Breakfast Taco Recipe, Taco History & National Taco Day
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October 4th is National Taco Day, and this year it coincides with Taco Tuesday. What does that mean? Tacos for breakfast? Definitely. We have a breakfast taco recipe for you (below). If you’re a taco lover, you’ve already had tacos for lunch and dinner. How about tacos for dessert? > January 5th is National Fish Taco Day. > March 21st is National Crunchy Taco Day. Surprisingly, the Aztecs did not invent the taco; nor did anyone else, until the 18th century. According to Professor Jeffrey M. Pilcher, author of Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food, tacos are not an ancient food. Rather, as he discusses in an article in Smithsonian Magazine, Mexican silver miners in the 18th century likely invented the taco as a hand-held convenience food, followed by taco carts and taquerías in the working-class neighborhoods. As the taco spread throughout Mexico, each region added its own touches: meats, spices, salsas, garnishes. Mexican Americans in the Southwest reinvented it. As late as the 1960s, tacos were virtually unknown outside Mexico and the American Southwest. In 1962, businessman Glen Bell founded Taco Bell as a drive-up with a few outdoor tables. It grew into a mass-marketing powerhouse, serving an Anglo version with a hard shell at quick-service restaurants nationwide. This hard pre-fried corn tortilla shell (photo #2) is not authentic. Like the burrito, a larger wheat flour tortilla, it was born in the U.S.A. Yet within 50 years the United States had shipped its hard taco shells worldwide, from Australia to Mongolia—redefining the taco in the eyes of millions, if not billions. This American event was begun in 1982 as a successful promotion by Taco John’s. It encouraged people to go out for tacos on Tuesday nights, and offered specials like $1 fish tacos. Since tacos are easy to make at home and popular with the whole family, Taco Tuesdays is also a frequent event in home kitchens. While Taco John’s trademarked the name, other venues use the trademark but can receive “cease and desist” letters Taco Tuesday has become such a part of American culture that we think Papa John’s should allow Taco Tuesdays for everyone! You may think that National Taco Day is a day to celebrate the classics; but as you do, put on your thinking cap and invasion the next great taco combination you can make. Unlike the American-invented breakfast burrito, essentially an egg-and-sausage wrap sandwich, this recipe is truer to Mexican preparations. There’s a fight between Austin and San Antonio over the origin of the breakfast taco. At first, it was a breakfast made at home: eggs, sausage, or other pork and cheese, rolled in a warm tortilla. In Mexican kitchens, tortillas are a staple, like a loaf of bread. The concept then migrated to breakfast stands and restaurants, as far back as the 1950s. Thanks to IMUSA USA, a maker of kitchenware for global recipes—for this breakfast taco recipe. You can find more recipes on their website. |
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Preparation 1. MIX the sour cream, lime juice, and salt in a bowl; put aside. 2. CHAR the tortillas over a gas flame or directly on an electric burner until blackened in spots, turning with tongs. Place in a tortilla warmer or aluminum foil and set aside. 3. ADD the olive oil to a nonstick sauté pan and bring to medium-high heat. Sweat the onions for about one minute and add the diced chorizo. Cook for 5-6 minutes until chorizo is browned. 5. ADD half of the cilantro and all of the cooked chorizo to the beaten eggs. Blend and pour into the pan. Cook on low heat, stirring from time to time. 6. PLACE the cooked eggs, cheddar, tomatoes, and remaining cilantro in separate bowls and lay them out throughout the table with the warm tortillas. Let everyone build their own.
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