Just curious on the differences between a burrito, taco, fajita, and an enchilada? We don't have a strong Mexican presence in my part of the world. So my only experiences with the above is either from Taco Bell or from the pre-packaged stuff in the grocers. All of the Mexican posts here look fantastic, except I still don't really know what the difference is except for the shell or wrap. Is it just the shell/wrap and type of sauce used only or is there more to it?
Chris
Great question! As a teenager I would go to Taco Bell and not know what the hell they were serving because what they call things didn't make sense to the traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex food cooked in our household almost daily lol.
Taco - basically
anything/everything you put in a corn or flower tortilla and eat. Hard shell tacos are basically an anomaly and I'm not sure how they came about but they basically follow the same logic BUT the corn tortilla has been fried and shaped to be crispy and hard.
In Mexico they primarily ate corn tortillas and it was rare to see a flour tortilla in the parts we used to visit and vacation in... at least a long while ago.
Burrito - basically the same as a
flour tortilla taco so this would confuse me as a kid. The most distinguishing difference is that it is usually completely wrapped especially on the ends where a taco has open ends and can be open on top.
In common US culture a burrito is still a completely wrapped flour tortilla "taco" BUT now they are GIANT and can have everything under the sun in them. I've heard it claimed that burritos almost always have beans in them but again you can put anything you want in them so that is not a hard rule.
In Mexico they wouldn't know what a burrito is... well they used to not know at least. Also they don't really know much Tex-Mex as well... or well they used to not know at least.
Enchiladas - now this is a completely different thing. Corn tortillas that are filled with meat, cheese, sauce, and/or maybe some onion or some simple veggy that goes with the meat (chicken and spinach). The corn tortilla is rolled, placed in a baking dish, and then more sauce and cheese and often onion is thrown on top. This is then baked in the oven until everything is gooey and ready to rock! Think of it almost like a Tex-Mex/Mexican Lasagna.
Sauces can vary and I love them all. I like the earthy red sauce, the green tomatillo sauce, the traditional chile based sauce, and the little found mole (pronounced: mo-lay) sauce!
In Mexico they didn't really know what this was either so this was more of a Tex-Mex or US-Mex dish.
My Burrito Take
I love all of these but burritos are the rarity of what I would make/see in a home setting because who makes tortillas that freakin big at home!?
My favorite at home burrito with a regular sized tortilla is absolutely without a doubt refried bean and cheese with a little onion!!!!!
My Taco Take
Tacos to me are always a bi-product of what is being cooked.
If I make fajitas then I am eating fajita tacos.
If I am making eggs and bacon and potatos and beans then I have an egg,bacon,potato, and bean taco.
If I have left over brisket or pulled pork I make bbq tacos... you get the trend.
Tacos are amazing all the time but my FAVORITE is grille seafood tacos!
Hard grill some Redfish, grilled shrimp, grilled lobster tail, and even ceviche make the most amazing tacos! Throw melted butter, lime juice (mandatory) pico de gallo, cheese, and salsa on them and WOW!!!
My Enchilada Take
This is by far my favorite of the 3 though thats like saying my favorite amount of money to have would be 10 million dollars vs 9 million lol it's basically a moot point :)
Ground beef made basically taco meat style with cheese and onion and sauce (very important on the sauce) all in a corn tortilla (lightly grease fried to not break) rolled and then covered in the same stuff.
I CANNOT STAND dry enchiladas so the things must have cheese and sauce inside them even if it is just a tiny amount.
There is a Tex-Mex restaruant in the Dallas area called Uncle Julios that makes the BEST enchiladas I have ever encountered in the world.
Their cheese and onion enchiladas are to die for!!! It is very rare for me to eat a meal without some form of meat but damn I can't hardly order anything different from that place and they do a number of outstanding dishes there.
Conclusion
I gave a lot of info and some personal takes. I hope this info helps and understand that there may be differences in understanding or convention as we are all from different parts of the country and the world so take what makes the most sense and run with it :)
