Los burritos y las enchiladas

[Jessica]

What's the difference between burritos and enchiladas?

[Rusty]

That depends on who you ask.
Based on past restaurant visits where Tex-Mex fair is served, enchiladas are made with corn tortillas and come with different fillings. Enchiladas are topped with a sauce. Enough can't be said. There are many versions.
Burritos are made with flour tortillas and come with different fillings. They aren't topped with a sauce. Again, enough can't be said.

[CrOtALiTo]

The enchiladas are made with tortillas and a little of cream and it also is made with a little of chili.

At least in my country the enchiladas are an dishes very popular between the people near of the region.

[Jessica]

oh I see

[CrOtALiTo]

Have you eaten enchiladas before?

[Jessica]

no I haven't.

[Tomisimo]

The definitions of enchiladas and burritos are extremely different in the US as compared to in Mexico.

Enchilada (US) - a smallish (8'' diameter) wheat flour tortilla rolled up with a filling (cheese, chicken etc), doused in red chili sauce. (usually)
Enchilada (Mex) - a small (4'' diameter) corn flour tortilla, toasted on a grill and covered with chili sauce, cheese, lettuce etc, served open-face; OR the same corn tortilla, dipped in chili sauce and served folded in half and topped with ground white cheese.

Burrito (US) - large wheat flour tortilla (10"-12" diameter) filled with a variety of fillings (beans, cheese, rice etc).
Burrito/Burro (Mex) - Non-existent in most areas. In some areas it is synonomous with "taco".

Taco (US) - a taco shell (hard, corn-based-- resembles a fried tortilla folded in half and open about an inch) filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce etc.
Taco (Mex) - a soft corn flour tortilla, open-face, rolled up, or folded over, with any of about 3,000 possible fillings. "Taco/taquito dorado" is a rolled up, deep fried corn tortilla, with many possible fillings.

[Elaina]

For burritos you have to use a flour tortilla because if you use a corn tortilla then it is called a taco!

So, for the sake of argument a burrito is ALWAYS made with a flour tortilla.

A taco (hard or soft shell) can be made with a flour OR a corn tortilla but a hard shell taco is ALWAYS with a corn tortilla. If you get a hard shell flour (huge) taco it's probably a Taco Salad.

Taquitos are deep fried and are not to be confused with a Chimichanga! Taquitos are smaller and thinner whereas a Chimichanga is fatter.

Enchiladas are corn tortillas that are smothered in red or green sauce and can be filled with just cheese or with a zillion other ingredients.

THEY ARE ALL DELICIOUS!

Now that you are totally confused, please don't eat them everyday or you will look like a Chimichanga!

[ZeroTX]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

The definitions of enchiladas and burritos are extremely different in the US as compared to in Mexico.

Enchilada (US) - a smallish (8'' diameter) wheat flour tortilla rolled up with a filling (cheese, chicken etc), doused in red chili sauce. (usually)

I dunno what revolting Mexican-food-defiling area you live in in the U.S., but here in Texas, enchiladas are in CORN tortillas, which are fried slightly before rolling the meat (or cheese) into them, just like in Mexico. I've only seen flour tortilla "enchiladas" served by hillbillies who have never actually seen a Mexican, let alone Mexican food. They are usually soggy, gross and definitely not enchiladas. We don't roll that way in Texas. If you asked for enchiladas in a restaurant in Houston and you got some 8" flour tortilla thing, you'd toss it back at the waiter and ask to have the real Mexicans (which we have) to make it!

Enchilada (Mex) - a small (4'' diameter) corn flour tortilla, toasted on a grill and covered with chili sauce, cheese, lettuce etc, served open-face; OR the same corn tortilla, dipped in chili sauce and served folded in half and topped with ground white cheese.

No offense, but I dunno what the heck you're describing here. I've never seen either, ever, in Mexico or Texas. An open-faced tortilla with items on top is NOT an enchilada by any Mexican definition that I've heard of. It might possibly be a 'gordita' or a 'chalupa' but is certainly not an enchilada. The second thing you describe just sounds vile. A tortilla made soggy by dipping it in sauce? Perhaps they serve that somewhere, but Mexicans don't call that an enchilada (and I also never saw that served anywhere, including in the home of a Mexican).

I took a cooking class from a Mexican native in Cuernavaca, with whom we lived for 6 weeks. These are enchladas: Enchiladas begin with heating up hot oil in am iron skillet or on a griddle (vegetable cooking oil), then once it is hot, you quickly drop the CORN tortilla onto it and fry it on each side for a very short few seconds so that it's not crispy, but not so soft that it falls apart, but still soft enough to roll. Then while it is still hot, you roll up your meat (or cheese, but never both) into it into a fairly tight roll and lay it in a baking pan, close together with the other enchiladas. Once your pan is full of enchiladas, you pour your salsa over it (could be red salsa, green salsa or a type of chili-like sauce, or even mole sauce), and then bake it in the oven with whole sliced or shredded white (Mexican) cheese on top of the whole thing (omit cheese if using mole). This can be served in much smaller format on a plate, as it is done in most Mexican restaurants here in Texas and even Mexico.

The enchiladas I'm describing were also seen (and eaten) at restaurants in central Mexico, including the famous Las Mañanitas in Cuernavaca and a very common hotel restaurant near the Zocalo of Mexico City. You can also get them at any Mexican restaurant in Houston, Texas, San Antonio, Texas or even Austin, Dallas or any border town in Texas. You are taking a risk if you try a rural town or if the staff of the restaurant doesn't speak any Spanish. But, that being said even "Gringo's Tex-Mex Kitchen" in Houston serves enchiladas exactly as I described.

I have no idea what the odd things are that you're describing above, either the Mexican or the U.S. item you described. The U.S. enchilada you describe sounds revolting, like some school cafeteria conconction or something you'd get at a "Mexican" restaurant in Arkansas or perhaps New York. I actually did eat some "Mexican" food in Indiana once and it was fairly bland and disgusting. In Texas, we do it right So... if you don't want to go to Mexico, but want some good Enchiladas, I can give you a list of restaurants in Houston to try (note: don't go to Pappasitos, no matter how much the morons at the airport tell you to, it's a tourist/gringo restaurant).

Burrito (US) - large wheat flour tortilla (10"-12" diameter) filled with a variety of fillings (beans, cheese, rice etc).

I'd make one adjustment here... a Burrito in the U.S. can be anything from about an 8" tortilla up to a massive tortilla (18" or bigger in some specialty places), and ingredients can be just about anything, but typically meat is the main ingredient, followed by beans, rice, shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. There is debate about where the burrito was invented, but most point to either northern Mexico, near the Texas border, or, in fact, South Texas, near the Mexican border. Later, the "massive" burritos you may find in many Texas and California restaurants are credited with California. I like to say that Texas invented the burrito and California made it huge, but we all love them

Also, as you say, in most parts of Mexico, a burrito isn't a genuine local food. On the other hand, most of northern Mexico has them, perhaps for American tourists or perhaps because indeed they originate from northern Mexico... Maybe someone will research that.

Burrito/Burro (Mex) - Non-existent in most areas. In some areas it is synonomous with "taco".'

True... There are no 'burritos' in central Mexico, other than perhaps on a tourist menu.

Taco

(US) - a taco shell (hard, corn-based-- resembles a fried tortilla folded in half and open about an inch) filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce etc.

True... and we love our American Tacos! We also do make "soft tacos" (which we actually call 'soft tacos'), out of soft corn or (usually) flour tortillas. Witness Taco Bell 'soft taco' This is commonly available in U.S. "Mexican" restaurants. (as a side note, most "Mexican" restaurants in the United States are Tex-Mex.... a mixture of Texas/American food with Mexican food, though ironically, there are many genuine Mexican restaurants in Texas).

Taco

(Mex) - a soft corn flour tortilla, open-face, rolled up, or folded over, with any of about 3,000 possible fillings. "Taco/taquito dorado" is a rolled up, deep fried corn tortilla, with many possible fillings.

True. Annoyingly, Mexicans use the word 'taco' to describe a bazillion different combinations of food. This is frustrating. You have no idea what you're asking for! I will say, though, that I never saw anyone call anything a taco that wasn't rolled. Folded, and filled with cheese, then fried, they call a quesadilla (nothing like an American quesadilla, which is two tortillas with meat and/or meat+cheese cooked inbetween it on a grill). I loooooooove me some Mexican tacos, though. They rarely put more than one main ingredient into them. They have potato tacos (GREAT!), chicken tacos (the best), etc. Sometimes the meat may be marinated in a sauce or something, but usually a taco (in my experience) contains only one main ingredient. Unlike American tacos, which contain meat, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, etc.

I love Mexican food, can you tell?

Originally Posted by Fazor

The description I read made it sound like 'totopos', at least the authentic ones, were thicker and dryer than what we normally call tortilla chips. But it was hard to tell for sure.

Yes. I ate totopos (several times) purchased from local tiendas in Mexico and they are thick and dry. Not nearly what I had hoped for. We brought a jar of Texas-made salsa with us as a gift to our Mexican family and wanted to serve it as we would eat it... with tortilla chips. Good luck finding them. They don't have them in Mexico unless you do it yourself by cutting up thin corn tortillas and frying them.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by ZeroTX

...

Looks like you really love Mexican food.

One thing that happens in Mexico is that many, many people rarely travel or communicate out of their local area. This results in marked differences in vocabulary, accent, and food (among other things) from region to region. For example, if you say "barbacoa" in Hidalgo, it'll be made out of lamb, in Puebla it will be made out of goat meat, and in Vera Cruz it's made out of beef. There are dozens of dishes in Oaxaca that aren't even known outside the area. People from Sinaloa would be surprised at what they eat in Chiapas. There is also a very noticeable difference between eating at a "high class" restaurant (similar to any restaurant in the US-- tile floor, glass windows etc.) and eating a more economic restaurant (cocina económica, fonda, taco stand, etc-- concrete floor, plastic tables and chairs, tarp for a roof, etc), in terms of the food that is offered (I prefer the later by the way).

The folded-over, doused in salsa, wet enchiladas come from Vera Cruz. The open-faced toasted ones come from Hidalgo. Machaca is common in Tamaulipas and northern Mexico, but is largely unknown in Central and Southern Mexico. If you go to a taco stand in Mexico City, you'll normally get tacos made with a double corn tortilla, about 4 inches in diameter, doused in hot oil, filled with your choice of chopped meat, guts, eyes, stomach, tongue, brain etc, and topped with chopped onions & cilantro, served open-face for you to fold over and eat.

So I can only speak from my experiences and you from your experiences. For example, if you go to a Mexican restaurant in the northern half of the US, you'll see the menu is quite different from a restaurant in Texas.

Mexican food varies greatly from region to region (but most of it's mouth-watering).