Just reading this topic for the first time. I too love fried tacos. There is family owned local chain here in Wichita (Kansas again) that serves some really tasty ones. It’s called Felipe’s, and they have 3 locations. It’s not my favorite Mexican place in town, but it is good, and stop there for a deep fried taco fix when I feel I’ve earned the right to splurge on the fried foods a bit.

Another poster mentioned flautas in the Southwest, but the fried four tacos are a different animal. I never saw them offered on any menu when I lived in NM, but it’s interesting to read that a place in Snyder, TX serves them, as I wasn;t too far from there.

Persona;;y, I prefer a garden fresh salsa, as opposed to taco sauce. Sam’s club has a pretty good "garden-fresh"-like jarred salsa. Sorry, I can’t remember the name, but for a packaged product, it is pretty close to fresh tasting….much better on a taco than taco sauce, IMHO.

While we’re at it and with so many knowledged taco gormands on hand, I had always used Old El Paso Taco sauce. Problem is like most companies they changed the recipe over the years and it is not as good as it used to be. Any ideas?

Bill, you may have to do what my family does, make our own. I get a local store to order tortillas from Laperla Tortilla Factory in Toledo OH (I know it’s not Texas) nice and thick with a lot of corn. Mix ground beef with cumin, chili powder, a little oregano and stuff raw in the tortilla. I don’t use close pins I use tongs hold them closed and deep fry in regular corn oil. Used to use crisco and am surprised I’m not clogged up.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. L.

Down here in Texas and the SW, these are called flautas, and are stuffed with beef or pork or chicken.

Flautas are rolled, they are talking about folded in half tacos being fried. I guess I am missing the point – why am I cooking the meat twice, once in a pan and then again in grease?

I saw an earlier poster saying these were the same as puffy tacos – they are *nothing* like puffy tacos, which are fried empty and made from fresh masa, not already cooked masa (tortillas).

quote:

Originally posted by Big Kahuna Kooks

broke da mouth.

LOL – One of my FAVORITE food sayings from down south!

Down here in Texas and the SW, these are called flautas, and are stuffed with beef or pork or chicken. The prep is the same, corn tortillas , wetted in oil to make piable, then stuffed, pinned, and refried. Served with the usual acommpaniments…

buen Provecho!

quote:

Originally posted by bill voss

Time to discuss deep fried tacos again[:D]

And why not? It’s starting to get cold here in the Midwest…!

We still have deep fried tacos here in Emporia, in some of the local Mexican restaurants. Also, a couple of the Catholic churches sell the deep fried tacos along with the accompaniments as fundraisers. They are filled with ground beef, potatoes, and peas; as others have noted on this thread, you then fill them with cheese, sauce, etc. I wouldn’t guarantee that the oil is trans-fat-free, though! But, what a way to harden one’s arteries…[V]

Slow cook an entire beef brisket about 6 lbs in beef broth with onions, garlic, bay leaf, salt pepper a can of crushed tomatoes with the water, a bunch of cilantro with stems, and a few jalapenos. Until it reaches the point that you can shred it easily. Let it cool overnight in refrigerator. Put deep fryer at 400 degrees and dip your corn tortillas in for about 5 seconds 1 or 2 at a time and set aside to cool. This will make them pliable. Fill with meat mixture roll and toothpick. Deep fry at 375 degrees in manageable batches and set on paper towels. Arrange 3 to 5 on a plate top with a guacamole with a little less than normal amount of mayonnaise so it is mostly avocado. Then top with finely grated cotilla cheese, pico de gallo, and a hot thin salsa like herdez (salsa verde or the red stuff)in a can. (smooth not chunky) Sour cream optional……Russ

In San Diego these would be called Rolled Tacos with Guacamole.
Shredded Chicken or Pork works just as well.

quote:

Originally posted by bill voss

Renewed interest in Deep Fried Tacos!
Peas!

Delmonte sweet peas, taste pretty good.

Molina’s owner died about 10 years ago. The building has been sold numberous times with differnet owners but it’s never been the same. La Hacienda has also gone by the way. Manny’s in KC,Mo. serves a great deep fried taco plate (corn). There’s a couple other places in town that fry a flour shell. A deep fried taco…that’s the way to eat a taco!

Well, this is pretty amazing, I appear to be #14,001 reading this topic!
There are not really a lot of replies, but my goodness, 14K reads. Wow.
-Scott Lindgren [email protected]

quote:

Originally posted by HollyDolly

[:D]Get the book Tex-Mex by Robb Walsh.He has a chapter on tacos.
Deep frying them with the filling inside was the old way of making them.Then they pried them apart to add the lettuce and tomato.
At some point in time the restraunts decided to use already shaped fried taco shells.I guess less labor invovled.
I bought some of the Old El Paso standable taco shells or whatever they call them. They have a flat bottom and you can stand them up to fill them.It will make it easier for me to fill with the lettuce and tomato and cheese.

It cost too much in grease which is very expensive. I’ve tried to get several restaurants to do it. Only the ones that I was a regular friend of the owner would do it.

I’m not sure about on the road but my family lived in Tucson when we were kids and that’s the only way we knew how to make them. Spice them like regular Mexican foods, cumin, a little chile powder, oregano etc. We also added "red neck" guacamole (peas out of a can) because when we moved from there back in the 1950s there weren’t very many Mexican restaurants around.. Back then we cooked them in Crisco "lard" but have since changed to healthier alternatives. Too late for my older brother he had to have by-pass surgery. Get a good, somewhat thick tortilla, not the regular grocery store stuff.