Get Bigger And Bolder With Tex Mex Culinary Style

You may have heard the saying “everything's bigger in Texas.”  This is no different when it comes to the big, bold taste of Tex Mex cuisine.  For years, cooks in America's southwest region have been using creative ways to pull together the Spanish and Mexican cuisines and infuse it with the Texas style of cooking.  So, what exactly is the  Tex Mex style?  Let's take a look.

Ingredients

In order to create this unique style of cooking, Texans blend typical Mexican dishes with 'Texas' cooking.  Texas is cattle country, so you would expect beef to be prevalent in Tex Mex cooking.  Along with beef, you'll find plenty of pork, too.  Like other styles of southwest cuisine, beans and corn are important in the Texas kitchen, too.  Most notably, Tex Mex cuisine relies heavily on the use of sauces and gravies.  Red or green chile gravy, enchilada sauce, and thick cheese sauces are quite often used in Tex Mex dishes.  Entrees may be served smothered in chili con carne with a big dollop of sour cream.  These are all pretty standard fare for Tex Mex cooking.

Methods of Cooking

A few techniques common to the Tex Mex style of cooking are slow barbequing, fast grilling, smoking, and deep frying.  Most main dishes are prepared using one or more of these methods.  Smoking with mesquite is a wonderful way to bring out some immense flavors.  Deep frying is common around this region, often used to crisp up a tortilla wrapped combination of shredded meat, beans, corn, and other ingredients.  When barbequing  meat, you can expect to wait for hours while the meat slowly cooks, getting tender and flavorful.  A fast fire means there are steaks on the grill.  You can expect anything with barbeque sauce or rubs to be cooked slow, while meat that's meant to be charred will cook fast.  Fajitas are a sizzling combination of flash grilled meat and vegetables served on a hot plate.

Add Spice

As you may have seen in other styles of southwest cuisine, the importance of spices and seasonings can't be underrated.  Whether you want your food hot or mild, you can create a masterpiece if you know how to use the right amount of spice and seasonings.    Cumin, chile powder, and cayenne pepper are a few of the most commonly used seasonings.  Herbs like basil, thyme, and Mexican oregano are also used in many dishes.  Of course, you can never go wrong with garlic.  It’s important to know what each spice, seasoning, and herb brings to the dish so you can become familiar with how much to use, and when enough is enough. 

Tex Mex cuisine has a unique flair, one that is recognized across the country for bold flavors and a creative mix of ingredients.  Most Tex Mex recipes are easy to make and easy to tweak to suit your personal tastes.  This style of cooking appeals to so many appetites because of the fusion of two cultures creating a distinct flavor not found anywhere else.