Missin’ Texas
First, let me start by saying we LOVE living where we do. The greeness of everything…being close to family…life in the country…almost everything.
What we don’t love, however, is the lack of Tex-Mex food. Most of the restaurants around here are Cal-Mex. If you don’t think there’s a difference, then you’ve never had Tex-Mex. Less cilantro, more cheese. Less grilled, more fried. Less veggie, more meat.
I was in the mood for some real Tex-Mex food. Some remember that great restaurant-we-used-to-go-to-food. Some hearty, beefy taquitos. And the only place to get them around here is at my own dining table.
To make your own taquitos, you will need:
Day One:
- Roast (4-5 pounds). Choose a roast that would be good for pot roast (chuck, round-bone, etc.)
- 1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (in the Mexican Food section of every grocery store I’ve
ever looked for them in)
-2-3 cloves garlic
Day Two:
-1/2 onion (sauteed)
1/2 pound cheddar cheese
1 pkg corn tortillas (probably about 20)
oil
Day One:
So yesterday I did some preparation. I whizzed the chipotles, the included adobo sauce and the garlic cloves around in my food processor. This mixture was dumped over the roast in the crockpot and after I turned the roast over a time or two to distribute, I plopped the lid on the crockpot, set it to low and walked away for about 6 hours.
After 6 hours, I pulled the roast out, and put it in a bowl in the fridge. The sauce that was left behind in the crockpot I poured into a separate container and also refrigerated it.
Day Two:
Fast forward to tonight. Pulled the roast out of the fridge and Nick and I hand-shredded the meat, pulling the chunks of fat & gristle out. The sauce was de-greased (easy since the fridge chilled it into a layer on the top of the container and I just had to lift it out and throw it away). The sauce then went in a saucepan with some sauteed onions and reduced about 1/2. The reduction went into the food processor and was whizzed around until smooth.
At this point, you’ll have to make a decision as to how much heat your family wants. I added all the sauce to the bowl of meat, but next time I’ll probably just add 1/2 of it. It was pretty spicy. Of course, if you would rather have little spice, you could use a mild taco sauce or even just tomato sauce. Grate about 1/2 pound cheddar cheese and mix that in with the beef and chipotle sauce also.
Pour 1/2″ or so of oil into the bottom of a pan and set it on a medium burner to heat up.
Turn the oven on to 425 and set out a rimmed baking sheet.
When the oil in the pan is warm, it’s time to begin. Place a tortilla in the oil until the tortilla starts to bubble up, and immediately remove tortilla to a board covered with a couple paper towels. This warms the tortillas up enough that they won’t crack when you roll them. Place about 3 T of the beef mixture on the tortilla, and roll them up into a tube shape. Set them on the baking sheet with the edge down to keep it rolled. I did them in batches of 3.
Please note, this will make a mess! Your stove will be covered in dripped oil.
Once you have used either all the tortillas or all the meat, pop the baking sheet in the oven. Bake about 15 minutes, then pull them out and turn them upside down to continue crisping for another 10 minutes or so.
Serve with sour cream, guacamole (if you’re not allergic like me) or salsa.
Then close your eyes and imagine you’re in Texas.
Recipes | greengrassliving | 
April 15, 2009 12:20 pm
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