It’s 10 days into the new year – have you had your first taco of 2025 yet?
Taco journalist Mando Rayo has got a few quick ways to get a taco to you both at home and while you’re eating out. The Tacos of Texas podcast host spoke with Texas Standard about his “2025 taco hacks” and one taco goal.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Let’s talk about taco hacks. What is a taco hack?
Mando Rayo: Taco hacks is something that just makes your life easier and probably more delicious – in a very convenient way. You got to figure out what you got to work with and make it super delicious.
Let’s talk about a restaurant taco hack. What’s your first one?
I love how whether you’re in Houston, even San Antonio or Austin, there’s the trailers or taco trucks just like lined up in a little park. So what I try to do is like, hey, I’m really craving this flavor or that, but I know, like, I got to get my tortillas from the Mexican eatery.
So for me, it’s always about like the Veracruz All Natural in South Austin: Get a bean and cheese taco from there. But wait, don’t eat it, because I do love me some Dee Dee’s; they’re northeastern Thai food; they have this super spicy minced pork with a fried egg and a little bit of the cucumber and veggies.
And my taco hack is you get that protein and you put it on a bean and cheese taco and man, you’re talking about international flavors right there.
Wow. Yeah, the mixing and matching. Very good. Well, what’s your second hack?
So, you know, this weather just wants you to feel cozy, and you need some good barbecue – some brisket. So, head down to Lockhart and go to Mario’s Tacos – they do like the hand-painted visuals on their windows – and you can see the tortillas freshly made.
Take some tortillas to go. Go to Barbs B Q or go to Black’s or Smitty’s. Order yourselves some good brisket and maybe a little bit of a to-go salsa. And boom, you got yourself a good brisket taco.
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I knew this was going to make me hungry. Tell us about a taco hack for home.
So leftover chips, it’s always great to make migas. Or for me, it’s also like, okay, what can I do that’s a little bit different? Maybe for breakfast or breakfast tacos instead of just a regular sausage, you smash a breakfast taco sausage into that and you make it all together. I think part of having things at home is kind of using creativity and figuring that out.
I love my creamy jalapeño salsa. And instead of adding like some cream or even avocado to make it creamier, you know, the hack there is actually canola oil. It doesn’t overpower the jalapeño. It’s pretty neutral oil and it allows the salsa to become creamy and that creamy vaquero salsa that you see in a lot of taco trucks.
Well, since it’s so cold and a lot of us are staying home, give us another taco tip for home.
If you’re cooking and you’re trying to figure out, okay, I want to make something quick, something easy, I’m going to go with #TacoCousins – I’m going to go with flautas.
If you’re making some flautas at home, how do you get them to stick? How do you roll them up and get them to stick? You just get a toothpick and you stab it, maybe three at a time. And then you let them sit there and fry, and then you flip them over.
And so they’re compact and they don’t get messy. They don’t open. And then you have the perfect flauta that you can also smother that creamy jalapeño salsa over as well.
With the new year just beginning, do you have a taco goal for 2025?
For me, it’s like, okay, can I do one tortilla instead of two? [Laughs] That’s a life goal for anybody. But it’s hard because, you know, if you double the tortilla, the food falls out – bam, you have another taco. Just like the Internet says.
