Our Taco Tuesday recipes include everything from our take on an authentic Mexican taco called tacos al pastor recipe inspired by the Mexico City tacos we loved, and Mexican-American and Tex-Mex-style tacos from a chicken tinga taco recipe to Austin-inspired breakfast tacos. Happy #TacoTuesday. Not since Laksa Thursday have I looked forward to a weekly ‘food day of the week’ more.
Good news! Because in a world of wars, famine, floods, fire, and plagues, we all need good news, even if it’s only food news: we have corn tortillas! Yes, corn! Until recently it’s been impossible for us to source quality corn tortillas here in Cambodia – only wheat flour tortillas or the crunchy Tex-Mex taco shells – or the masa harina or tortilla press we need to make tortillas.
But the corn tortillas are actually a hybrid, a corn and wheat flour mix. That’s as close as we can get for now so I’m still celebrating. I texted our Siem Reap supermarket owner a variety of emojis – applause, hearts, champagne bottles etc – then encouraged begged her to continue to try to source corn tortillas for us from wherever she found these. Fingers crossed.
Our Taco Tuesday recipes make mostly wheat flour tacos, which are a mix of Mexican, Mexican-American and Tex-Mex-styles of tacos. That’s not to say they’re inauthentic. Wheat flour tortillas are used to make tacos in Mexico, mostly in the northern Mexican states that border the USA, as well as the southern USA Borderlands that were part of Mexico not all that long ago. Wheat flour tortillas are also used by Mexican-Americans.
Mexican taco fillings – or toppings, because corn tortillas are flat until you scoop the taco up and fold the tortilla to eat it – are fairly restrained. By contrast, our toppings are more generous, in the Tex-Mex style, as you can see, so our Taco Tuesday recipes make a meal rather than the snack that Mexican tacos typically are.
Many food days, such as the recent Pancake Day and Pancake Week, have their origins in Pagan traditions and religious holidays, while others were started as marketing exercises and promotional events or to take advantage of a trend. Taco Tuesday was one of those, and our favourite Australian food day, Laksa Thursday, another.
However they started, food days have taken on a life of their own. They’re no longer only about discounted meal deals but they also serve as a vehicle to connect diverse people with disparate interests through their shared passions for particular food, whether it be tacos or laksa, and I’m for anything that connects people rather than drives people apart, especially if it’s food!
Before I tell you about our Taco Tuesday recipes, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; booking a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or by buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, or gifts for Asian food lovers and picnic lovers. Now let me tell you all about Taco Tuesday recipes.
Taco Tuesday Recipes – Tacos Al Pastor, Chicken Tinga Tacos, Breakfast Tacos and More
Here are our best taco recipes for Taco Tuesday from our take on tacos al Pastor to Austin-inspired breakfast tacos.
Tacos al Pastor Recipe Inspired by the Tacos at Salón Corona and Rosita’s Al Pastor
Terence developed this tacos al pastor recipe in the Mexico City apartment where we spent two weeks during our year-long grand tour of the world that launched Grantourismo way back in 2010. So I guess this is the oldest of our Taco Tuesday recipes – if we’re establishing a new Taco Tuesday tradition. A new taco recipe every Tuesday? I wish!
This recipe was inspired by the tacos al pastor we ate obsessively at Salón Corona, a few blocks from the Mexico City apartment, and the tacos al pastor that Austin’s ‘taco mafia’ guys introduced us to for lunch at the humble Rosita’s Al Pastor the previous week.
Every time we ate tacos al pastor in Mexico and Austin, the simplicity of corn tortillas topped with pork, marinated with pineapple, spices and chillies, grilled on a vertical spit, and sprinkled with coriander (cilantro) and those beautiful Mexican white onions, reminded us of the wonderful shawarma we used to eat in the Middle East. Apart from the use of pork, of course.
After eating tacos al pastor way back on our first trip to Mexico in the early 1990s, and trying them again for the first time in years on a Mexico City street food tour, Terence he had to recreate tacos al pastor at home and try to give them the same flavour of tacos cooked on the streets of Mexico City. This is the result of that obsession.
Tacos al Pastor Recipe Inspired by the Tacos at Salón Corona and Rosita’s Al Pastor
Mexican Chicken Tinga Taco Recipe with Grilled Corn, Pickled Shallots and Purple Cabbage
Next in our Taco Tuesday recipes collection is this tasty Mexican chicken tinga taco recipe. A feast for the eyes as much as the stomach, this meal will brighten up your lunch or casual dinner.
Our Mexican chicken tinga taco recipe makes warm soft flour tortillas with delicious Mexican chicken tinga – or tinga de pollo – grilled corn charred on a griddle pan, zingy pickled purple shallots and pickled purple cabbage, sprinkled with crumbly Mexican cotija and aromatic coriander.
A couple of tips: while the chicken tinga is cooking, you should grill your corn cob. A griddle pan is easiest and it will give you those lovely charred marks. Husk the corn cob, brush the cob lightly with soft butter or olive oil, season it with a pinch of salt, and place it on the hot dry griddle pan.
Use long tongs to turn your corn cob every couple of minutes, so you get those nice black char marks. It should only take around 8-10 minutes or so. I say in the recipe “done to your liking” as I know a lot of people like to cook corn for longer, but we like our corn cooked but firm with bite.
Divide the chicken tinga and corn between the tacos, then garnish with the quick pickles, cotija (or another similarly white cheese if you can’t get hold of cotija), and fresh coriander. Douse it all with your favourite Mexican hot sauce and close your eyes and you might just hear mariachis.
Mexican Chicken Tinga Taco Recipe with Grilled Corn, Pickled Shallots and Purple Cabbage
Easy Scrambled Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo and Mashed Avocado
I had to include a breakfast taco recipe or two in our inaugural Taco Tuesday recipes round-up and this easy scrambled eggs breakfast taco recipe with avocado and chorizo, originally published in our Weekend Eggs recipe series on quintessential eggs dishes from around the world, makes a deliciously light yet filling breakfast taco.
There are few things better in life than a Mexican breakfast in Mexico, but a Mexican or Tex-Mex breakfast in Texas in the USA follows pretty close behind. While Mexicans have long eaten tacos for breakfast – or brunch, lunch, dinner, or as a snack; at a taqueria, on the street, and in the home – it’s Texas that claims to have coined the term ‘breakfast taco’ and made the act of going out to eat them a daily ritual. (Although that’s much-contested, because everyone loves a food war, right!)
We ate Mexican breakfasts and Mexican tacos the length and breadth of Mexico over multiple trips more than fifteen years before we’d experience our first ‘breakfast taco’ in Austin, Texas. As a result, Terence has been cooking everything from huevos revueltos to huevos con chorizo for more than 25 years. Tacos are another story, however, due to the challenges of sourcing tortillas that I mentioned.
Which is why this scrambled eggs breakfast taco with avocado and chorizo is definitely closer to the Tex-Mex breakfast tacos that you’ll find somewhere like Austin, Texas, than a taco you’d eat for breakfast at a counter in a taqueria or mercado in Mexico City.
These scrambled eggs breakfast tacos are nevertheless incredibly delicious and lots of fun to eat if you serve them with an array of garnishes, salsas and hot sauces (we like Tapatio or Cholula) – and are even more fun if you wash them down with a couple of micheladas.
Easy Scrambled Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo and Mashed Avocado
Fried Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo, Crunchy Potatoes and Spicy Chorizo Oil
Next up in our Taco Tuesday recipes compilation is this fried eggs breakfast taco recipe with chorizo, crunchy potatoes and spicy chorizo oil makes a very satisfying weekend breakfast.
You’ll need to get hold of fresh Mexican chorizo, which is nice and soft and crumbly, but if you can’t always get it (we feel your pain) and you need to use Spanish chorizo instead (which we also love, don’t get us wrong), make sure you don’t fry it for too long as it can go very hard and chewy.
We adore soft fried eggs with runny yolks, but again, if you prefer firmer yolks, go for it, and then douse your taco in plenty of hot sauce or add a dollop of Mexican crema, creme fraiche or sour cream – or all! Cotija cheese is essential if you have access to the Mexican cheese, otherwise use feta or another crumbly white cheese. We won’t tell.
Finely chopped purple shallots add some additional crunch. I note a recent and increasing tendency in recipes to tell home-cooks to wash the onions first. Why you’d want to do that I will never understand. You want that bite and crunch. We’re torn between fresh red chillies for heat and colour and jalapenos for their flavour, so we use both.
A sprinkle of coriander and squeeze of lime add freshness, brightness and a delightful zing. You might struggle to wrap it up or roll it up, so by all means use knife and fork to eat your breakfast tacos as they often do in Mexico.
Fried Eggs Breakfast Taco Recipe with Chorizo, Crunchy Potatoes and Spicy Chorizo Oil
Shredded Chicken Tacos Recipe with Avocado, Vegan Chilli and Mexican Pickles
And last in our first edition of Taco Tuesday recipes is shredded chicken tacos recipe with avocado, vegan chilli and Mexican pickled onions and pickled cabbage. It makes another fantastic filling lunch or light dinner that’s a cinch to make and can be assembled quickly.
The beauty of this shredded chicken tacos recipe is that it’s a recipe born from leftovers. That means you can plan to make the recipes that made the dishes and condiments that gave us this delicious filling lunch or light dinner – or breakfast, if you pop a fried egg or poached egg on top.
While we often have some of Terence’s chilli con carne leftovers in the fridge, which we’ll use to make quesadillas or my ultimate nachos (with sides of guacamole and red tomato salsa), the day we created this we had some leftover vegetarian chilli (which is vegan chilli if you skip the sour cream and cream), but you can certainly use a meat-based chilli or even just refried beans.
If you’re making these shredded chicken tacos for family or friends, serve them with an array of hot sauces such as Tapatio or Cholula, and garnishes such as fresh coriander, Mexican cotija and lime quarters. Classic margaritas which will wash these shredded chicken tacos down very nicely.
Shredded Chicken Tacos Recipe with Avocado, Vegan Chilli and Mexican Pickles
Please do let us know if you’ve made any of our Taco Tuesday recipes in the comments below as we’d love to get your feedback and hear how our recipes turned out for you.
