What Is Tex-Mex? Six Differences Between Tex-Mex and Traditional Mexican Food
Discover > Truly Texan > What Is Tex-Mex? Six Differences Between Tex-Mex and Traditional Mexican Food
Lately, we’ve seen an increase in chefs and cooks really digging into the story of hyper-specific regional American foodways. One could say that this results from centuries-long oppression of native voices. Be it the African American experience, or the Native American experience, or even the indigenous Mexican-Latino voices that have been robbed of many opportunities or civil war activists such as Pancho Villas. The art of cooking is increasingly becoming the mode through which people tell their stories. Traditional, delicious foods have carried on with fresh ingredients, guarded intimately within families and generations who treasure and celebrate their roots.
Today, we're talking about authentic Texan Mexican cuisine, the guapos Tex-Mex cuisine, and their differences. So, what's the difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican?
What are These Cuisines Exactly, and How Did They Come to Be?
Authentic Mexican Cuisine
Authentic Mexican food (What wine goes well with Mexican food?) goes back to the times of the Mayan Indians, who thrived up till 1800 BC, and the Aztec Aztecaa)the empire that followed it. Both cultures combined beans, corn tortillas, chilis, bell peppers, grilled shrimp, fish, grilled chicken breast, and wild game in a spicy sauce. When Spain invaded Mexico in the 15th century, they added pork, dairy, herbs, and spices to the cuisine. Traditional Mexican food was cooked on cast iron skillets, fried or steamed. Some authentic Mexican dishes are Caldillo de Carne Seca (Dried Beef Soup), Bisonte con Moras (Bison (What wine goes well with bison?) with Berries), Chacales (cracked corn), Barbacoa tortillas, breakfast burrit,o and the salad dish Pico de Gallo. It all represents a creative culinary quest spanning generations.
Tex-Mex Cuisine
So, what is Tex-Mex food exactly? The TexMex cuisine was born from the Mexican, Spanish, and American amalgamation of cultures. Until the 20th century, the cuisine in this area was essentially a combination of the country’s culinary styles. Only at the turn of the century did it start assimilating American features. Tex-Mex began to take shape into what we know today, extending even to modern-day Tex-Mex restaurants such as Tijuana Flats, Lupe Tortilla, Estrellita Poblana in NY, El Rancho Grande, Azteca, Taco Bell, Jose Tejas, and TV documentary series such as Tex Mex Motors.
The term was first introduced in Texas as residents began to enjoy their Mexican restaurant dishes and recreate them at home with the ingredients they had available, and so the comparison of Tex Mex vs Mexican started. Upscale Mexican restaurants and Mexican buffets in Texas also started incorporating ingredients preferred by the locals, which led to the development of the Tex-Mex cuisine that we are so fond of along with entire menus. Tacos, Chile, chicken or ground beef Fajita meat, Nachos, Panchos, One Burrito, Cheese Enchiladas, salsa Tex Mex and Chile Relleno Burrito are some examples of the great food of Mexican fast food near me and gringos happy hour!
The main difference you will find in traditional Mexican vs Tex-Mex is that it leans lighter. Seldom will you find traditional Mexican food blanketed in melted jack cheese. Vegetables make an appearance more frequently, and native crops such as squash, corn, sour cream fried plantain, cactus, and chilis feature prominently. As for game, authentic Mexican cuisine showcases a good variety of bison, rabbit, and venison (What wine goes well with venison?).
Although the term Tex-Mex had been around for a while, it wasn't known as separate from authentic Mexican food until cookbook author Diana Kennedy, explained the basic differences in her book, The Cuisine of Mexico. Whenever you decide to try some new Mexican food by searching online for Mexican restaurants near me or Mexican near.me, use this article to compare the different dishes which make up Tex Mex vs Mexican food.
6 Differences Between Tex-Mex and Mexican Food
1. Cheese
First and foremost, Cheese! The ingredients used in these two cuisines differ by a good margin and cheese is one of them. In comparing Mexican vs Tex Mex, the use of yellow cheese is a distinguishing feature. You won't see any of that on authentic Mexican dishes, which love to showcase soft Mexican white cheese or jack cheese. The famous enchiladas, in Mexico, are usually smothered in a green tomatillo sauce or mole and a generous serving of white cheese is strewn over.
2. Spices and Herbs
Cumin is the all-time favorite spice of Tex-Mex food. It was the arrival of the Canary Islanders who immigrated to San Antonio in the 17th century that introduced cumin into the culinary preparations. However, in guapos traditional Mexican dishes, you will find more of chili peppers, grilled bell peppers, oregano, cacao, epazote and delicious fire-roasted red peppers.
3. Protein
Ask any native Mexican and they will tell you how rarely beef is found in authentic Mexican food. What is plenty is the use of chicken and pork, sometimes even bison. But the colonization era compelled natives to use what was available and today, the beef head barbacoa, a much loved exception, is largely attributed to Mexican roots.
A prominent feature of Tex-Mex dishes is the ground beef. You will find it in the state dish, Chile con carne. Beef and pork remain the preferred protein in Tex-Mex cooking.
4. Tortilla Flour
More commonly, Tex-Mex tacos are made from a white flour tortilla or a hard corn shell, filled with ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and yellow cheese. Authentic Mexican tacos, on the other hand, are always on a soft corn tortilla wrap. In Mexico, corn is used as a grain or on the cob, whole. There is nothing Mexican about sweet corn, omnipresent in many Tex-Mex dishes. So, while Mexican tacos are wrapped in a yellow, malleable, corn tortilla, Tex-Mex tacos are famous for their crunchy, white flour tortillas. Tortilla-style wraps are used in many popular dishes, such as the street food crispy chicken flautas, where a flour tortilla is wrapped around a filling of shredded beef, pork or chicken and fried until crispy.
5. Sauces and Condiments
Sauces on the Mexican side are mostly mole, or one of the 7 versions of it. If the sauce is red, cheesy and creamy, you are probably eating Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex dishes are usually served with sour cream, whereas traditional Mexican foods use a thinner sauce, such as creme fraiche, cheese sour cream or Mexican BBQ sauce.
6. Difference Across Regions
Mexican cuisine difference across regions. The northern region is popular for its meat dishes and the Oaxaca and the Veracruz regions are well known for their seafood. Whether it is the Cochinita Pibil from the Yucatan area, or the Chispola from the Chiapas, all of these differences are a part of combined Mexican identity and tradition. If you happen to be around San Antonio and craving for seafood, check out these top seafood restaurants.
While Tex-Mex cuisine has few variations, it is a scrumptious blend of cultures. Many dishes like the Queso and Nachos, are staples across restaurants worldwide. Soulful and heartwarming Tamales, Chimichangas, and of course chicken quesadilla, chile rellenos, one burrito, charbroiled marinated fajita steak, spinach enchilada and carne asada fries are what make Tex-Mex cuisine stand out. It was once quite simple but now has developed multi dimensions and complexity.
As the line between authentic Mexican places and Tex-Mex continues to evolve and maybe blur, as long as it is well executed, delightful food, I believe we will carry on living in harmony.
The Deep South’s relationship with food has always been one of my biggest interests. Hardly anywhere else in the world can you see such a diversely integrated food system that takes inspiration from nearly every corner of the globe. Tex-Mex cuisine is no exception. But what is its connection to Mexican food? Is it Truly Texan Food? Or a combination of both? How is it different?
History of Tex-Mex Food
Tex-Mex food made its debut on the remote ranches of northern Mexico and southern Texas, where Tejano vaqueros drove herds of livestock across tens of thousands of square miles. This was exactly when the old world’s authentic food met the traditions and methods of the resourceful Texas-Mexico natives to create excellent food quality.
As Tex-Mex is a relatively new cooking style, thus its history is short and sweet. However, Mexican cuisine finds its influence all the way back to the Olmecs, the first Mesoamerican civilization. The Maya, Teotihuacan, and Toltecs have also shaped the history of Mexican food, with the Aztec civilization nearing its peak when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.
The Columbian Exchange
Named after Christopher Columbus, the Columbian exchange was a massive exchange of goods between the Old and New Worlds that stretched over centuries. Nearly every commodity (and disease) obtainable at the time was transported across the Atlantic, making a lot of people rich, while also killing millions.
That being said, one of the better things to come out of this interchange was the mingling of several entirely different cultures to form one of the most diverse regions in the US. The Columbian exchange’s impact on Southern food cannot be underestimated.
Texan and Mexican Ingredients
Ingredients are the primary difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican food. Or, in other words, accessibility to ingredients before, during, and after European mass migration. It should be said that several foodstuffs are native to Mexico – game, corn, chilies, beans, cocoa, and the humble avocado. However, a lot of spices we associate with Mexican food, such as cumin, are actually native to the Mediterranean and were brought to Mexico by Spanish conquistadors.
So, what else did the Europeans bring to the table?
Well, aside from a variety of refined cooking techniques, they brought goods such as wheat for flour (how long does flour last?), cattle for beef, and spices from the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Below are lists outlining some of the ingredients that each cuisine type has been more inclined to use:
Mexican Food Ingredients:
Rabbit
Frogs and lizards
Turkey
Corn or elotes near me
Chilies
Cocoa
Avocados
Squash
Sweet and white potatoes
Guava
Sapote
Vanilla
Tex-Mex Ingredients:
Pork
Grilled and Shredded Chicken
Lamb
Wheat flour
Refried Beans
Sugar
Rice
Grilled onions
Garlic
Citrus
Coffee
Cooking Methods
European cooking methods, French and Italian in particular, have generally been considered more “refined.” While they pickled, braised, confited, and sautéed French fries, Native Americans and Mexicans were grilling over open flames, making fry bread, and drying pieces of fruit and vegetables.
Home Cooking
Authentic Mexican food places a strong emphasis on togetherness and community. Many people who have grown up in an environment flavored by Mexican cuisine will tell you their go-to comfort food is a pleasant surprise, prepared by a relative or a few girls, such as the healthy breakfast dish Two Eggs Black Beans (how long do black beans last?).
Tex-Mex, on the other hand, is often more associated with street food, food trucks, and trendy bars, such as Mexican Street Corn, steak fajitas, grilled corn smothered in a creamy mayo sauce and topped with chili powder, cheese, green sauce and lime or a taco salad.
With Mexican and Tex-Mex, so much food has a rich and diverse background. Whether you gravitate more towards tradition and authenticity or new, innovative concepts, both cuisines are here to stay and teach you plenty about the modern food scene of comida Mexicana near me.
We have a database of Tex-Mex food, the best and nearest Mexican restaurants, and late-night food you can find in every corner of Texas with house margaritas; check it out here, some of which offer Mexican delivery near me. Planning your next Taco Tuesday and looking for fresh veggies or meat for those bean tacos? Be sure to check out listings of your local farmer’s markets here.
And for a few authentic Mex restaurants, check out these:
Superica - good service
Chuy’s Menu - Tex-Mex - outdoor seating, kids menu
El Loro Austin TX
Uncle Julio's Tex Mex throughout Texas
Anitas Tex-Mex - restaurants around Houston
El Torito, Chuy’s Tex Mex throughout Texas
Chicos Tex Mex
La Capital Tacos in DFW
Alberto’s Crystal Cafe, Big Spring.
And if you’re ever in New Jersey searching for flavorful Mexican cuisine, try out Jose Tejas for some of the best good food in Tex-Mex. (Any recipes on this website will be quoted in metric and imperial units). Heading over to Seattle? Take a detour to Cantina Monarca in Bellevue, WA, for an authentic modern take on traditional Mexican cuisine. And check out these Mexicans established throughout the country:
Alberto's Mexican food near me
El Taco guapo restaurant in IA and MA
Lolis Mexican Cravings - Lolis Tampa, Florida
Tepatitlan Restaurant - Houston
Are you curious to learn about Queso’s fascinating journey and rise to become a Texan favorite? Dive deeper by clicking here.
