Un buen burrito necesita condimento en cada ingrediente
El sazonado es la clave de un buen burrito, porque incluso con ingredientes frescos y una cocción perfecta el resultado queda mediocre sin él.
Restaurant burritos may seem simple, but at home their flavor is often disappointing. Restaurants like Chipotle know this, which is why they season each ingredient carefully.
Simply putting rice, beans, meat, and cheese in a tortilla and covering it with sauce for flavor isn't enough. The sauce should complement the main flavors, without being their sole source of flavor, and add a new layer with every bite.
A burrito doesn't have to be complicated. The simplest is the Mexican burrito, which has just a filling of flavorful meat, like carnitas or birria. Bean and cheese burritos are delicious when the beans are flavorful, with creamy cheese and a dollop of fresh pico de gallo.
Before seasoning, decide what you want: with or without rice, whole beans or refried beans, just hot ingredients or fresh vegetables too. The Mission-style burrito, huge and stuffed with beans, rice, meat, guacamole, and sour cream, is another option. The same principle applies to a breakfast burrito.
Rice, often seen as just a filling, can be cooked with cilantro, lime, cumin, or other seasonings. Many restaurants cook it in chicken or vegetable broth as a quick way to add flavor. It should be seasoned but not spicy, so you can add a hot sauce or roasted chili later.
Beans shouldn't be an afterthought either. Seasoned canned beans are easy to find, but if you're cooking black or pinto beans from scratch, it's a good idea to add onion, garlic, cumin, and bay leaf. Whatever the main filling—beef, chicken, tofu, or vegetables—it should be seasoned with cumin, chili powder, garlic, paprika, and oregano. Meat and tofu will gain flavor if marinated for a few hours with these spices and citrus juices like lime or orange.
Fresh ingredients need little seasoning, though some benefit from a touch. Corn can be grilled or bought pre-grilled, and a pinch of salt and pepper or a squeeze of lime will enhance any fresh ingredient. Raw onions can be grilled or substituted with pickled red onions for a tangy note. Guacamole, sour cream, and salsa already provide plenty of flavor.
The tortilla can also be seasoned: in many taquerias and Mexican restaurants, it's quickly heated on the grill to give it a smoky flavor. For a crispy burrito, the whole, wrapped burrito is fried in hot oil until lightly golden and crunchy.
