Tacos de alambre
Tacos de alambre are tacos filled with chopped grilled meat cooked together with bacon, onion and bell pepper and usually bound with melted cheese, a dish derived from skewered meats and now served off the skewer in taquerías across Mexico.
Name
Alambre means wire, a reference to the metal skewer on which the meat was originally threaded. Larousse Cocina treats alambre, brocheta and aguja as names for the same idea, distinguishing them loosely by length, with alambres being the longer skewers. The dictionary attributes the word alambre itself to Arabic heritage in Spanish. The alternative name aguja, needle, comes from the resemblance of a thin skewer to a sewing needle.
Development
Skewered and grilled meat, seafood and vegetables are made all over Mexico. Larousse records coastal alambres of shrimp and other seafood, a meat-and-seafood combination known as mar y tierra, goat alambres in the north and beef in southern states, usually with onion, bell pepper, mushrooms or zucchini. In Nuevo León the typical alambre alternates beef cubes with pepper, onion and bacon, seasoned simply and grilled over charcoal at steakhouses and backyard cookouts.
In modern taquerías the skewer has largely disappeared. The ingredients are chopped and cooked together on a flat griddle, and the result is served as a filling for tacos. This taquería alambre is a fixture of Mexico City.
Taquería style
A standard taco de alambre combines a chosen meat with bacon, onion and bell pepper, cooked on the plancha and finished with melted cheese, often manchego or Oaxaca, before being spooned onto corn or flour tortillas. Beef steak is the classic base, but Mexico City taquerías offer alambres of al pastor, chicken, rib, arrachera, pork chop and combinations of several. The Chilango city guide singles out El Huequito, which began in 1959, for an alambre that mixes pastor, bistec and chuleta, and other places for variations made with rib-eye or arrachera.
Other Mexico City places in Chilango's guide include Las Cebollas near the Estadio Azul, with a long list of meat options; El Farolito in Hipódromo Condesa, whose alambres come with manchego cheese and cuts such as arrachera and rib-eye; and Chuchito Pérez in Roma Norte, whose Alambre Loco combines arrachera, bacon, onion, bell pepper and cilantro on corn tortillas.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g beef sirloin or flank steak, cut into small strips
- 150 g thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 200 g Oaxaca or manchego cheese, shredded
- 12 corn or flour tortillas
- Salsa roja or salsa verde and lime wedges
Steps
- Fry the bacon in a large skillet or on a griddle over medium-high heat until it starts to crisp.
- Add the onion and peppers and cook until softened and lightly charred.
- Push the vegetables to the side, add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, then mix everything together and add the lime juice.
- Scatter the cheese over the mixture, lower the heat and cover for a minute until melted.
- Warm the tortillas and serve the alambre with salsa and lime for diners to fill their own tacos.
Where to try it
- El Huequito, Mexico City: Founded in 1959 in the Centro; recommended by Chilango for its mixed pastor, bistec and chuleta alambre.
- El Pata, Querétaro
- La Flamita Mixe Taquería, Oaxaca
- Los Pastorcitos de Sirloin, Mexico City
- Pancho's Takos, Puerto Vallarta
- Tacos Brunos, Mexico City
- Tacos Cuernavaca, East Los Angeles, California
- Tacos de Cortés y la 2, Veracruz
- Tacos Roy, Oaxaca
- Tacos Tamix, Los Angeles, California
- Tacos Tomás, Veracruz
- Taquería Los Chilangos, Mexico City
- Taquería Los Combinados, Oaxaca
- Taquería Tacomer, Oaxaca
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Alambre". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Ricos alambres en el DF". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.