Tacos de criadillas
Tacos de criadillas are tacos of bull testicles, typically simmered until tender, chopped and sautéed with tomato, onion and fresh chile in the a la mexicana style.
Definition
Criadillas are testicles, usually from bulls. Chilango's glossary of taco terms lists them among the offal sold at Mexican stands, and separates them from machitos, which many people wrongly believe to be bull penis but which are in fact beef intestine stuffed with other organ meats.
The food blog La Cocina de Leslie, written by a cook living in Mexico, describes the flavor as fairly strong and compares the texture of cooked criadillas to a hot dog or a spicy sausage. She admits she disliked them the first time and came around on a second try, a common experience with the dish.
Preparation
The most familiar home preparation is a la mexicana, a sauté of the three colors of the Mexican flag: red tomato, white onion and green chile. In La Cocina de Leslie's method the criadillas are covered with water, brought to a boil and then simmered for about half an hour until soft to the touch. They are drained, chopped into bite-sized pieces and cooked in hot lard with a finely chopped salsa mexicana of Roma tomatoes, onion, serrano or jalapeño and cilantro for 10 to 15 minutes, then salted and eaten in warm corn tortillas.
Outside Mexico the same organ is eaten in other forms. Readers of the same blog compare the dish with the Rocky Mountain oysters of the American West, which are battered and deep-fried rather than sautéed in salsa.
Context
Criadillas belong to the broad Mexican tradition of eating the whole animal, alongside tripa, buche and head meat. In the sources consulted they appear mainly as a home-cooked dish rather than a fixture of city taco stands, and the a la mexicana treatment is the one most often described.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg bull criadillas
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 3 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 serrano or jalapeño chiles, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 12 corn tortillas
Steps
- Rinse the criadillas. With a sharp knife, slit the tough outer skin and peel it off.
- Put them in a pot, cover with water, add the salt, bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, until soft to the touch. Drain and cool slightly.
- Chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat the lard in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the criadillas with the tomato, onion, chile and cilantro and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables have cooked down. Season with salt.
- Serve in warm corn tortillas with salsa.
Reviews
Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.
See also
References
- "Criadillas a la Mexicana (Mexican Style Bull Testicles)". La Cocina de Leslie. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿Qué son la nana, el bofe o el nenepil? Breve glosario taquero". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.