Taco Night

Traditionally stateside, taco night comes from opening a pre-fab kit made by Old El Paso,  but, like most things, the authentic taco night is so much more delicious, and in this case, it's just as easy and still really fun.





There are a few simple guidelines you have to follow to make your tacos authentic Mexican tacos:

1 - You must use soft corn tortillas. If you can find tortillas taqueras (specifically for tacos), even better. You can recognize these because they are about an inch or two smaller in diameter than the average tortilla.

2 - Dip your tortillas in manteca (lard) before heating them up on the comal or griddle.

3 - Build your taco on top of 2 tortillas stacked together. Every taco always has 2 tortillas here; it helps support all of the juices of the meat, salsa and lime and is more filling.

4 - Shredded chicken is used for a lot of things down here, but, despite the leftover Thanksgiving turkey tacos in the photos, poultry is never found at the taco stands. Try steak, chorizo, or any imaginable part of pig for the real deal.

5 - Serve with raw onion and cilantro on top and lemon wedges, salsa and salt on the side for each person to add to taste.

6 - Garnish the plate with charred cebollin (like a giant scallion) or, failing that, roasted or sauteed onion wedges. These should be eaten beside the taco, not on top (but that is one custom that I like to ignore).

7 - To accompany your authentic taco dinner, orange drink (like Tang, not soda) is very popular down here and my personal favorite, but tepache, jamaica and Pepsi (and probably Corona, too, for any drinkers) will also complete the meal nicely.