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| When Taco Bell had an actual bell on their restaurants back in the day (Public Domain photo) |
Okay...you can hack all the livelong day or try to order from the secret menu, but you will never get a true Enchirito that way. I do remember the year they took them off of the menu. We didn't have a Taco Bell very close to us but we'd go there from time to time when we drove to Katy or Houston for errands. I remember when they removed it and I was sad. Later, they added it again, and I tried it a couple of times, but it was never the same -- just like when Coke changed their formula and then supposedly changed it back after public outcry. It was never the same either -- (If you can get your hands on a Coke that is bottled in Mexico, it will come close, but even that isn't as good as the original was.) -- but that made it easier to give up an unhealthy beverage, so that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Let's get back to the Enchirito though. I have thought about making my own copycat version, and I have made sort of a pseudo-version from time to time. Now I'm thinking about getting a bit more serious about it. I have looked through many copycat recipes to see if anyone is making the original version of the Enchirito, but I have yet to find one.
Most of these copycat recipes use flour tortillas. That's what I always hone in on. The tortilla. I have also run across some recipes that use corn tortillas. Well, guess what? They are both wrong.
The Enchirito tortilla was a hybrid tortilla, not flour or corn. Both. I remember the original tortilla, because the first time I tried the "reboot," it was flour, and it was disappointment. The Enchirito's tortilla had a unique flavor. It was absolutely not simply flour, and it definitely did not have the taste or texture of a corn tortilla.
I know there will be people who want to argue about it, but just think about this: an Enchirito was supposed to be a cross between a burrito and an enchilada. If you use a flour tortilla, you have a burrito. If you use a corn tortilla, you have an enchilada. You MUST have the hybrid tortilla to have a true Enchirito. I trust my taste buds implicitly.
But to bolster my case, I jumped on a search engine and found some vintage Taco Bell commercials and print ads. I am not going to post all of those here, obviously, both because of copyright issues, and the time it takes to add attribution links to the ones that are possible to use.
I did find one nice one on Creative Commons though, and I'm able to share that one here. Note the color of the Enchirito's tortilla in the photo, just as I remember, and just as all of the others I viewed. It is off-white, a bit on the tan side. It's definitely not a white flour tortilla, and certainly not a corn tortilla.
I will be going into the laboratory with my trusty sidekick, Igor, as soon as possible, so we can make the hybrid tortilla that a copycat Enchirito recipe deserves. Stay tuned!
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| Original Enchiritos ("Enchirito" by mush m. is licensed under CC BY 2.0) |
7 comments:
They really blew it not only that all there food took a dive I'm guessing it was to costly to continue on that way I do remember there food cost a fair amount of money back then but it was the best then also p.s. bring back the lemon turnover from jack n the box
You can get them at Whole Foods corn/flour mix tortillas- wish I could post the photo of the package and you are 100% correct, I used to work there as a teenager and it was a special tortilla just for the Enchiritos
I used to get the Enchirito a lot back in the day. The Bellbeefer with cheese was my favorite until they discontinued that. I don’t know why but I always liked the taco burger. The Enchirito had a corn tortilla. I don’t think it had wheat flour in it. I hated it when they switched to flour tortillas. That’s not an enchilada and while neither are particularly healthy a corn tortilla is better than a bleached white flour tortilla, fewer carbs, lower glycemic index (not that I knew about that when I was young and healthy and invincible). I liked the way they tasted and the texture better though. Maybe you should do some research into the tortillas they used back then. I’m guessing they were straight corn tortillas. And corn tortillas can differ a lot with some more white than others, some with a smoother finer grind. You can even get them made with purple corn or whatever. But I can see how certain corn tortillas could seem more like flour tortillas than others. We have a big Hispanic population where I live and tortilla factories and restaurants where they make them from scratch. We have a lot of Pupuserias too and those are awesome but that’s a different topic.
Had 2 last night. Definitely does not taste the same from the 70's nor did it have the olive slices. I'm done with them unless they make them like they used to make them.
Now I can tell you that I worked for Taco Bell while in college in 1984. This was my favorite to bring home after the shift. It was a golden corn tortilla and it did have 3 black olives strategically placed on top. I put on extra cheese which was delicious. I loved it. I don't know if they even use olives anymore at Taco Bell. Olives were also in the Burrito Supreme. All their food was high quality. It was real cheddar cheese that came in a very huge block. We had to cut up the block with the piano wire contraption that fitted over the block. The beans were fresh out of a 25lbs sack. We had to sort them three beans at a time to ensure there were no pebbles or rocks. The beans were pressure cooked and then drilled with a long attachment that smashed it. The beans were then refrigerated and fried the next day, hence refried beans. The ground beef was absolutely real and was tested when it came off the delivery truck to be 90% fat free. Yes we had a machine that took a sample of the raw meat and it was analyzed. If it did not meet the mark we would reject it on the spot. That was back then. I don't know what they do now. For sure it was golden corn tortilla. If I remember correctly it was the same corn tortilla for the Taco shells which were deep fried on site. Think about it. A lot of the menus items are invented by employees. This item was invented by an employee using a steamed taco shell. The same taco shell that was fried.
My husband loved the original enchirito! I told him your thoughts about a hybrid tortilla and he agrees. I'm going to look at Whole foods for the cross another commenter mentioned. Please, if you figure something out, let me know. I would love to surprise hubby with a recipe! Thank you!
Finally, someone who understands the unique taste of an enchirito was due to the tortilla! Flour or corn tortillas are a disappointment in the copycat recipes. Thank you for validating my thoughts - I also completely trust my taste buds. I would love it if you come up with a good copycat recipe. Will also try Whole Foods for the hybrid tortilla.
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