Beef cuts for tacos

Taquerías in Mexico use a wide range of beef cuts and offal, from griddled steak and fatty suadero to head meat, tongue, tripe and grilled skirt steak, each defining its own taco.

Suadero

Suadero is a thin, fatty cut from between the ribs and the hide of the brisket area, with fine layers of lean meat; the name is said to come from sudadero, the saddle blanket of a horse. It is highly prized and, as N+ explains, Mexico City taquerías cook it slowly in fat on a dished griddle at moderate heat.

Steak and grilled cuts

Carne asada uses no single required cut: Larousse names filete, bola and aguayón among others, grilled over charcoal or on a griddle, and Sonora favors thick palomilla steaks. Charcoal taquerías in Mexico City list arrachera, costilla, chuleta, sirloin, picaña, rib-eye, tuétano (marrow) and other cuts.

Head and offal

Tacos de cabeza use meat from the head: Rachel Laudan lists cachete (cheek meat), lengua (tongue), ojo (eye), trompa (muzzle) and a surtida mixture. The Chilango taquero glossary adds criadillas (testicles), the ruminant stomachs cuajo and libro, machitos (intestine stuffed with other organs), nana and bofe (lungs).

Reviews

See also

• Tacos de suadero
• Tacos de carne asada
• Tacos de arrachera
• Tacos de cabeza
• Tacos de lengua
• Tacos de tripa
• Pork cuts for tacos
• Al carbón

References

1. "Suadero". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Tacos: qué es el suadero y de qué parte del animal sale". N+. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Carne asada". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
4. "Dónde comer tacos al carbón en la CDMX". El Financiero. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
5. "Beef Head Tacos/Tacos de Cabeza". Rachel Laudan. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
6. "Tacos de nana, bofe, nenepil: glosario taquero". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.