(as it pertains to Tex-Mex) dates to the early Aztec and Mayan cultures and is still a significant part of Mexican cuisines today. In Mexico, you’ll commonly see street or market vendors selling meats al carbón, and people can take home a whole chicken, hamburgers, or cuts of beef, pork, or lamb to share with their family.
All the recipes in this chapter rely on a charcoal or wood-fired grill. That’s just the way it is, since you can’t get the necessary smoky flavor from a gas grill. So before you proceed, go ahead and stock up on charcoal, get the grill ready, and prepare to just commit! I promise it’s worth it.
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE people make with beef fajitas is using too much citrus in the marinade—and then marinating the meat for way too long. The acid in lime juice cooks the meat, often resulting in a texture that is dry and gritty. My not-so-secret weapon for my fajita marinade is canned pineapple juice. Pineapple contains an enzyme that tenderizes the meat without cooking it. And, bonus, the canned juice has added sugar in it, which helps caramelize the surface of the fajitas as they cook on the grill. Save the lime juice to squeeze on the fajitas once they’re cooked.
For the beef
2 pounds outside skirt steak (see this page), trimmed
½ cup canned pineapple juice
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon Standard Chile Paste (this page)
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
For the vegetables
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1 large poblano pepper
To serve
8 to 10 (6-inch) flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade (this page)
Foamy Butter (recipe follows)
2 cups chopped lettuce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pico de gallo, store-bought or homemade (this page)
2 cups guacamole, store-bought or homemade (this page)
1 cup sour cream
1 PREPARE THE MEAT Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, oil, wine, chile paste, brown sugar, onion, garlic, and black pepper. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Move the steak around to evenly coat it in the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24 hours, moving the steak around four or five times to evenly distribute the marinade.
2 Heat a grill to high.
3 Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry (discard the marinade). Grill the steak for 4 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 125°F. Transfer the steak to a plate and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep the grill hot.) Thinly slice the meat at an angle against the grain. Cover to keep warm.
4 PREPARE THE VEGETABLES Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, just until it begins to lightly brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 inutes. Cover to keep warm.
5 Grill the poblano pepper whole just until it’s charred on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the stem and seeds and slice the pepper into wide strips. Cover to keep warm.
6 Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil. Put them on the grill to warm them through, 2 to 3 minutes.
7 Transfer the onion and pepper to a plate and top with the steak. Serve family-style with a side dish of the butter, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo, and guacamole, and the warm tortillas alongside.
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (1 stick) margarine, at room temperature
In a small bowl, combine the garlic, bouillon, and wine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter and margarine and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the wine mixture. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is light and airy, about 5 minutes.
Fill a medium saucepan with water to a depth of 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over hight heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.
Place the bowl of butter over the simmering water and leave it until the mixture is foamy and melted, about 5 minutes. Pour the butter into a small serving dish to serve with the fajitas.
It’s important to use both butter and margarine to get the “just right” foamy effect.
YOU MUST
MESQUITE
For an authentic Tex-Mex flavor, the best and only wood to use for grilling is mesquite. This hardwood grills really hot and fast, and imparts a distinctive smokiness to foods that fruit woods and oak just don’t achieve. However, using it for smoking meats over a long period of time can impart a bitter, acrid taste that isn’t desirable, so it’s not a good choice for barbecue.
Mesquite has been the grilling wood of choice in South and West Texas for more than a century. At one point in time, it was the only source of wood that could be found in the South Texas Valley. But that wasn’t always the case. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the region was a verdant grassland where buffalo roamed free. But with the growth of cattle ranching throughout the southern and western part of the state, overgrazing devastated the prairies, leaving scrub brush and thorny mesquite trees to take root in place of the grasses. Mesquite wood became the only fuel for campfire cooking, which, over the course of the past century, led to the unique flavors in Tex-Mex cuisine.
This dish gets its name from the port of Tampico in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas (its name means “little Tampico”). It’s traditionally served as one whole skirt steak—rather than cut into strips, as with fajitas—but some restaurants opt to showcase a nicer cut of meat such as tenderloin.
While the steak and its preparation are important, what makes a dish a tampiqueña is its presentation. On an oval platter, the steak is always served with cheese enchiladas (see this page, usually with mole sauce instead of chili gravy), guacamole (see this page), and refried beans (see this page). When cooking this style of meat, I highly recommend keeping with tradition and serving the appropriate sides on the plate as I’ve described. Something about letting their flavors exist together on one dish makes the steak taste even better.
1 (1½-pound) piece center-cut beef tenderloin
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ small onion, cut into matchsticks
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Standard Chile Paste (this page)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Maldon salt, for finishing
1 Place the meat in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the brown sugar, garlic, onion, soy sauce, chile paste, wine, orange zest, orange juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Move the steak around to evenly coat it in the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24 hours, moving the steak around four or five times to evenly distribute the marinade.
2 Heat a charcoal grill to high. (If using gas, place the gauge on the highest heat possible.)
3 Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry (discard the marinade). Season with kosher salt. Grill until charred on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 115°F. Transfer the meat to a plate, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Season with Maldon salt and serve immediately.
A slightly simpler version of fajitas (this page), carne asada, or “grilled beef,” isn’t served with all the accompaniments (shredded lettuce, guacamole, etc.). Instead, it is served as juicy cuts of grilled meat rolled in fresh flour tortillas, sometimes with grilled onions but rarely anything else. You sometimes find it on a Tex-Mex menu as tacos al carbón, fajita tacos, or simply carne asada. The simplicity of the tender meat combined with a soft, fluffy tortilla is magical.
1 pound rib eye cap, rib eye steak, or skirt steak
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white wine
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Standard Chile Paste (this page)
Zest and juice of 1 orange
¼ small onion, cut into matchsticks
1 garlic clove, minced
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade (this page)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Maldon salt, for finishing
1 Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the soy sauce, oil, wine, brown sugar, chile paste, orange zest, orange juice, onion, garlic, and pepper. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Move the steak around to evenly coat it in the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24 hours, moving the steak four or five times to evenly distribute the marinade.
2 Heat a charcoal grill to high. (If using gas, place the gauge on the highest heat possible.)
3 Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil. Put them on the grill to warm them through, 2 to 3 minutes.
4 Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry (discard the marinade). Season with the kosher salt. Grill until charred on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 125°F. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, cover, and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak and season it with Maldon salt, if desired. Serve with the warm tortillas.
MEAT CUT
The challenge with fajita meat is that the hands-down best cut to use—the outside skirt—is largely unavailable to the general public. In fact, more than 90 percent of it is shipped to Japan, where buyers are willing to pay a higher price for it than they are in the United States. The rest is sold to restaurants, which can purchase it through American meat packers or even import it from Mexico. When aged properly, outside skirt doesn’t even need to be tenderized; it’s great as is. So if you know a good butcher, walk in, get on your knees, and flat out beg him to bring it in for you!
For most home cooks, the inside skirt is the cut you’ll likely see at the market. It’s a less tender, chewier part of the diaphragm, hence the need to marinate and tenderize. Most skirt steaks come rolled up by the butcher and trimmed slightly. If you have the time to be selective, ask to see the cut unrolled before you buy it and make sure there aren’t parts that have been trimmed too thin and that the meat has not been cut into separate pieces. One large skirt is about two feet long and should have a fairly consistent thickness all the way across. If this is not the case, you can always split it where it noticeably gets thinner and cook the thicker section a little longer.
If you can’t get good skirt steak, the next-best options are well-marbled tender cuts such as flat-iron steak, hanger steak (butterflied), or sirloin flap. Ask your butcher if the selections have been wet-aged at all, which will help contribute to the overall tenderness of the meat.
Chicken fajitas sort of rode the coattails of the beef fajita trend in the 1980s and ’90s. To me they’ve always been a distant second to beef, but the one place that has a serious edge on the chicken fajita game was Little Pappasito’s Cantina in Houston. They served the grilled vegetables and chicken on a hot skillet, with a little metal dish of frothy melted garlic butter on the side. You pour a little of the butter over everything before enclosing it all in a flour tortilla. It completely negated the idea that you were eating healthier by ordering chicken, but it took the fajita taco to a whole other gluttonous level.
For the chicken
11 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
2 bay leaves
½ cup kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (see Tip)
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup canned pineapple juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white wine
¼ onion, sliced
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Standard Chile Paste (this page)
Generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
For the vegetables
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large poblano pepper
To serve
8 to 10 (6-inch) flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade (this page)
Foamy Butter (this page)
2 cups chopped lettuce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pico de gallo, store-bought or homemade (this page)
2 cups guacamole, store-bought or homemade (this page)
1 cup sour cream
1 MAKE THE CHICKEN Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan set over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add 10 of the garlic cloves, the oregano, bay leaves, and salt. Stir until the salt has dissolved. Add 1½ quarts ice water and stir to combine. Place the chicken breasts in the brine, making sure they are fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
2 Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the remaining garlic clove, the soy sauce, pineapple juice, oil, wine, onion, brown sugar, chile paste, and pepper. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
3 Heat a grill to high.
4 Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry (discard the marinade). Grill until cooked through and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep the grill hot.) Thinly slice the chicken and keep warm.
5 PREPARE THE VEGETABLES Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, just until it begins to lightly brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add ½ teaspoon of the salt, cover, and cook until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
6 Grill the poblano over high heat just until charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the stem and seeds and slice into wide strips. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cover to keep warm.
7 Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil. Put them on the grill to warm them through, 2 to 3 minutes.
8 Transfer the onion and pepper to a plate and top with the chicken. Serve family-style with a small dish of the foamy butter, a plate of lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream, and the warm tortillas alongside.
Try to avoid the oversize conventional chicken breasts most groceries sell. Opt instead for natural breasts, which, because they are smaller, will cook more evenly. If you can’t find them, I suggest gently pounding conventional breasts between plastic wrap to a ¾-inch thickness before you brine and cook the chicken.
THE FAJITA:
AUTHENTICALLY TEX-MEX
A lot of Tex-Mex dishes take this route: they originated in Mexico and evolved to suit Texan—and, by extension, American—taste preferences as they were adopted. But fajitas originated in Texas. There are a number of legends by folks claiming to have invented the fajita—Sonny Falcon, of small-town Kyle, in Central Texas, in 1969; Otilia Garza, of Austin’s Roundup Restaurant in South Texas; and Ninfa “Mama” Rodriguez Laurenzo, of Houston’s famed Ninfa’s on Navigation, to name a few. But the true origin of fajitas can really be traced to the dusty cattle ranches of West Texas. After a hard day’s work, Mexican vaqueros were often given a few scraps of meat as part of their payment. Oftentimes those cuts included the head of a cow, the entrails, and other meat trimmings such as skirt steak. From these cuts, the ranch hands would make versions of traditional Mexican barbacoa, menudo, and arracheras, which later become known as fajitas.
Fajita means “belt” or “sash,” which is a pretty accurate description of what the skirt steak looks like before it is sliced into strips after grilling. These days, most beef fajitas are, sadly, made with other cuts, including flap, flank, or even sirloin. You’ll also find that a variety of other fajita options have joined the lineup, including chicken, shrimp, and portobello mushroom. The hallmark of all fajitas is their presentation: sizzling on a hot comal or skillet with grilled onion and served with a condiment plate of shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo, as well as warm flour tortillas for building your own taco.
There’s one clarification I never thought I’d have to make, but living outside of Texas has assured me I do: Fajitas are not a stir-fry dish. Cutting up strips of steak and sautéing them in a skillet with onions and peppers is not the way to make fajitas. If this is something you do, it’s all good—just call them something else.
A beautiful and delicious dish, chicken al carbón is a whole chicken roasted over the fire. To me, what makes this shine is the extra time it requires to smoke on the grill, which develops a distinctive campfire flavor. The variety of light and dark meat, along with the occasional charred bits of skin, are delicious when rolled up in a tortilla. Served with rice and beans, fresh salsa, and maybe some grilled onions, this is a hands-on family dish, where you pull off the meat and build your own tacos with corn or flour tortillas.
1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken, giblets and excess fat removed
1 cup fresh orange juice
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for grilling
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ (3.5-ounce) packet achiote paste (see Tip)
1 dried ancho chile, stemmed
6 dried chiles de árbol, stemmed
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade (this page)
2 medium onions, cut into thick rings
3 large jalapeño peppers, stemmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 Place the chicken on a clean work surface, breast-side down. Using kitchen shears, cut lengthwise along both sides of the backbone from the neck to the tail. Remove the backbone and save it for stock or discard. Open the bird like a book, then place it skin-side up. Press down firmly with both hands to flatten the bird.
2 In a blender, combine the orange juice, lime juice, oil, soy sauce, achiote paste, ancho, chiles de árbol, garlic, cumin, and salt and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer 1 cup of the mixture to a large resealable plastic bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Add the chicken to the bag and move it around to fully coat it in the sauce. Remove as much air as possible and seal. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.
3 Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 1 hour before grilling to come to room temperature.
4 Heat a charcoal grill to 400°F, or until the coals are ash-gray and very hot.
5 Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil. Put them on the grill to warm them through, 2 to 3 minutes.
6 Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the hot grill and cook until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Flip the chicken and baste the cooked side with the reserved sauce. Grill for 15 minutes more. Flip the chicken and baste again. Grill for 15 minutes more. Flip the chicken, baste with the remaining sauce, and grill until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board, cover, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. (Keep the grill hot.)
7 Meanwhile, lightly brush the onion rings and jalapeños with oil and season with salt. Grill the vegetables until char marks appear and the vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
8 Carve the chicken into 8 pieces and then slice the breasts. Serve family-style with the grilled vegetables and warm tortillas alongside.
IN TEXAS, beef has always been king. Early Tex-Mex menus didn’t usually include much pork, if any at all. But its overall significance in authentic Mexican cuisine has led to the addition of various pork dishes on Tex-Mex menus in recent years. From the Spanish word for “shepherd,” pastor has a direct connection to the Lebanese immigrants who came to Mexico City in the early twentieth century and brought shawarma with them. Al pastor is typically made from a marinated, thin-sliced pork shoulder that is stacked onto a trompo grill and carved off the spit. Obviously most folks won’t do all that at home, so my recipe is adapted for a backyard grill. As a complement to the pineapple juice in the marinade, the dish is typically served with some sort of pineapple condiment, and in corn tortillas.
½ cup fresh pineapple juice
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup Standard Chile Paste (this page)
¼ cup achiote paste (see Tip, this page)
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 garlic cloves
1½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 (2½- to 3-pound) boneless pork shoulder, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, store-bought or homemade (this page), warmed
½ small pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
1 small onion, chopped
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Radish slices, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
1 In a blender, combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, oil, chile paste, achiote paste, brown sugar, garlic, oregano, cumin, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and salt and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Place the sliced pork into a large resealable plastic bag and pour half the sauce over it. Reserve the remaining sauce. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal. Move the pork around to evenly coat it in the marinade. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours, massaging the meat occasionally to work in the marinade.
2 Pour the remaining sauce into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. Reheat on the stovetop before using.
3 Heat a charcoal grill to high, or until the coals are ash-gray and very hot.
4 Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil. Put them on the grill to warm them through, 2 to 3 minutes.
5 Remove the pork from the marinade and pat dry (discard the marinade). Grill the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F and is slightly charred around the edges, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a plate, cover, and keep warm. (Keep the grill hot.)
6 Grill the pineapple wedges until charred on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Chop the pineapple into bite-size pieces.
7 To serve, place some of the pork on a tortilla and top it with some grilled pineapple, onion, cilantro, radishes, and sauce. Serve with lime wedges.
FOR AS LONG AS THERE HAVE BEEN Tex-Mex restaurants, there have been kids who insist they want a hamburger instead of whatever goodness awaits on the menu. Luckily for them, most restaurants have long been happy to accommodate. Of course, the kid versions usually arrive as dry, well-done patties with a slice of melted cheddar on your average white bun. But I believe in taking a little pride in making a burger. I prefer a single 8-ounce patty (70% lean ground beef is preferable), loosely packed so the burger doesn’t get too dense while it’s cooking. I top it like a standard American burger—with mustard, American cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, and onion—with one addition. Before you top it with a bun, pour a little chili gravy over the patty. It makes things a little messier, but who really cares? It tastes so good!
2 pounds ground beef (preferably 70% lean)
Kosher salt
8 slices American cheese
Unsalted butter
4 (5-inch) hamburger buns
Yellow mustard
¼ cup finely chopped onion
Dill pickle slices
½ cup Chili Gravy (this page), hot, or store-bought salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
4 slices tomato (if in season)
1 Divide the ground beef into four 8-ounce balls. One at a time, place the balls between two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten them with the bottom of a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pot until the patty is about 6 inches in diameter. Cover and refrigerate the patties for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
2 Heat a charcoal grill to 400°F, or until the coals are ash-gray and very hot.
3 Generously season each patty with salt. Place the patties on the grill and cook until medium inside with a browning crust on the edges, 3 to 4 minutes per side, rotating them a quarter turn halfway through cooking on each side. When you flip the patties, top each with 2 slices of American cheese. Let the cheese melt for about 2 minutes before rotating the burger a quarter turn on the second side. Transfer the burgers to a wire rack, cover, and let rest.
4 Butter the inside of the buns and place them buttered-side down on a griddle or cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Toast until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
5 To build each burger, spread mustard over the bottom bun and top with onion and pickles. Top with the hamburger patty, then hot chili gravy, lettuce, and the top bun. Serve immediately.
If you don’t have a grill, you can achieve the same burger greatness on a griddle. Divide each patty into two patties. Get them nice and flat. Cook them on the griddle until the meat is no longer pink halfway up the side of the patty, 3 minutes. Flip and place one slice of cheese on each patty. Cook for 2 minutes more for medium doneness. From there, build a classic double burger.
You can find achiote paste in the spice section of most grocery stores or online.
