Tacos - Delicious and Flavourful Taco Recipes | HelloFresh

While the concept of the taco has been around for millennia, the word taco dates to the 19th century. In its debut reference appearance—the official dictionary of the Spanish language, Real Academia Española—it’s defined as a peg or plug.

“Miners in Mexico used to plug holes with dynamite sticks consisting of gunpowder wrapped in paper, called tacos,” Gómez-Rejón says.

“The spicy salsa on an envuelto, or wrap, made the food feel like dynamite. So lo and behold, the taco as we know it was born.” She said that "the first tacos called so by name were tacos de minero (miners’ tacos), consisting of meat, bacon and potatoes".

While taco styles and fillings are limited only to the human imagination (chocolate tacos, anyone?), there are a handful of varieties to keep your eyes open for, including:

Birria: The juicy Birria tacos are a showstopper and fan favourite for their delicious taste. Birria is one of the most traditional Mexican recipes, made from savoury and spicy Mexican beef or goat stew. The brilliant idea to stuff a meaty stew into a taco shell and fry it to crispy goodness introduced Birria tacos to the world.

Prawn tacos: Picture this: juicy, succulent prawns with a zesty flavour packed inside a tortilla to bring together all the goodness. Prawn tacos explode in flavour and are an instant crowd-pleaser for family dinners or lunch. Prawn tacos are often side dishes served alongside Mexican-style salads and nachos.

Pulled pork taco: Pulled pork tacos are juicy tacos piled with slow-cooked pulled pork, red onions and cheese. The pulled pork adds delicious flavour, and to mop up the deliciousness, pair it with hot sauces and soft tortillas. Customise the recipe with your favourite toppings or condiments and make the taco a culinary masterpiece.

Since the beef is cubed, season it with salt and pepper before adding the marinade, then let it marinate for two hours. In a pan, before adding the meat and the marinade, saute your onions until golden and transparent. Make the stew using beef or chicken stock and add a few spices.

Shred your meats: With the stew ready, shred your meats and prepare to add them to the tortilla.

Warm the tortillas and fill them up: Warm your tortilla to make it pliable and soft. Top it with beef, onions, and cilantro and dip it in the Birria stew. You can also add cheese and other vegetables.

Fry the tortillas: Fry your tacos in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until they turn crispy. It takes two to three minutes to fry the sides. You can serve your Birria tacos with Birria stew as a dip.

Instead of using beef, you can try boneless chicken thighs or pork. You can also use different spices, seasonings and vegetables to suit your preferences.

We can’t attribute the history of tacos to an exact date or really know who made the first taco, Gómez-Rejón says. Even the first cookbook published in Mexico, 1831’s El Cocinero Mexicano, doesn’t mention tacos or tortillas.

While the cookbook became known for taking a strong nationalist stance and delineating native Mexican food from colonial influence, that influence still reigned strong at the time.

But in the years preceding the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910, questions emerged about what it meant to be truly Mexicano—and, not coincidentally, the first taquerias opened in Mexico City.

“The first taco recipes in print date to the late 1930s, when Josefina Velázquez de León, a cooking instructor and author who travelled the country collecting regional recipes from female home cooks, documented what Mexicans across the country really ate,” Gómez-Rejón says.

“So we don’t see a published taco recipe until the 1930s, but people in Mexico had been eating them, and all of their regional variations, for centuries.”