Kinds of Meat and in Mexican Cuisine
For the benefit of non-Spanish speakers who may not be familiar with these terms, here is a list of Mexican meats:
Carne Asada – Asada (or asado) means “roasted” in Spanish. Carne asada is a spicy, marinated grilled steak that’s cut into strips. This is the meat that goes into burritos and tacos.
Pollo Asado – Pollo means “chicken” in Spanish, which means that pollo asado is grilled, marinated chicken. It’s a delicious alternative to beef in burritos and tacos.
Lengua – This is slow-cooked beef tongue, which also goes into burritos. Some would re-cook it in butter to make it softer and tastier.
Carnitas – Juicy braised pork shoulder flavored with lots of herbs and seasoning, carnitas meat is re-cooked in an oven until crispy.
Chorizo – This sausage is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat seasoned with salt and paprika seasoning. Chorizo can either be sweet or spicy.
Zapata – A combination of carne asada and chorizo, this is another favorite meat combination for burritos and tacos.
Chori Pollo – Grilled chicken with chorizo is a delicious filling for burritos. It also goes well with Mexican rice and black beans.
Anytime you walk into a Mexican restaurant, expect to have at least one kind of meat in your meal. The only exception would be if you’re only going to eat plain or veggie quesadillas. Fair warning, though: if you walk into El Paso Mexican Restaurant, you’ll have a hard time resisting the rest of our menu. The fragrant and mouth-watering aromas alone will have you craving a bite of our burritos and lunch specials!
