Bangin' Burrito (Recipe)
'Nuff Said
Before I get stuck in proper to this post, I am just going to warn you that there will exist several instances of embedded links. Reason being is that I have been building up to this post for quite some time, as you shall see.
If you hop on over to my Soft Taco recipe, you will read that during one point in my life for various reasons I was eating at a Tex-Mex restaurant every week for 12 years. Listen, it was delicious, nutritious, inexpensive, and therefore good value for the money. When I walked past this restaurant on my first night in town after a big move it was filled with people. As the saying goes, if a restaurant’s bustling with people the food's got to be good. Well, it didn't disappoint.
And since I knew I would not be in that town forever, I spent a year or two reverse engineering every bit of my favorite order: Pork Burrito, Guacamole, No Sour Cream.
(Incidentally I've tried this very same order at a very popular nationwide Tex-Mex fast food chain. And it did not compare even in the slightest. This being a place people swear by incidentally.)
These burritos mainly consisted of seasoned rice, black beans, salsa fresca, jack and cheddar cheese. All in a flour tortilla. The guacamole and meat was an add on. I think at the time the addition of guacamole traditionally came with sour cream as well, so this is why I told them to hold off on the sour cream ‘cause it ruined it all for me. Like, my day would be shot after that...such is my opinion of sour cream.
When I would eat these burritos, I would bite off one end to open the thing up. Then, take their house made hot sauce and put a generous amount for my next series of bites. Which then would unearth a fresh layer of burrito innards, prompting me to douse this newness with hot sauce once more. Mow it down, exposing yet another new layer, which meant more hot sauce... This pattern would repeat until it was all gone. Typically taking about five minutes.
It was seriously a burrito in one hand, and bottle of hot sauce in the another. I would sit on a stool at a bar top style table place right in front of floor to ceiling windows with a view of the people as they walked by in town. It was nice for me, and most likely comical for the people watching me eat as they traversed the sidewalk.
Nutrition wise, these burritos tipped all my requirements for a meal in terms of the mix of protein, carbohydrate, and fats. The only thing I would do afterwards, at home, was drink a glass of milk and eat a piece of fruit to round out a balanced meal. As a result, I was well fed, and my taste buds were tickled. Overall, time and money well spent.
So yes, this post contains a recipe per say, however, I will not be creating a nutrition label to accompany this like I usually do for it really all depends on the assembly process. But figure the calories from protein/carbohydrate/fat go like the this: 30/50/20 (percent) give or take. A nice mix of all three.
The fats are primarily going to come from the avocado used for the guacamole, which contain high levels of monounsaturated fats (a healthy dietary fat). Also, avocado is a great source of dietary fiber as well.
The carbs are going to be a mix from the rice, flour tortilla, and black beans. The rice will be whole grain, the tortilla will not for I dislike the whole wheat flour tortillas for some reason. The black beans are a great source of fiber, and protein in addition to carbs. So you have two different types of grains, and a legume that will give you a wider range of nutrients from just one of those three carb sources alone.
In terms of the protein you use it's really up to you. Meat, fish, poultry, it'll all go well. My preference is a slow roasted pork (butt, or shoulder) until the meat is falling off the bone and the fat is rendered. Seasoned with coarse salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion power, dried basil and oregano. Maybe some smoked paprika. And by slow roasted I mean cooking the meat on convection roast at 225°F until done. As always, try to use meats from animals that have been raised sans growth hormones and antibiotics for if you consume animals raised with these add-ons if you will, your body will be ingesting them.
For the salsa fresca, this is nothing more than diced plum tomato, finely chopped cilantro and onion, lime juice, and salt. That's it. I typically don't like to put heat via a pepper in these since I'm only using it for the burrito filling and have the hot sauce on deck already. The majority of this salsa is going to be the tomato, everything else will be to taste (and color). I want the tomato to shine through with just over a hint of everything else.
The guacamole recipe will be the same as the salsa fresca pretty much. Just replace the plum tomato with mashed ripe avocado. That’s it.
The cheese is easy enough to buy in bulk and shred yourself. If you buy them pre-shredded in a bag they may have some sort of anti-sticking or anti-caking agent applied to them via processing so the cheese wont clump together. Those agents are dubious at best for your health. So if you don't have a cheese grater, buy one. Their inexpensive and it takes only few moments of your time to shred everything up. If you want to pre-shred the cheese to store in the refrigerator you can try covering it with a paper towel to let moisture escape to prevent clumping.
For the flour tortilla, there is a quality brand on the market that is sans any crazy preservatives or untoward ingredients. Just look for the brand with the Mexican flag on them, they are tasty. You can readily find these in a Mexican grocery. Some large retailers even carry them. The ingredients are just flower, salt, water, and oil. Make sure to get the burrito sized one's. Really, it will be the biggest one they make.
→ Execution
The key to making this burrito is to do in in stages. What works best is to prepare the individual fillings ahead of time. So the rice on one day, the beans and shredded cheese on another, the hot sauce, salsa on a third, and meat on a fourth day. I already have recipes for the Rice and Beans. I've even figured out their Hot Sauce. Just follow the links. All of these will store well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
→ Assembly
Here is a rule of thumb to start off in terms of quantities for the filling: 2 oz of meat, ¼ cup rice, ¼ cup beans, ¼ guacamole, ¼ cup salsa fresca, all lightly covered with the shredded cheese. Give or take.
Step 1:
Heat up bite sized cuts of meat, rice, and beans. I personally like to use a skillet with some olive oil since the meat will develop a crust which is adds a nice crunch. But, heating everything in a small oven or microwave will do. And I go in stages. That is start by heating up the meat first, then a few minutes later I'll add the rice and beans. If you heat up everything at the same time, the rice and beans will overheat and therefore over cook. Staggering this up will heat all three up evenly.
Step 2:
When these are heating up, get your tortilla warm as well. Personally, I like to steam it since the moisture will hydrate it a little bit while making it more pliable. Tortillas can often be a little stiff and dry. Lightly toasting it to warm it up will work as well.
Step 3:
Place the warmed tortilla on a sheet of aluminum foil. Make sure the foil is cut to be about 1 inch larger than the tortilla on all sides. Place your predetermined quantities of meat, rice, beans, guacamole, salsa fresca, cheese in the center of the tortilla. (This will be the tricky bit. Ideally, you want enough of everything so that the tortilla folds up with the edges overlapping to seal in everything. Too little filling and it won’t be satisfying. Too much and it will be a mess to eat.) Fold in too opposite sides of the tortilla. Then roll the tortilla up to seal it all in. Wrap the sealed burrito in the aluminum foil twisting the ends to make everything tight. Once you complete this last step, you shall get the classic burrito shape.
Step 4:
Keep in a warm place to rest and walk away. Relax for 15 minutes. It is so disheartening to do all that work during assembly, only to quickly eat it afterwards. So let the flavors of all the different bits of filling overlap with one another.
Step 5:
Go grab the thing and dig in.
Remember to prepare the hot sauce on the side if you fancy. Or, make the salsa fresca with some hot pepper if you like.
Anyway, this is a quick run through of the assembly. You can add more or less of each filling depending on what you prefer. Or, you can go without the tortilla entirely and just assemble a burrito bowl. Realistically, this recipe is just a suggestion for you as the reader. You can use different types of fillings, or prepare the rice and beans in a different manner to which I have. It's all up to you. However, what I did want to demonstrate is that with a little bit of time and preparation, you can make a delicious, very nutritious and filling meal by yourself at home for you and your loved ones. All at a fraction of the cost from a restaurant.
Enjoy...!
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