[net.cooks] burritos

tina (01/26/83)

Looking for a recipe on how to make burritos.

harkins (01/27/83)

this is how i like 'em, as adapted from the technique stolen from the
infamous and now defunct Hector's Taco Flats of Austin, Tx:
let your beans cook down until the mush stage, or mash a bit to hurry it
up, and then, (whether cold or hot already) put in a frying pan and
dry them out to the point where they're barely malleable (this part is
a matter of personal druthers re: texture, but the drier they are the
less sloppy the thing will be to eat); then, have a pile (scientifically
measured, of course) of:
	onions
	grated cheese, cheddar or whatever you like
	jalapeno peppers, or locally available variety, but hot ones
and a jar of hot sauce, or salsa picante; of the commercial ones, i like
Paces';
take a flour tortilla, and heat it up to barely handleable in a dry
frying pan or on a griddle (variations include the top of a woodstove, or
even the top of a space heater, cleaned off of course); then:
put a glob of the bean goo (about a tablespoon full; you tend to put too
much as a rule) in the upper part of the tortilla, then to that, add
(to taste) onions, lots of cheese, and a few bits of jalapeno;
then, fold up the bottom of the tortilla, say a third of the way up, and
then roll one side or the other first, and then fold the remaining side
over; you can just roll them from one side to the other, but they'll leak...
  that's the basic technique, but burritos are sort of the mexican pasta
equivalent, ie, a million variations; here're a couple:
	along with the bean goo, add fried egg, and/or fried potato, or
just make the basic glob out of fried egg and potato, with the condiments
as above; or add a bit of fried hamburger meat, etc.
	i've lately started using different legumes, like: split peas (if
eating green goo burritos turns you off, skip this one), or black beans,
or, here's a new one i lately invented: using black-eyed peas and
bits of turkey; sounds weird, but tastes great...
(doing this on the fly, so herewith a correction to the basic steps above:)
before rolling it up, add however much hot sauce you want, AND for the
more adventurous, also you might try a dollop of sour cream on top, before
you roll it up.  ok, simple enough, right?  you can nearly always eat the
mistakes too, but don't overheat the flour tortilla, cause they won't fold
well, but will crack instead, leaking hot sauce, etc. on your lap; oh yes,
try the whole wheat flour tortillas if you can get them, the flavor
is great... enjoy, ernie harkins