Rolled Tacos

Growing up on the Arizona/Mexico border, I ate a lot of Mexican food. One of the treats that I especially loved was rolled tacos (taquitos). These were usually made with leftover roast. They were just a way to use up leftovers, but they were so popular that some restaurants served them with beans and rice as a menu item. Our high school served them every couple of weeks, and the students loved them. By the way, the lunch ladies could be seen early in the morning actually rolling the tacos. No frozen, pre-formed cafeteria food back then!

What you need for rolling tacos are fresh corn tortillas. If they’re fresh, you don’t have to soften them before rolling. My mom bought tortillas at the tortilla factory behind our local Safeway store. She got them hot off the press and could roll them while they were still warm. If you don’t have a factory nearby, try a Mexican grocer or any store that sells a lot of Mexican products. Otherwise, just buy the corn tortillas in your favorite grocery store and soften them (see notes).

The salsa is homemade. I’ll save that recipe for another post.



Grab the leftover roast.

Heat it up.

Roll 'em up.

Fry 'em.

Ingredients

• Leftover roast beef
• Cumin, salt and pepper to taste
• Corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil

 

Directions

Heat roast in a skillet with a 2-3 tablespoons of water. Season to taste. In this batch, I used 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoky paprika, and a dash of salt and pepper. Shred the meat.

Lay out a corn tortilla on a plate or cutting board. Place 1 tbsp meat along the lower half of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly. Seal with a toothpick. Deep fry or pan fry (turning as needed), about 2-3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve with salsa. 

Notes

Softening Tortillas: If your tortillas don't roll well, steam them briefly in the microwave. Alternatively, you can dip each tortilla in hot oil for a few seconds--very traditional!

Frying: Rolled tacos should be deep fried to get an all-over golden color, but I usually make a handful at a time, so they're pan fried and end up a little less uniform in color. See the taco that split in the last photo? That happens sometimes!

Toothpicks: I used toothpicks in these photos, but they're face down in the pan. Yes, you run the toothpick in and out like you're pinning fabric together. It works better with rounded, pointy toothpicks. The toothpicks in the photo are the flat kind. They don't work as well, but that's what I had. If your tortillas will stay closed without toothpicks, don't use them!