Tacos tuxpeños
Tacos tuxpeños are small steamed corn-tortilla tacos dipped in a red chile sauce or fat, associated with the railway station of Tuxpan, Jalisco, where they were first sold to train passengers. They belong to the broad family of tacos al vapor and are often eaten for breakfast.
Origin
The name refers to Tuxpan in the state of Jalisco. Zona Turística, describing the local stand Tacos de la Estación Rouss, explains that the 'tacos de la estación' were originally sold to train passengers waiting beside the tracks, and that vendors later set up a few steps away for safety and comfort. Los Angeles Magazine likewise places the style at Tuxpan's train stations, from which it takes its name. The tacos are distinct from those of Tuxpan in Veracruz or Tuxpan in Nayarit.
Preparation
Los Angeles Magazine groups tacos tuxpeños with tacos al vapor, also called tacos sudados or tacos mineros, and describes tortillas fried in lard infused with guajillo chile, which colors and flavors them, and then steamed. In Tuxpan, Zona Turística describes handmade corn tortillas dipped in red sauce and filled on the spot. The result is soft, reddish and slightly greasy, much like a basket taco but with chile in the tortilla itself.
Typical fillings named by Los Angeles Magazine are potato with chorizo, chicken, and lomo (pork stewed in dried red chile). Zona Turística mentions pork and beans served with roasted chiles and grilled onions.
Serving
Tacos tuxpeños are generally ordered several at a time and are considered a breakfast food. In Los Angeles, Los Angeles Magazine found them at Raspados Nayarit in Lincoln Heights, a snack shop better known for shaved ice, served with a spicy red salsa and a salad of cucumber, lettuce and mango dressed with lime juice and chile-lime seasoning. The cooling salad offsets the richness of the chile-soaked tortillas.
Relationship to other steamed tacos
Tacos tuxpeños share their basic logic with the basket tacos of Tlaxcala and Mexico City: tortillas are coated in hot fat, filled with simple, firm fillings and left to steam together so they soften and absorb flavor. What sets the Tuxpan style apart is that the chile goes onto the tortilla itself, either as a red sauce or as guajillo-flavored lard, giving every taco a uniform brick-red color regardless of filling. Los Angeles Magazine places them in the same family as tacos sudados and tacos mineros, the steamed tacos that Mexico News Daily and other writers trace back to the packed lunches of miners and field workers.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 20 small corn tortillas
- 5 guajillo chiles, seeded
- 1/4 onion and 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup lard or oil
- 3 potatoes, diced and boiled
- 150 g Mexican pork chorizo
- 1 cup refried beans
- Salt
- For the salad: 1 cucumber, 2 cups shredded lettuce, 1 mango, lime juice, chile-lime seasoning
Steps
- Toast and soak the guajillos, then blend with onion, garlic, salt and a little water; strain.
- Fry the chorizo until it renders, add the potatoes and cook until they absorb the fat. Season.
- Heat the lard with 4 tablespoons of the chile purée until it sizzles; keep warm.
- Dip each tortilla briefly in the chile lard, fill with potato-chorizo or beans and fold.
- Pack the tacos tightly in a towel-lined pot, cover and let steam 15 to 20 minutes.
- Toss cucumber, lettuce and mango with lime and chile-lime seasoning.
- Serve the tacos with red salsa and the salad.
Shredded pork simmered in the remaining chile sauce makes a good third filling.
Where to try it
- Tacos de la Estación Rouss, Tuxpan, Jalisco: Stand near the train station selling the town's traditional tacos de la estación
- Raspados Nayarit, Los Angeles, California: Lincoln Heights snack shop featured by Los Angeles Magazine for tacos tuxpeños
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Essential T: Tacos Tuxpeños at Raspados Nayarit". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Tacos de la Estación Rouss". Zona Turística. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "What's in a name? Terrible-sounding tacos that taste great". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.