Q for those who make burritos at home

[Anonymous]

I want to try and make some for DS who loves the restaurant version of "only beef, rice, and beans", but my question is: what kind of beans do I use- canned? Or the ones I have to boil first? Grateful if you could point me to a specific brand/type.
Also, what kind of rice? The one in burritos doesn't look like regular rice to me, idk why.
Any kind of sauce I can add to the meat? (Not salsa, but they seem to cook beef in some kind of tomato sauce?)

I want burritos to resemble the authentic ones as much as possible, but also as healthy as possible. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Sorry, just realized it might be more for the cooking forum, but I am interested in "kids version", so....

[Anonymous]

It's hard to get them to roll up properly at home unless you get giant tortillas and steam them in the microwave with a damp paper towel.

You can use canned beans. High quality dried beans simmered with carrot, onion, celery and a bay leaf taste way better but - youcan't get decent beans at Giant and Safeway. I like rancho gordo brand. But I doubt your kid is a foodie.

It is regular white rice. Maybe with a little salt, butter or pork fat. Not basmati or jasmine. Think Uncle Bens - you want a rice with lots of separation, not sticky. You can stir in lime juice and cilantro if your kid likes chipotle. You can stir in a little cooking liquid from the beans to make it look "dirty".

You can try taco seasoning, tomato paste and minced onions, cumin and diced tomato. They might have a simmer sauce at Giant in Columbia Heights. They have a lot of Hispanic ingredients there. You may need to experiment. What restaurant are you trying to recreate? If you want to be healthy mix the beef with some ground turkey or even textured vegetable protien (in the Bob's Red Mill section)

[Anonymous]

As far as beans black beans in can from Eden organic. Warm up and mash into paste. Yellow or white rice. Though watch sodium content. On yellow. Less sodium the better. Also Try breakfast burritos- eggs, potato, cheddar and a limitless but of mild red or green chile salsa.

[Anonymous]

What kind of beans does he get out? Black beans or pinto beans? Figure out exactly which kind he likes out and use those.

I tried this too. My kids loved Moe's, but they thought my at home recreation was lacking. Very annoying.

[Anonymous]

OP here- my kid likes any burrito from any place (incl Chipotle), as long as it doesn't have much in it besides the ingredients I listed
I don't mind prepping pinto beans from scratch- celery and bay leaf when simmering is a great idea, thanks! I shop at Costco and Safeway the most. I think I will get some pinto beans, maybe even organic if it exists.
I am planning to just boil some organic meat and shred it or cut into small pieces. They also add some kind of tomato sauce in it I think, I will try to go with tomato paste and taco seasoning.
Thank you all, this is very helpful, esp the tip about wet paper towels when heating up a tortilla.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of beans does he get out? Black beans or pinto beans? Figure out exactly which kind he likes out and use those.

I tried this too. My kids loved Moe's, but they thought my at home recreation was lacking. Very annoying.

Yeah, I fear he won't like mine, too
I think he likes both kinds of beans, was never fussy over beans.
He hates cheese, sour cream, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes- all the good stuff- though. He tolerated a dash of avocado or a piece of tomato, but not more than that.

[Anonymous]

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/deliciousmaindishes/a/Burritofilling.htm

[Anonymous]

You can just put the tortilla in a pan and heat it. Just get it soft and warm.

[Anonymous]

Boil the meat?

Look for a carnitas or shredded chicken recipe. There are some great crock pot versions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boil the meat?

Look for a carnitas or shredded chicken recipe. There are some great crock pot versions.

Yes - when you said beef, I assumed ground. For shredded beef, use a crock pot and a simmer sauce - just keep it mild so it doesn't overwhelm.

[Anonymous]

Basic meats


Beef
1 pound flank steak, cut into 1" cubes
1 small white onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
Put beef and other ingredients in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a very low simmer, cover, cook until tender about 40 minutes. Do not over cook as meat will continue to cook as it cools. Remove from heat and let cool. Drain broth, shred meat, discard any gristle. This can be frozen for about two weeks.

Pork
2 pounds of pork with some fat cut 1" cubes
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
5 peppercorns

Cook same as beef only for 30 minutes, but not great frozen.

You can do the same with chicken. After getting the basics down try adding any or all of these- chipotle(canned or dried), red peppers, cumin, tomatoes, etc and using wine or tequila. Also, sautéed onions and peppers in a pan and add the shredded meat.

[Anonymous]

My son likes canned black beans and likes Chipotle's black beans too. We use saute'd chicken or hamburger with some mild enchilada sauce cooked in. He loves rice but doesn't like Chipotle's because of the cilantro.

[Anonymous]

Whole foods has EVOL burritos - there is a beef one that basically only has that - beans, rice and beef. No cheese or other veggies. He loves them. And they're pretty good tasting!

[Anonymous]

Burritos freeze well, so you could double the recipe and have extras.