Mexican Taquitos Flautas Food

MEXICAN TAQUITOS (FLAUTAS)

Steps:

• To make the sauce: Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, bullion cube, and chiles to a blender; blend until smooth.
• In a sauce pan heat 1-2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium heat.
• Add sauce and simmer about 5-10 minutes.
• Reserve 1/4 cup of sauce for filling.
• To make filling: Mix shredded meat and reserved sauce together will.
• Heat vegetable oil for frying in a deep fryer or tall saucepan to 350-375°F.
• To make taquitos: Wrap 12 of the tortillas in a kitchen towel and put in microwave for 2 minutes. Keep tortillas wrapped in towel while making taquitos so they don't dry out.
• Place one tortilla on the counter in front of you and add shredded meat mixture in a line across the tortilla on the side closest to you, but not all the way on the edge (about 2-3 tablespoons of mixture. Begin to roll tortilla around mixture, rolling away from you (try to roll as tightly as possible so that the filling doesn't fall out during frying). Taquito should resemble a fat cigar (the sides are not folded in--they are just left open). Pierce with a toothpick through the center of taquito to keep from unrolling.
• Add each taquito to oil as you go or they will dry out and crack.
• Do not crowd oil too much. I usually cook about 6-7 at a time.
• Feel taquitos with tongs as they cook. When they are hard, remove and drain on paper towels (about 5 minutes). I usually line a large bowl with paper towels and drain all of the taquitos vertically so that all of the excess oil can drain out.
• When those 12 tortillas are done, heat up the remaining 12 in the same towel and repeat. The reason I don't heat up all 24 at the same time is because the stack is so thick that the top and bottom few tortillas dry out and the middle ones are not cooked enough and will crack when you try to roll them.
• When all of the taquitos are finished, put as many as you want per serving on a plate (I usually serve 5-6 per person); top with sauce.
• Add shredded lettuce and sliced onion.
• Top that with a few spoonfuls of sour cream (or if you are like me, more than a few).
• Sprinkle with queso fresco.
• Yum!

FLAUTAS

Steps:

• In a nonstick frying, pan cook meat until no pink remains.
• Drain excess fat and add pepper, onion, and garlic cook until veggies are tender.
• Stir in oregano, cumin, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
• Cover and cook over low heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat a nonstick pan at a medium-low heat.
• For each flauta: warm a tortilla on each side in the pan (until it bends readily, not to brown it).
• Spread 2 tablespoons of the meat filling across the center of the tortilla (all the way to the edges).
• Roll up so that the filling is in the middle and secure with a wooden toothpick.
• In a medium to large saucepan, heat 2 to 3 inches of oil to med-high heat.
• Fry 3 or 4 flautas at a time (don't overcrowd) about 3 minutes or until crisp and golden.
• Turn as required to brown them evenly all over.
• Use tongs to lift the flautas from oil and tip to allow excess fat to drain out of each end.
• Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a 300F oven while frying remaining flautas.
• Remove toothpicks and serve with salsa and sour cream.