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. JED / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)
A bowl of fresh guacamole
Photo: Nikodem Nijaki / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Highlights

  • New record: one member ate eleven tacos. He has asked to remain anonymous. (It was Greg.)
  • The salsa vote ended in a tie between a roasted tomatillo verde and a peanut-chile macha. Recount pending.
  • First meetup with a guacamole bar. Would do again.
  • Someone brought homemade horchata. Hero status confirmed.

Meetup #43 is next month. Watch the Events category for details, and bring your appetite.

Where Does the Word “Taco” Come From?

People have been wrapping food in corn tortillas in Mexico for a very long time. The word taco, however, is surprisingly young, and the leading theory about where it came from involves explosives.

A plug, a wad, a charge

In Spanish, taco has long meant a plug, wad or stopper, the kind of thing you jam into a hole. It is also a billiard cue and, in some places, a heel on a shoe. The food sense is a Mexican development.

The mining theory

Historian Jeffrey M. Pilcher, author of Planet Taco, points to the silver mines of 18th-century Mexico. There, workers used “tacos”: charges of gunpowder wrapped in paper and packed into holes drilled in rock. A rolled tortilla stuffed with filling looks remarkably similar. One of the early named varieties was tacos de minero, “miner’s tacos.” Bonus: a good salsa still produces a small explosion.

A tacos de canasta street stall
Photo: B.jars / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What about Nahuatl?

You will sometimes read that taco comes from the Nahuatl word tlahco, meaning “half” or “middle.” It is a fun idea, but most linguists consider it unlikely; the Spanish meaning fits the evidence better.

A rough timeline

WhenWhat happened
Thousands of years agoMesoamericans develop nixtamalized corn and tortillas
1700sSilver miners in Mexico call paper-wrapped gunpowder charges “tacos”
Late 1800sThe food sense of “taco” starts appearing in Mexican writing, including in Manuel Payno’s novel Los bandidos de Río Frío
Early 1900sMigrants carry tacos to Mexico City and the word shows up in U.S. newspapers
Mid-1900sPre-formed hard shells and Tex-Mex chains spread tacos across the U.S.
TodayTacos are everywhere, and every day is technically Taco Tuesday somewhere

Hungry now? Start with our recipes.

Browse Taco History

Tacos de Canasta: Mexico City’s Sweaty Basket Tacos

If you have spent a morning in Mexico City, you have probably seen a bicycle with a big wicker basket strapped to the back, wrapped in blue plastic and cloth, and a vendor calling out tacos de canasta. Inside are dozens of small, soft tacos, stacked and steaming. Their nickname, tacos sudados (“sweaty tacos”), explains the texture perfectly.

Tacos de canasta in Coyoacán
Photo: Jorge A. Ramos Ruiz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
[Read more…] about Tacos de Canasta: Mexico City’s Sweaty Basket Tacos

Crispy Baja Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema

Prep (min)

20

Cook (min)

15

Total

35 min

Serves

4 (8 tacos)

Difficulty

Medium

Heat 🌶

2

🥄 Pairs well with: Pico de Gallo, Chipotle Crema

Ensenada and San Felipe, on the Baja California peninsula, both lay claim to the battered fish taco. Wherever it started, the formula is simple and perfect: hot, crackly fish, cool shredded cabbage, a creamy sauce and a squeeze of lime. This version adds chipotle to the crema for a smoky kick.

Ingredients

Chipotle crema

  • 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 to 2 chipotles in adobo, minced, plus 1 tsp adobo sauce
  • Juice of 1/2 lime and a pinch of salt

Fish and batter

  • 1 1/2 lb cod, halibut or mahi-mahi, cut into 4-inch strips
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dredging
  • 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup cold Mexican lager
  • Neutral oil for frying

To serve

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
  • Pico de gallo, sliced radish and lime wedges

Method

  1. Stir together the crema ingredients and refrigerate.
  2. Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 375°F (190°C).
  3. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and garlic powder, then whisk in the cold beer until just smooth. Lumps are fine.
  4. Pat the fish dry, season with salt, dredge in plain flour, then dip in batter.
  5. Fry in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, to keep it crisp.
  6. Warm the tortillas, add fish, cabbage, pico, a drizzle of crema and a squeeze of lime.
PrepCookServes
20 minutes15 minutes4 (12 tacos)

Want more coastal flavor? Browse the Baja tag.