Tacos - Soft or Hard

[Buckshot Bear]

Which taco's are the real deal, soft or hard or are they both authentic? 

 

My extent of knowledge is El Pasos hard shell taco kit.

 

[Pat Riot]

Soft or hard are “Authentic”. I like tacos either way. I prefer corn tortillas over the flour ones for soft tacos. I love the smell of warm corn tortillas. 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

I take a soft tortilla, spread refried bean on it and wrap it around a crispy taco for the best of both worlds. That way, if the crispy taco should fall apart, the soft tortilla keeps it together.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot said:

Soft or hard are “Authentic”. I like tacos either way. I prefer corn tortillas over the flour ones for soft tacos. I love the smell of warm corn tortillas. 

I prefer soft tacos, but otherwise concur.  I also like  a sliced radish on the side, a trick I got from Casa Perez in Pomona many years ago.  They're gone now , but then again so am I.   

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

I ate a lot of tacos growing up in south Texas, some of it near the Mexican border.  I never encountered a crunchy taco until I moved back to california in high school.  

 

Now, I have no idea which is authentic, neither or both.  I like 'em both ways, but prefer 'em soft - the crunchy ones are tasty too, but I like 'em to not shatter and fall apart at the first bite.    

[Rye Miles #13621]

Soft please, but hard is okay too! There’s a couple good Mexican restaurants a few miles away, good stuff! Don Tequila, El Palenque and Hola Tacos 🌮 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

We nearly always make flour tortilla burritos at home. Occasionally I like to put a little oil in the pan and slightly cook corn tortillas until they get to the right texture but not completely crispy.

[Subdeacon Joe]

The most traditional are soft tacos, usually with 2 soft corn tortillas. 

 

The crispy,  fried version is a Mexican  American invention dating to the late 1800s. 

 

My preference is for crisp because that is what my mom was taught to make by Mrs. Duran and Mrs. Aguilera.

 

The "taco shells" in those kits are abominations and should be banned.  The box tastes better. 

[Alpo]

6 hours ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

That way, if the crispy taco should fall apart,

IF?????

 

I never enjoyed tacos, until I discovered soft tacos. Cuz when I bite something and it falls apart in my hands, that's not something I enjoy eating again. And every time - every time - I've had a hard taco, when I take my first bite the taco shell comes apart.

[Subdeacon Joe]

33 minutes ago, Alpo said:

IF?????

 

I never enjoyed tacos, until I discovered soft tacos. Cuz when I bite something and it falls apart in my hands, that's not something I enjoy eating again. And every time - every time - I've had a hard taco, when I take my first bite the taco shell comes apart.

 

"Shell."  Right there is your problem, a "shell" isn't a tortilla.  A tortilla, either filled with meat, then folded and fried, or folded, fried, and then filled, doesn't fall apart unless you have overcooked it.

[Pat Riot]

How my wife and I keep crunchy taco shells somewhat together. We melt cheese into the meat so it’s a bit gooey. We also heat up the shells so the meat and cheese kind of stick to the shells. 
We still add more shredded cheese with the shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. 
They still crumble a little but you can at least still hang on to it as you eat them. 

[Kid Rich]

A hard taco should be oven heated then they taste right. If the filling has the proper amount of moisture in it whether it is hot sauce or moisture left in the filling it will soften the shell and they will not break. Just my experience or maybe common sense.

kR

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

I like my tortilla folded and deep fried BEFORE it is filled.

 

I added this:   There is not a taco that I won't eat....at least up to now......I love them all!!!

Edited November 11 by Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life

[Rye Miles #13621]

I know I'll get scalded for this but I like Taco Bell's soft tacos. I also like their chicken burritos! 

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 hours ago, Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life said:

I like my tortilla folded and deep fried BEFORE it is filled.

 

I'm of the fill with meat (or potatoes and onions) before frying school of thought.   The precooked meat gets some nice crisp edges and the hot meat melts the cheese better. 

 

43 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I know I'll get scalded for this but I like Taco Bell's soft tacos. I also like their chicken burritos! 

 

I like both,  but tend towards the crisp tacos because when I  was a kid that's what they had. Two tacos and a burrito. 

 

 

In the early 1970s, I  think it was, they added the Encherrito.  And the Burrito Supreme. 

[Alpo]

1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I know I'll get scalded for this but I like Taco Bell's soft tacos. I also like their chicken burritos! 

Taco Hell is where I discovered that soft tacos existed. It made tacos edible again.

[Texas Joker]

you need this

[Alpo]

9 minutes ago, Texas Joker said:

you need this

Or a plate and a spoon. You take a bite, and it starts falling apart, and it lands on the plate, and when it's all in pieces you pick up the spoon and eat it.

[Texas Maverick]

15 hours ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

I take a soft tortilla, spread refried bean on it and wrap it around a crispy taco for the best of both worlds. That way, if the crispy taco should fall apart, the soft tortilla keeps it together.

I do the same but don't spread refried beans on it. Makes eating the hard tacos much easier. 

 

TM

[Texas Maverick]

3 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I know I'll get scalded for this but I like Taco Bell's soft tacos. I also like their chicken burritos! 

I like their crunch wrap

 

TM

[Texas Maverick]

2 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

I'm of the fill with meat (or potatoes and onions) before frying school of thought.   The precooked meat gets some nice crisp edges and the hot meat melts the cheese better. 

 

 

I like both,  but tend towards the crisp tacos because when I  was a kid that's what they had. Two tacos and a burrito. 

 

 

In the early 1970s, I  think it was, they added the Encherrito.  And the Burrito Supreme. 

I forgot all about the bellburger. They were good occasionally.

 

TM 

[Texas Maverick]

2 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

you need this

I just let it all fall onto the plate and then add some more lettuce, onions, tomatoes and ground beef to make a taco salad

 

TM

[watab kid]

i dont care whats original , i like the hard but will eat the soft with no second thought , as long as i get to make my own and you got the proper array of fixins , my son/s favorite food for any occasion 

[Subdeacon Joe]

9 hours ago, Alpo said:

Or a plate and a spoon. You take a bite, and it starts falling apart, and it lands on the plate, and when it's all in pieces you pick up the spoon and eat it.

 

Just have a soft tortilla under it.  Finish the crisp taco and PRESTO! you have a  soft taco chaser.

[Will Kane]

I've lived in South Texas, five miles north of the Rio Grande, all my life except for the eight years after high school. I prefer soft corn tortilla tacos. If I'm in the mood for something with crunchy corn tortillas, I'll opt for chalupas or nachos or panchos.

[PowderRiverCowboy]

Puffy whether you choose flour or corn tortillas  your choice

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12 by PowderRiverCowboy

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, Will Kane said:

I'll opt for chalupas or nachos or panchos.

 

I had to look up "panchos."  They sound like what the Mexican restaurants around here bill as Super Nachos, Nachos Supreme, or Nachos Superior. 

 

1 hour ago, PowderRiverCowboy said:

Puffy whether you choose flour or corn tortillas  your choice

 

 

 

 

 

Fry bread tacos?

 

[Texas Maverick]

37 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

I had to look up "panchos."  They sound like what the Mexican restaurants around here bill as Super Nachos, Nachos Supreme, or Nachos Superior. 

 

 

Fry bread tacos?

 

Fry bread tacos around here are called Indian tacos and they are good. In fact if you attend Land Run in Oklahoma there is a vendor there that makes great Indian tacos. They were there the last two years so hopefully they will be back next year.

 

TM

Edited November 12 by Texas Maverick

[Alpo]

There was a movie some years back called I'M GONNA GET YOU SUCKER. It was a parody of blaxploitation movies.

 

James Brown and Isaac Hayes were Hammer and Slammer, and they owned a barbecue joint.

 

 

 

I think this little old Mexican lady felt like Mr Hayes.

 

Anything I had ever eaten with a tortilla, it has been flour. So one day I decide I need to see what a corn tortilla taste like. And I buy a package at the grocery store. And they were nasty. I ate a couple, fed a couple to the dog, and threw the rest out.

 

Then as I'm going into the grocery store one day I noticed that next to it is a panaría. That is a Mexican bakery. And I think that maybe the reason that the corn tortillas I got were so bad was because they were store-bought off the shelf. Maybe if they were fresh made by a Mexican baker they would be okay.

 

So I go into the store and I try to explain to the lady that I just wanted one tortilla. She wanted to sell me a pound. I told her that I was quite willing to pay for it but I only wanted one to see whether I liked it or not.

 

Finally she picked up one tortilla and put it on a piece of wax paper and folded it up and put it in a paper sack, and when I pulled out my money she waved me away shaking her head.

 

I wish I could say that I had liked her tortilla, but I didn't like it either. So I still only eat flour.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Wierd.

[Cypress Sun]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:41 AM, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I know I'll get scalded for this but I like Taco Bell's soft tacos. I also like their chicken burritos! 

 

I used to like TB's enchiritos and burritos. Never like their hard tacos as I'm not a lettuce lover and they didn't put enough cheese on them. TB progressively got worse through the years, probably due to trying to double and triple the menu with the result of nothing was good anymore.

 

So far as non-TB goes, I prefer soft tacos or home made burritos. The hard tacos are okay every once in a while but I like the soft ones better. Extra meat, extra cheese with hot sauce, sour cream and diced tomatoes for me on both.

 

[Will Kane]

5 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

I had to look up "panchos."  They sound like what the Mexican restaurants around here bill as Super Nachos, Nachos Supreme, or Nachos Superior. 

 

 

Fry bread tacos?

 

Yes, sir. Nomenclature seems to change depending on where you are relative to the USA-Mexico border.

[Blackwater 53393]

I seldom EVER eat lettuce on ANYTHING!!  Too many times it is wilted and nasty.  Nine times out of ten, when I order tacos, they put lettuce on them no matter how emphatic I am that I don’t want it.

 

Toxic Hell is the WORST about doing it and they won’t put the chopped tomatoes and onions on without the damned lettuce!

 

If I want tacos, I’ll build them myself or get them from a good Mexican restaurant.  In lieu of that, there’s a Taco John’s a couple of exits up!

 

TB is okay for burritos if you can get them to make ‘em the way you want, but that’s a hit or miss proposition.

 

Soft tacos are my preference, unless they’re done like Kid Rich described.

[Kid Rich]

We have a good TB really close and bout everything they make is good.

Only problem with them is it is in a truck stop and they also have A&W and it's hard to get out of there without havin a Root Beer float.

kR

[Eyesa Horg]

28 minutes ago, Kid Rich said:

Only problem with them is it is in a truck stop and they also have A&W and it's hard to get out of there without havin a Root Beer float.

And what's the problem!?