The Biggest Mistake People Make With Tacos, According To Aarón Sánchez - Exclusive
Taco Tuesday should be a national holiday at this point. Tacos are a part of a power duo with margaritas, which seem to take over most people's minds on a Tuesday night. Chef Aarón Sánchez, who specializes in Mexican cuisine, knows exactly how to do tacos the right way. The "MasterChef" judge is notorious for his skills and television appearances in "Chopped," "Selena + Chef," and "Iron Chef America," to name a few. Sánchez even starred in the 2014 show "Taco Trip" about Latin cuisine on the Cooking Channel.
Safe to say, Sánchez has the expertise to give you the best taco tips and tricks. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, the food personality identified the biggest mistakes people make with tacos and how to elevate your taco game. He described the meal as having three elements to be great: a tortilla as the base, the filling, and then the salsa or garnish. Sánchez added, "What I suggest is, take beautiful, fresh ingredients from the farmer's market, make a salsa, toast them or roast them on a comal or a griddle, and then pickle vegetables." So where in this recipe can you go wrong?
There are certain tortillas for different fillings
Chef Aarón Sánchez told Tasting Table that making the perfect taco includes knowing which tortilla is paired with which filling. He said, "My thing is, if it has fur or is meat, put it on a flour tortilla, the reason being that flour tortillas have a little bit more density, and they're a little bit more firm, and they can deal with a braised meat or a carne asada." Everything else, he explained, should go into a corn tortilla.
According to Healthline, corn tortillas are created through nixtamalization, which is the process of soaking and cooking corn in a calcium hydroxide mix. This makes corn dough that is then flattened and turned into the tortillas you know and love. Flour tortillas are normally cooked with refined wheat flour, shortening, water, salt, and baking soda for a more tender but sturdier texture.
Sánchez also advised taking your vegetable leftovers from the market and putting it into a "brine of equal parts water and vinegar, sugar and salt, and then whatever seasoning, and pickle vegetables and put them into a Mason jar" — that way, you have your own garnish for your dish. Now that Chef Sánchez has shared the ultimate guide to perfect tacos, you should have a household hit on your hands.
Check out Aarón Sánchez's Instagram page to keep up with his latest projects. New episodes of "MasterChef: Back to Win" air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.