TL;DR: Taco Bell still has their old school green sauce (not the shit in the packets) at some places around the country, I'm one of the lucky ones who can still get it, so I did. Many times. Through much painstaking work, I have duplicated it so you can make it at home (though you may need to acquire a couple unusual items). Full story and recipe is below.
I know there are going to be a lot of people here who (rightly) despise Taco Bell. I understand and sympathize. If you're one of those who think nothing associated with those two words could ever have any redeeming value, then you may just want to tune out now.
If, however, you are one of those people who remember that it used to be quite a different beast from the one it has become then you may look back on some of your memories of it fondly. Of all those fond memories those like us have, one seems to be nearly universal: Taco Bell's original green sauce. If you loved it, you know who you are.
Mind you, we're not talking about the Salsa Verde, the crap that is now handed out in packets and tastes like chemicals and failure. No, the original green sauce was a testament to a time before fast food was commoditized to the extent that it became almost uneatable.
What most who remember the green sauce may not know is that in some parts of the country it is still available - albeit on the hidden menu. Here in Phoenix, for instance, you can get it by asking for it. This is what it looks like when you order it on an Enchirito at Taco Bell, and this is what it looks like when you order some extra on the side (not an easy task as Taco Bell employees are very easily confused). It is truly delicious, with a bright green chile flavor and a decent amount of heat right at the back of your palate.
For my part, I woke up one day fearful that they would take it away for us here like they have for much of the rest of the country and this sauce would then be lost to me forever, so I decided to get some and do something about it. If you are one of those people who thought it was lost to you forever - I have some good news for you. I can help you out. After many months of trial and error and a mountain of failures behind me, I have recreated it at home.
I used a variety of sources to try and figure out the ingredients. If you simply Google "Taco Bell Green Sauce," you'll find a thousand recipes that look like this one. NO. NO. NO. Run screaming. This abomination and all others like it repeat the same ingredient list, which has a hint of truth, but the resulting texture and taste is nowhere near the sauce (although it might resemble the horrible shit in the packets, come to think of it).
If you refine your search, you get some better ideas but still, a lot of clutter with the same recipe. However, in this group of results I did run into an interesting story by a former Taco Bell employee in the 80's. Here's what he had to say:
Prior to Taco Bell being purchased by Pepsi Co (before 1985) EVERYTHING was prepared fresh onsite:
...
• The green sauce came in a #10 can and had no ingredients listed as it was a proprietary secret. One can was divided into 2 inserts and then filled the balance of the way with water.
Everything was prepared fresh - but not the green sauce! That was a secret! Ah but it's a different world today. You cannot offer prepackaged food to the public without having a statement of ingredients, so get a hint of what is in it, I searched for and found Taco Bell's own ingredient statement and VOILA. Note that there are two separate statements in this list, one for "salsa verde" and one for "tomatillo green sauce." The salsa verde is the shit in the green packets - but the other one, this was the real deal. This is what gave up the secrets. It says:
Water, Tomatillos, Green Chili Pepper, Jalapeno, Corn Syrup, Salt, Onion Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Onion, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Xanthan Gum, Soy Sauce (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Acetic Acid, Artificial Flavor.
And now for the hard part that I must break to you: if you really want to recreate this sauce, there are two commercial ingredients that most people don't have in their cupboards and are not used to working with that you simply MUST use: citric acid (also known as sour salt) and xanthan gum (a thickener - both of these ingredients are available at many stores and on Amazon). I didn't want to believe it myself, but I finally gave in and started experimenting and it made ALL THE DIFFERENCE. The unique sourness of the sauce cannot be achieved any other way other than citric acid. I tried pickled jalapenos/juice. I tried limes, lemons, vinegar, the list goes on. Nothing worked and in most cases the results were actually quite vile. There is something about a hint of citric acid that works with the green chiles to make this sauce what it is. Xanthan gum is a thickener. In order to achieve the texture of the sauce, it must be used or you will find yourself using like four tablespoons of corn starch, which is just too darn much (and no, when you reduce the sauce to thicken it it changes the texture and flavor and is no longer the same - reduction doesn't work to recreate this sauce).
In lieu of the "autolyzed yeast extract," an MSG type enhancer, I added chicken powder. In lieu of the "artificial flavor," I added a combination of spices common to verde sauces, coriander, pepper, oregano. You can change any of this to suit yourself and if you're really adventurous, you might try adding some corn syrup and/or soy sauce, which I left out. You can also alter the peppers to make the sauce more or less hot as you please.
With that having been said this is a picture of everything you'll need to make a pretty darn decent approximation of the old school Taco Bell green sauce at home (you'll notice my picture features a serrano pepper not in the recipe - I like it a bit more hot). Here is the recipe:
4 cups water
1 large tomatillo, chopped
2 Anaheim chiles
1/2 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1 tbs kosher salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tbs corn starch/1 tbs water slurry
1/4 med white onion, diced
1/2 tsp citric acid
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp unsalted chicken powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs chopped cilantro
Put 1 cup of water, the tomatillo and cilantro in a blender, blend to a puree. While blending, add in the xanthan gum slowly. Roast the peppers under the broiler until skin is well charred on all sides. Transfer to plastic bag for 5 minutes. Peel, de-seed and chop. Add remaining 3 cups of water and everything else to a pan (except the corn starch slurry), bring to boil, turn down and simmer covered until onions are translucent (about half an hour). Turn heat up to a rolling boil and add corn starch slurry to thicken a bit more and add a nice gloss.
This is a picture of the finished product side by side with the Taco Bell version. More importantly, the taste is pretty spot-on. Make some cheese enchiladas and pour it over, you'll be in heaven!
I hope this was of use to some of you out there who remember. :)
bon appetit
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