What is Tex-Mex Cuisine? Everything You Need to Know About The Fusion Between Texan and Mexican Food

What do you think of when you read Tex-Mex cuisine? Probably a fast food chain, or a comic book hero, or even junk food that breaks the rules but is not recommended on a regular basis. In truth, Texan-Mexican cuisine – from which the abbreviation comes – is much more "noble" and rich than you might think. Widespread in the Southern United States and New Mexico, including Utah and Colorado, Tex-Mex, before being recognized as a cuisine, was a railway network inaugurated in 1875 with the aim of uniting Texas and Mexico. The speed of transportation made the exchange of products possible and therefore the birth of fusion recipes starting from the beginning of the twentieth century.

The first gastronomic reference, however, was in 1963 when the definition Tex-Mex appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary; Paris was the first city to open a Tex Mex restaurant: it was 1983. The popularity of this cuisine in the United States is immense, yet even today it struggles to gain the status of a regional cuisine in all respects. On the contrary, it is seen as a corrupted version of traditional Mexican food. In truth, the deepest roots of Tex-Mex lie in Spanish culture as well as that of Native Americans. In the 1920s, the term "Tex-Mex" was used to describe people of Mexican origin who lived in Texas – more precisely called Tejanos – and eventually the label would be applied to the Mexican-style food typical of the region.

What's The Difference Between Mexican Cuisine and Tex-Mex Cuisine?

To know the authentic Mexican cuisine you have to look at the times of the Mayan Indians and the Aztec Empire. Two cultures that, by mixing, gave birth to combinations of foods, such as corn tortillas , beans, chili peppers, game and fish. Very old recipes are tomatillos, tamales and enchiladas. With the invasion of Mexico by Spain in the 16th century, products such as pork, dairy products, garlic, herbs and spices became very popular. Tex-Mex food is richer, but usually less spicy and among the most famous dishes are faijtas, nachos and any combination that uses beef, black beans, canned vegetables, wheat flour and cheddar cheese. Diana Kennedy, a well-known American food critic and author of the book “Mexican Cuisine” explains that the real difference between the two cuisines is in the “class struggle”, that is, Tex-Mex ignores differences and treats the food of the poor with the same respect as that of the rich.

It is a cuisine that is mainly meat-based, however – which was not the case for the original Mexican cuisine – by virtue of the vast beef farms present in Texas. Chicken is also present, mostly marinated and fried, but also used as a filling for enchiladas and tortillas. Furthermore, if corn flour has always been the preferred choice of Mexicans, north of the Rio Grande wheat flour has been by far the preferred choice. Another gringo peculiarity is that cumin is used generously. On the contrary, in Mexican cuisine it is not met with any consensus, while it is easier to find herbs such as tarragon and oregano in the latter. Finally, it is not Tex-Mex if there is not a good dose of melted cheese in the dishes. We must think of the cheddar slices with a strong yellow color that covers many combinations of ingredients.

Tex-Mex Toppings: The Many Sauces

There are so many, more or less spicy and there really is no dish that is not seasoned or accompanied with a sauce. We have tabasco, a spicy sauce made from pureed chili peppers and left to macerate with vinegar and salt in oak barrels; mole which is a generic term to indicate Mexican sauces with a spicy or sweet and sour base; guacamole made with avocado and finally lime juice. Exotic fruits such as avocado, pineapple and papaya are used in both sweet and savory recipes, often used to prepare sauces or salads that accompany meat.

What to Drink With Tex-Mex Food

Among the favorite drinks there is certainly beer, but also tequila (the Mexican national drink obtained from the distillation of the agave plant), mezcal (another agave distillate), as well as pulque (also obtained from agave but not distilled like tequila but rather fermented like beer and therefore with a lower alcohol content). The pairing with margaritas is also popular and wine is increasingly finding space in pairings. Any suggestions? Pinot Noir goes very well with crunchy meat-based tacos; for cheese quesadillas we choose a full-bodied white like a Chardonnay; for enchiladas where the sauce always prevails more than the proteins, a structured wine is needed that can well support the intense flavors of the recipe. For fajitas where the meat prevails over the sauce, it is better to aim for wines with more decisive tannins such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Cabernet Franc.