Classic Mexican Recipes

Chicken Tinga Tacos

"The chicken is braised in the oven, but you can make it in a slow cooker or completely on the stove, in a casserole," says Jenn Louis. There are many versions of tinga—the smoky Mexican tomato sauce—and this one is especially easy, calling for only a few simple ingredients.

Crispy Corn Tortillas with Chicken and Cheddar

For these flautas, tortillas are rolled around a savory filling and pan-fried until crisp.

Fresh-Chorizo-and-Potato Tacos

Except for its Velveeta-y chile con queso, San Francisco's acolicious prizes local ingredients—both at its Ferry Plaza stand and at its restaurant.

Red Chile-Chicken Enchiladas

Grace Parisi makes a slightly spicy red sauce for these enchiladas with smoky guajillo chiles and fruity ancho chiles.

Mexican Spice-Rubbed Rib Eyes with Lime Butter

For this intensely flavorful rib eye steak from chef Bernie Kantak, restaurateur Peter Kasperski skips the obvious choice—Cabernet—in favor of an Argentinean Malbec, which has a floral aroma that is marvelous with the spice rub and the puckery lime butter that melts into the juicy beef.

Scallop Ceviche with Aguachile

Aguachile (chile water) is a vibrant sauce made with fresh chiles, herbs and cucumbers that's fantastic on any type of fish or shellfish. Chef David Goody serves aguachile with thinly sliced scallops that have been just cured in fresh lime juice.

Sweet Potato Tamales

Yucatán-Spiced Chicken

These roasted bone-in chicken breasts with a light, citrusy sauce were inspired by Marcie Turney's trip to the Yucatán. At her restaurant, the chicken's burnished color comes from achiote, a paste made with annatto seeds.

Shrimp-Stuffed Peppers

Fruity, pale-yellow güero peppers—just like Hungarian wax peppers—are a great source of vitamin C, folate and manganese. They're perfect for stuffing because "they have a little chile personality without being too hot," Deborah Schneider says. The shrimp-and-cheese filling here is a delicious source of protein.

Carne Asada with Black Beans

Rick Bayless serves this classic dish that combines grilled marinated steak, fried plantains, homemade black beans and fresh guacamole. To make it at home, trim the dish back to a simple duo of spice-marinated rib eye steaks and canned black beans served with avocado.

Mexican Chicken Pozole Verde

There are many variations on pozole, a traditional hominy-based Mexican stew closely associated with the Pacific-coast state of Guerrero. Anya von Bremzen's version, a green pozole, derives much of its flavor from tangy ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro and green chiles.

Chicken, Cheese, and Mushroom Enchiladas with Sour Cream Slaw

A crunchy coleslaw made with a sour cream dressing is a cooling accompaniment to this spicy sauced enchiladas.

Cola-Marinated Flank Steak with Frito Chilaquiles

To make his version of chilaquiles (fried tortilla chips lightly cooked in salsa), Jamie Bissonnette unabashedly opts for Fritos. "They have great corn flavor, and they are crunchier than I could ever get tortillas by frying them myself."

Fried Chicken Tacos

"Right in Tijuana's red-light district sits Kentucky Fried Buches, where cooks fry chicken necks, skin on, to fill soft corn tortillas. I can't stop eating them," says Andrew Zimmern. "At home, I fry skin-on chicken thighs until they're supercrisp, then eat them with avocado-tomatillo salsa, my family's favorite."

Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Mole Negro

Oaxaca is famous for its complex mole sauces, often made with more than 20 ingredients, like unsweetened chocolate, seeds and chiles. Since moles are so time-consuming to make, most Mexican cooks rely on the prepared pastes sold at the outdoor markets, and Alejando Ruíz Olmedo is no exception. Instead of stewing chicken in the mole, he takes a more elegant approach: He roasts chicken breasts until the skin is crisp and serves the mole alongside.

Tuna Ceviche with Avocado and Cilantro

With only a few ingredients, Rick Bayless's salpimentado (salt-and-pepper) ceviche is typical of what one would find at stands around the southern tip of Baja. Cooks often make it with sierra, a large and meaty Mexican fish, but tuna works just as well.

Simple Pork Posole

Mexican posole is typically a thick, hearty soup made with hominy (chewy dried corn kernels with the hull and germ removed). For his version, Ethan Stowell slow-simmers chunks of pork butt in water with onion and garlic to create a dish that's appealingly brothy. He likes to make it with chicharrones (fried pork rinds) and pig's feet, hard-to-find ingredients that are omitted in the recipe here. The array of fun, potently flavorful condiments—jalapeño, onion, cilantro and lime wedges—is key to the dish.

Tacos al Pastor

"Tacos, whiskey, hillbilly music"—that's the promise of Chicago's Big Star, famed chef Paul Kahan's new project with Donnie Madia and mixologist Michael Rubel of Violet Hour. Though they call the place a dive (it's not), the classic tacos—like the exceptional grilled-pork one here—are impressively fresh. And there's a take-out window.

Garlic and Pasilla Chile Soup

Jacques Pépin's best friend, Jean-Claude Szurdak, came up with this version of a favorite local dish. The soup can be made with anchos or even guajillo chiles, but Jean-Claude prefers pasillas for their complex, earthy flavor and aromatic notes of chocolate and tobacco. The avocado and crème fraîche toppings here are key to mellowing the intense pure chile taste.

Chicken Burritos with Black-Bean Salsa and Pepper Jack

Pepper Jack cheese looks innocent enough but adds a nice kick to these burritos. If you prefer a milder taste, use regular Jack instead.

Mango Margarita

Bartender David Yan created this margarita to showcase the property's own tequila. He coats the rim of the glass with citrusy Tajin-brand chile powder, but any powdered chile will give the drink a fun kick.

Baked Huevos Rancheros

Traditional huevos rancheros are fried eggs served over tortillas and smothered in sauce and cheese. Here, Grace Parisi bakes eggs, tortilla chips and cheese in a seasoned tomato sauce in individual gratin dishes. For more sophisticated eaters, swap pepper Jack for the Monterey Jack to get a spicy kick.