Burritos!
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Burrito Ingredients
A burrito usually consists of a meat such as beef, chicken, or pork as well as other ingredients such as rice, beans, and salsa. The ingredients are then wrapped in a large flour tortilla that has been lightly grilled (or sometimes steamed) to soften the tortilla and make it more pliable. Popular fillings include:Burrito Meat
Carne asada (grilled steak strips) Carne Molida (Ground beef) Barbacoa (slow-cooked meat, usually beef byproducts) Al pastor (marinated pork, slowly barbecued) Carnitas (roasted pork) Pollo (Chicken) Chorizo (Mexican sausage} Pescado (Fish, usually fried fish) Machaca (shredded beef, usually with eggs) Camarones (Shrimp) Lengua (Beef tongue) Cabeza (Beef cheek) Birria (goat meat) Tripa (Tripe) Chicharrones (fried pork rinds, stewed) Winnies (cut-up hot dogs)Burrito Other ingredients
Salsa, particularly Salsa Roja, Salsa Verde and Pico de gallo Refried beans Whole pinto beans Black beans Mexican rice Shredded lettuce or cabbage Diced tomato Diced onions (often grilled) Corn Cilantro Tofu Jalape'o pepper Red pepper Sour cream Guacamole Diced cucumber Shredded cheese, which can be mild cheddar or jack cheese, or could be a soft Mexican cheese, such as Queso blanco, Oaxaca or Asadero, or other farmer cheese Less common ingredients include lobster, chile relleno, and nopales (prickly pear cactus).Burrito Variations
Burritos in the United States
The most commonly served style of the burrito in the United States is thought to be indigenous and is not as common in Mexico. One very common enhancement is the Wet Burrito (known as an Enchirito when served at a Taco Bell restaurant), which is a burrito smothered in a red chile sauce similar to an enchilada sauce, with shredded cheese added on top so that the cheese melts. In Mexican-American cuisine, crispy fried burritos are called chimichangas.Some cities have their own variations with one of the most well-known being the San Francisco burrito.
San Francisco burritos
The origins of the San Francisco burrito can be traced back to Mission District taquerias of the 1960s, however some assert that the original San Francisco burritos began in the fields of Central Valley farmworkers. Other researchers trace the ancestry further back to miners of the 19th century. The San Francisco burrito emerged as a culinary movement during the 1970s and 1980s, and more recently spawned the wrap. The typical San Francisco burrito is produced on an assembly line, and is characterized by a large, aluminum-foil stuffed tortilla which can include variations on Spanish rice, beans, a single main filling, and hot or mild salsa. For San Franciscans, the burrito has become an important part of bohemian and Chicano culture.Burrito Others
The city of San Diego, California has popularized the California burrito, typically a combination of carne asada, french fries, and salsa fresca (sometimes referred to as a California burrito or "San Diego style"). Some American restaurants also feature burritos with non-Mexican ingredients, such as pastrami.A popular version, termed the breakfast burrito, consists of a flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, potatoes, and occasionally meat (bacon or chorizo).
Burritos Mexico
Although burritos are considered one of the most popular dishes in Mexican culture, burritos are not popular in Eastern, Central and Southern Mexico. Burritos are the traditional food of Ciudad Juarez, a city in Northern Mexico, where you can buy them at restaurants and thousands of corner stands. In this border town there are eateries that have established their reputation after decades serving burritos. They are eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usual ingredients include barbacoa, mole, winies (hot-dogs cooked in a tomato and chillies sauce), refried beans and cheese, deshebrada (shreded slow-cooked flank steak) and chile relleno. The deshebrada burrito also has a variation in chile colorado (mild to moderately hot) and salsa verde (very hot).Burritos are commonly called tacos de harina (flour tacos) in Central and Southern Mexico and burritas (feminine, with 'a') in northern-style restaurants outside of Northern Mexico proper. A long and thin fried burrito similar to a chimichanga is prepared in Sonora, Mexico and vicinity and is called a chivichanga.
