Rick Makes Tacos Placeros

[Man] I think that's for us.

[knocking at door] [Rick sighs]

[uplifting music]

I have coffee, by the way.

Yes.

Oh finally!

[Rick] What the [beep] do you want?

[all cheering]

[trombone music]

[All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!

Oh my god!

[All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!

This is amazing!

[All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick!

Yeah.

[upbeat funky music]

My cover.

I am really excited.

So that was the March issue of Bon Appetite,

and the whole issue is dedicated to tacos across America.

This is such an amazing time for tacos in the United States,

so many Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants

across the country are doing really cool things,

bringing their traditional taco techniques and methods

to the U.S., mixing it with a little bit of ingenuity

and creativity, and creating something completely new.

So today we're gonna be exploring tacos in Jackson Heights.

I've asked a friend of mine to take me

to one of the best places to find tacos loceros.

Tacos loceros are sort of essential Mexican taco.

They're really huge.

You find them a lot in the markets,

and they've got a little bit of everything.

They're really, really delicious.

It's a whole meal wrapped in sometimes

two and three tortillas.

They're really big, and they're really hard to eat,

but I'm really excited.

This is Steven Alvarez, and he is a professor

of taco literacy at St. John's University here in Queens,

and I have asked him to take me to find

the best Taco Placeroslaceros in New York City.

So Steven, where are we going?

We have to go to Corona Queens,

the capital Puebla York to try some famous,

famous tacos placeros.

Okay, wait a minute.

What is Puebla York?

This is Puebla York.

This is where the Pueblanos from New York arrive

to make the city their own,

including one of their culinary treats,

the Taco Placeros.

[Rick] I'm getting hungry.

You're gonna need it because these are

some serious tacos.

These are plate-sized tacos, and in fact we're here,

so why don't I introduce you to my buddy Lupe?

Awesome, let's go.

[speaking in foreign language]

I wish I could stay because it's making me hungry,

but I have to get back to work,

but you're in good hands here.

Thank you so much, Steven.

Thanks Steven. Good luck.

Take care, guys. Take care.

[speaking in foreign language]

So whenever you make Chile Rellenos,

you start off by blistering and charring the chiles.

But you can see, the skin is actually coming off

and that's exactly what you want to see.

[speaking in foreign language]

So she's steaming them.

So as soon as they come off the fire, she puts them

in the bag to trap all the heat and the moisture,

and that softens the skin so you can easily peel it.

[speaking in foreign language]

Okay.

[speaking in foreign language]

Ah I see, okay.

[blender blending]

We beat the egg whites to almost completely stiff peaks,

we added the flour to kind of hold everything together,

and then we added all the yolks at once.

It wouldn't have worked if we'd added all the eggs in first,

so you need this sort of light, airiness of the egg whites,

and then you incorporate the yolks at the end

to add the richness and the fat.

So we're cutting out the seeds.

[speaking in foreign language]

Uh-huh, so we're gonna drench it in flour.

[speaking in foreign language]

She's basically throwing the hot oil over the top

to set the eggs so that it doesn't deflate.

[speaking in foreign language]

So, now that we've got our Chile Rellenos done

we're gonna take this out to the prep station

and these are going to be the essential component

of our Taco Placeros.

So we are gonna make the tortillas for both the Placeros,

but generally all of the food that they serve here.

[speaking in foreign language]

[giggling]

She's laughing.

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

That is done.

Now that our tortillas are done,

we're gonna talk fillings.

I'm gonna taste everything she's got.

[speaking in foreign language]

And this is a goat soup?

[speaking in foreign language]

This is the mole poblano.

This is tomatillos.

this is sausage, potato, and rajas.

This is a Posole Blanco with pork.

I think what we're gonna do with the Chile Rellenos

is we will do

[speaking in foreign language]

and for the [speaking in foreign language] we will do

[speaking foreign language]

Wow.

That is a big taco.

[speaking in foreign language]

Wow.

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

[laughing]

And these are my two taco placeros.

Wow, I am hitting the gym after this.

[speaking in foreign language]

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

Okay.

All right, I'll go next.

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

[laughing]

[playful music]

Oh my God, I have to say these are some

pretty well-constructed tortillas

to hold the weight of all of this.

Just doing the lord's work.

Oh my god.

Mm.

What's great about the chile relleno

is it's tender, but it's not soft.

It still has a little bit of punch to it.

You get the richness from the batter,

and then you get that cheese

and the [speaking in foreign language]

the [speaking in foreign language] and the papas

have a little bit of tang.

This is a really, really good taco.

So the last one, this is [speaking in foreign language]

I actually chose the thigh

because I like thighs

dark meat has the most flavor, the most fat,

but there were pretty much all the parts

of the chicken in there.

All right.

Here I go

I think.

Oh my god.

Wow.

I am really into these tortillas.

They are really holding up and doing their job.

[laughing]

[speaking in foreign language]

And this is an amazing example

of what tacos are in the United States right now.

In the March issue of Bon Appetite, we've laid out

tacos from across the country, all different types

filled with all different things.

We've got features on corn tortillas,

we've got stories on flour tortillas.

And I've developed four recipes for tacos

that I really love, plus a whole bunch of different

easy ways to make salsa.

You've gotta check it out.

And next time you're in New York, you've got to come

to Queens and try Dona Lupe's amazing Tacos Placeros.

and all the guisados that she makes

with love and passion.

[speaking in foreign language]

[All] Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick,

Rick, Rick, Rick! [trombone music]