Culinary Spotlight: Tex-Mex
April 5, 2010
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Dallas
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Culinary Spotlight: Tex-Mex
If you love Mexican food and have never been to Mexico, then chances are that what you really love is Tex-Mex food. Tex-Mex food blends foods available in the United States and the culinary creations of Tejanos (Texans of Mexican descent) influenced by the cuisines of Mexico. Dishes usually include meats such as beef, chicken, or pork.
Mexican cuisine, while being the foundation of Tex-Mex cuisine, is typically centered on staples like corn and beans and augmented with regional ingredients such as locally available fish, honey, jicama, papaya, and tomatoes. Many cities and regions include even more exotic ingredients like ant larvae, grasshoppers, iguana, and monkey. You’ll notice that your local Mexican restaurant is not quite that adventurous.
Spanish Influence
It wasn’t until the arrival of Spanish explorers and missionaries in the 16th century that elements of Spanish cuisine like beef, pork, wheat, rice, barley, almonds, wine, and a variety of spices were introduced to Mexican cuisine. These imported elements were eventually incorporated into Mexican cuisine.
Cowboy Culture Creates Tex-Mex
As Texas and Northern Mexico became prime cattle land, Tex-Mex food began to incorporate more beef, spices, and yellow cheeses from English and German settlers. The primary Tex-Mex dish, chili con carne, was unknown in Mexico before the middle of the 1800s when Texas cowboys began combining the readily available beef with chiles (peppers) and spices.
Tex-Mex Goes Global
While the birth of Tex-Mex cuisine certainly occurred when the Spanish brought their exotic ingredients to Mexico, it wasn’t until the 20th century that it was known as something distinct from Mexican cuisine. By the 1970s, Tex-Mex cuisine became a world-wide craze with several Tex-Mex-style restaurants opening in Paris and other parts of the world including Asia, South America, and the Middle East.
Common features of Tex-Mex cuisine are the combination plate – a dish with several entrees such as burritos, enchiladas, chile rellenos, or fajitas and side dishes of rice and refried beans – and tortilla chips served with hot sauce or salsa.
Some well-known Tex-Mex inventions include chili con carne, chili con queso, margaritas, and fajitas.
Ladybird Johnson’s Recipe for Pedernales River Chili
Many Texans view chili as their state dish. And those that don’t could easily be convinced otherwise. President Lyndon Johnson, the first president from Texas, loved chili so much that his wife’s recipe for chili con carne is archived in his presidential library. While there are hundreds of variations on this simple recipe, Ladybird’s is a good place to start for its simplicity.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chili meat (coarsely-ground round steak or well-trimmed chuck)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon comino seed
- 6 teaspoons chili powder (or more, if needed)
- 1-1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes
- 2 – 6 generous dashes of liquid hot sauce
- 2 cups hot water
- Salt to taste
Preparation
Place meat, onion, and garlic in a large, heavy pan or Dutch oven. Cook until light in color. Add oregano, comino seed, chili powder, tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, salt, and hot water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Skim off fat during cooking.
Recipe courtesy of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum - http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallas. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallasoffers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Dallas, Texas. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit http://www.Chefs.edu/Dallas for more information.
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