Mollejas @ Taqueria Tacambaro
While I am recovering from a flu, almost 50 people from the Houston Chowhounds list are recovering from a taco truck crawl. Their first stop is my favorite eat spot in Houston – the Tacambaro truck behind Canino Produce.
Robb Walsh first wrote about Tacambaro in his excellent article about taco trucks in Houston (I hoped for a regular taco truck feature in the Press, but it hasn’t happened yet). I’ve been making regular trips to Tacambaro ever since and every time walk away convinced that this Mexican preparation of sweetbreads is superior to the French.
The French version of sweetbreads is quite pre-processed - the glands are cleaned, soaked, poached, pressed and peeled, before being dredged in flour and sautéed. The Mexican version seems a lot simpler. The taco lady simply peels off enough meat to make a taco from a big bag full of poached sweetbreads, then throws them on the griddle and pan fries in some mysterious grease.
The sweetbreads come apart in all the right places along the membrane lines and eventually look like broken down cauliflower florets, each individually fried until they have a perfect ratio of crispy surface to creamy interior.
Combined with a salsa verde, a few chopped onions, cilantro and an avocado wedge, these tacos are far better than any French sweetbread dish I have ever tried. Order it with a Mexican Coke in a glass bottle, if you want to get the complete experience.
More images from Canino’s Produce and Taqueria Tacambaro.
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14 comments
Personally, I thought the sweetbreads were a little funky tasting. Everyone else seemed to like them. The tripe, on the other hand, was quite tasty. A good adventure all around.
Don’t underestimate the impact a huge crowd descending on a tiny taco truck kitchen can have on the food. It’s all about griddle real estate, which is why I usually take a walk around the market when I see a line outside of Tacambaro.
Ever since I had the Mollejas here w/ J.W. & Victoria, I have been a true believer and today did not disappoint. I do enjoy the pomp & circumstance that is the classic French style of preparation, but other than the sweetbreads I had @ Postrio several years ago, these are the most soul satisfying. I prefer the red sauce (Guajillo?) with them vs. the verde. The tripas @ El Ultimo were inspiring. Yeah, I know they’re deep fried. Whatever. What would a taco truck in St. Petersburg serve?
crawl-hater. glad to see you were with us today in spirit. you must go try the tripas taco at el ultimo (longpoint @ antoine).
and i had to order my mollejas taco “crunchy” today (well, actually jay did for me). they didn’t have the usual crispiness they usually do most definitely due to the throng that descended upon them called the houston chowhounds.
This is what a taco truck in St Pete looks like. They serve blinny, pierogi and other Russian classics. I’d love to have one of these in my neighborhood.
wouldn’t it be fun to buy a truck for the chowhounds? we could cook up different stuff every weekend. jay might find someone who will actually buy some of those corndog tamales.
Misha, I agree, these sweetbread tacos made me a believer. The few other sweetbreads I’ve tried haven’t done much for me (although I missed the app at the pig roast and feast, which everyone said was terrific). But the tacos are fantastic.
I actually love sweetbreads in all forms. I just love these a little bit more.
Can’t wait to get over there! Awesome pics. I’m sick, too, and had to miss the crawl. Ugh.
Hope you are feeling better. I still feel like I was run over by a truck. Ugh! I need to head over there soon and try the sweetbread tacos, since I have only had a little taste of them so far.
Misha - agreed about Sweetbreads prep Mexican vs. French - everytime that I’ve had tripe in France, it left me NEVER wanting to eat it again really…what I mean, is that it wouldn’t be a last meal on Earth thing…so when Fulmer brought the Mollejas tacos to Jay’s Mole class…I was SOLD.
Fulmer and I got a headstart on the gang, as we were there at noon…didn’t have to wait to long and actually got these 2 little blonde volleyball girls to actually try a bit and well, kinda like it…they still ordered chicken, but at least they tried.
I also like the red sauce…this is awesome.
By the way, I truly enjoyed hanging with your buddy Eric - sorry to have missed you!!!!
Get to feeling better!!!
Jody
[...] Staying with the “French food isn’t always all its cracked up to be” theme from the last post… [...]
[...] Mollejas at Taqueria Tacambario: Misha at Tasty Bits elaborates on his own sweetbreads experience at the first stop on the Houston Chowhounds’ recent taco truck crawl. [...]
those mollejas look damn tasty!! im living here in buenos aires, argentina and mollejas are one of my favorite foods down here. they are a crucial part of the argentine asado (bbq) and they are super delicious with just a little butter and lemon juice, all crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. YUM! might have to try them this mexican way though…
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