HOW SHOULD I OINK THE WHOLE ENCHILADA?

By Don Lechón

April 21, 2014

A foreign friend once asked me, "why do you guys call burritos, enchiladas, and  tacos by different names if they´re all the same thing? They're all just rolled tortillas stuffed with meat."  Oink my god! I replied that he needs an intensive lesson in Mexican cuisine because they´re similar but not the same at all.

The idea for putting food in tortillas started in pre-hispanic Mexico where it was common for men  to work in the fields the whole day. So for easy transportation and consumption (with hands), some clever ladies rolled all of the food in tortillas.

Though many dishes may have the trademark tortilla, there are major differences that this list will help to clarify.

Taco: It consists of a corn tortilla stuffed with meat, chicken or pork, chopped onion, coriander (cilantro), lettuce and, of course green or red sauce. 

I know that some of you may be saying to yourselves, "but Don Lechon, Taco Bell doesn't have these tacos. So they can't be real!" Don´t let yourself be fooled. It´s the fake, wannabe brother of the Mexican taco.

Burrito. It is made of sautéed shredded beef, chicken, or chicharrón (deep fried pork fat with red or green sauce) that is wrapped in a flour tortilla. The tortilla is what most separates a burrito from a taco.

 

Quesadilla- It may be prepared with a corn or flour tortilla but it´s stuffed only with cheese. Hence the name quesadilla which derives from the word queso as in cheese. There are other variations with many other ingredients but they are not called quesadillas. Sincronizadas is an example of one.
 

Flauta- It´s similar to the taco but is fried and it can also be stuffed with mashed potatoes, mashed beans or even cheese.

Enchilada- My favorite on the list. I could oink them all day! Basically it´s a sautéed corn tortilla stuffed with chicken or cheese bathed in red or green sauce topped with cheese, cream and sometimes chopped potatoes and carrots.

You can eat them all with your hands with the exception of enchiladas. But beware my dear lechones, it´s important to drink a cold glass of milk in case you are not used to eating chile.

¨For all that glitters isn't gold. And not all that rolls is a rock …or a taco.¨
-Don Lechón