What the Heck Am I Eating?

If you don’t speak Spanish, it is not uncommon to stare down a taco menu and wonder what exactly it is that you are about to order. What follows is a quick and dirty guide for the taco layperson, a field guide to what exactly is wrapped in that warm, soft corn tortilla.

Adobada: Marinated pork, often done in a red chili sauce.

Al Pastor: Shawarma-inspired, spit-roasted pork cut thin and typically served with grilled pineapple and onion.

Barbacoa: Historically, this is the meat from a cow head wrapped in leaves and slow-cooked over an open flame or in a cook pit. In the States, however, it is a slow-braised and shredded beef that has been tenderized and then pulled apart. It is often cooked in mixture of chicken broth and/or a soda of some sort, and mixed with cumin, garlic, and other herbs. The end result is beef that seems to be steamed or smoked as well as grilled.

Birria: Goat.

Buche: Broiled or steamed pig stomach/esophagus.

Cabeza: Meat from roasting or steaming a cow head.

Cachete: Steamed cheek, generally from a cow.

Carne asada: Mildly marinated and grilled steak. Typically rib or sirloin cuts.

Carnitas: Pork shoulder seasoned with lard and herbs then braised and pulled apart before being oven roasted until lightly crisp.

Cecina: Dried and salted, jerky-like beef.

Chicharrón: Fried pigskin and/or pork belly.

Chorizo: Spicy pork sausage.

Chuleta: Pork chop.

Labios: Steamed lip.

Lengua: Steamed cow tongue, often braised or browned first.

Ojo: Steamed cow eye.

Pescado: Fish, typically a white fish of some sort. More often than not, talapia in California.

Pollo: Chicken.

Rajas: Roasted poblano chiles cut into strips and served with cooked onions and cheese.

Suadero: A thin cut of beef, usually from the trapezius muscle or thereabouts, that has been stewed and then lightly grilled. Similar to carnitas.

Tripas: The small intestine of a cow or pig that has been cleaned, boiled, and then grilled.