How to pick the right salsa for your taco night?

More and more, Canadians are embracing having a Taco night every once in a while. This delicious staple Mexican dish can be the perfect addition to your dinner routine.

Traditionally Taco Nights are Tuesdays, but you can do it every other night, and why not more than once a week? The diversity of Taco recipes out there would probably have you covered for a week or more without repeating any dish. You could also have the same recipe twice but interchange the essential ingredients like tortillas and salsas and have a completely different experience. So, in this post, we would like to help you know a little more about how to choose the right Mexican salsa to make your taco night in Canada a unique and memorable dinner.

Before we get to the main question on this post, let’s ensure that you have all you need for your taco night.

What is needed for taco night?

Basic Ingredients:

• Tortillas –
• Corn tortillas (white, blue, or yellow corn). You could use other options like tostadas, hard shell tortillas, or even flour tortillas. With that said, we recommend soft corn tortillas over hard shells or even flour tortilla options.
• Salsa – Salsa Verde, Salsa Roja, Pico de Gallo. Here you have a complete list of Mexican Salsas.
• Main Dish – Meat (Beef, Chicken, Pork, Fish) or Vegetables (Mushrooms, Sweet Potato)

Optional Ingredients:

• Toppings – Lettuce, Onion, Cilantro, Avocado, Beans, Cheese, Sour Cream, just to name a few. You could also consider many other options depending on the dish.

For the main dish part, it’s vital to choose the right recipe. As mentioned above, there are probably way too many options to list here, but we can offer you a few suggestions. Here are our top choices for Tacos in 2022:

• Baja Fish Tacos
• Pollo Adobado Tacos
• Beef Barbacoa Tacos
• Suadero Tacos

Pro Tip: Check these Birria Tacos recipe paired with our Chipotle Salsa. These tacos make our honourable mention for the list above.

Now let’s dive into the central question:

How to pick the right salsa for your taco night in Canada?

The answer can be a little subjective, but we will do our best to give you a few tips based on our own experience. We will also try to establish a little guide that can be flexible and adapt to your taste.

• Recipe & cooking method – Depending on the recipe, the meat or vegetables might already be cooked with different spices to enhance flavour. The cooking method should also be considered, as this could affect the taste and consistency of the meat. In that case, a less spicy or lighter salsa might be better. An excellent example of that could be the cochinita tacos, where the meat is moist and enhanced with spices like “achiote.” If the meat is prepared with fewer condiments (e.g. shredded chicken), then a more decadent salsa with a little more heat could bring together the tacos. In other cases, if the meat contains more texture, e.g. the breaded fish on the Baja tacos, a fresher salsa could be perfect, so the taco is easier to eat.
• How much spice can you and your guests handle? – This is crucial to keep in mind. If you like spicy foods, then for sure, regardless of the recipe, go for more (e.g. habanero salsa). If you don’t like the heat, then don’t compromise your supper and try a mild salsa.
• Wine pairing approach –
  
• When pairing wine with meat, the usual recommendation is that red meats go well with red wines, and white meats go well with white wines. We know over simplifying this approach, but please stick with us on this one. Following this approach when it comes to pairing salsas and tacos is not a bad idea. For your red meats like beef, you could easily consider red salsas (e.g. chipotle salsa). In contrast, for other types of meat like fish or chicken, you could go with green salsa or something fresher like a pico de gallo. Now we would like to highlight a couple of exceptions to this approach. The first one, for certain types of pork dishes, you could also use a green salsa (e.g. tacos de chicharron). The second one, and the most important one, is that there are no rules when it comes to taste. You can mix and match as you like. Pro tip: try more than one salsa in your tacos! Seriously, mix red and green salsas and add some other toppings; we know you will like this!

Once the plan for the main dish is ready, including the right type of salsa, ensure that you plan for the sides and drinks.

What side dish goes well with tacos?

To ensure you have something to complement your supper, we recommend the following options:

• Guacamole – Pro tip, don’t forget to include the best corn chips available in Canada and add a unique taste by adding Tajin Clasico. This will make a huge difference.
• Salad
• Rice
• Corn

Pro tip: Don’t forget the dessert! Add some delicious “churros” to the menu.

What to drink for taco night?

If you want to make it a traditional Mexican dinner, prepare some “Aguas Frescas.” Our suggestion would be to keep it simple: go with “Agua de Flor de Jamaica,” a Hibiscus-based drink, or “Horchata,” a rice-based drink. They are both delicious; trust us on this one!

If you like beer, then don’t think about it too much. “Cerveza” goes perfectly with Tacos; we shouldn’t really need to explain this one. You can definitely go with a traditional Mexican beer (you know the brands, right?), but we are in Canada. So our recommendation would be to go with a local light and delicious beer like Steam Whistle.