How do I reverse engineer my favorite fast food meal?

I live in San Diego.. and there are these little mexican food shacks all around here. My favorite is called Albertos.. they are a little chain here.. I LOVE their rolled tacos with guacomole and ESPECIALLY love their carne asada burritos.... the problem is that I am planning on moving.. and I honestly don't know if I can live without this mexican food.. it's that good.. my only hope is to reverse engineer it and learn how to make it myself.. does anyone have any ideas how I could do this? I'm considering posing as a Mexican and trying to get a job there (I have never seen a white person working at any of them).. only problem is I don't speak Spanish.. maybe I could get someone to speak for me with somekind of CIA type wire and ear piece........How do I reverse engineer my favorite fast food meal?
When I try to duplicate a recipe for something I've eaten in a restaurant and love, first I call the restaurant and ask the chef if I can have the recipe. Believe it or not, many of them are willing to share it.



If that doesn't work, I search on the internet for a recipe that sounds similar. Then I make it and taste it to see the differences, and keep adjusting it until it tastes right.



To start you off, here's a recipe for rolled tacos with guacamole.

1 lb of ground beef or 2 large chicken breasts

2 cups chile sauce (red for beef and green for chicken)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons chile powder

3 cloves fresh garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)

1/2 an onion, peeled and diced

2 cups shredded queso fresco or mozzarella

16 corn tortillas

2/3 cup oil

1/2 cup water



Beef Version - Brown ground beef in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onions when the meat is about half cooked. Continue to cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain excess liquid and add water, cumin, chile powder and garlic.



Turn heat to low and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Let mixture cool for 15 minutes. Then add in red chile sauce and shredded cheese. Toss mixture in bowl until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.



Chicken Version - Place chicken breasts in large pan, cover with water and add a lid. Boil the chicken for 15-20 minutes until no longer pink, and cooked through. Drain the liquid and use two forks to shred the chicken. (Or you can chop it up.) Then add 1/2 cup water, cumin, chile powder and garlic. Turn heat to low and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Let mixture cool for 15 minutes. Then add in green chile sauce and shredded cheese. Toss mixture in a bowl until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.



Rolling and Cooking the Tacos - beef or chicken versions:

Coat each tortilla with a light coat of oil and warm on a hot comal or griddle until tortilla is pliable. Place 3-4 tablespoons of filling lengthwise in the tortilla and roll the tortilla around it. Place seam side down in a baking dish. Tortillas can be secured closed with a toothpick if necessary. When all tortillas have been rolled, bake in a 400 degree oven until taco shells are crispy. Drain tacos on paper towels if necessary and serve with fresh salsa, guacamole or sour cream.





And, here's a recipe for carne asada burritos:

1 1/2 lbs. flank steak

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup orange juice

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tsp. liquid smoke

2 tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. Yoshida's marinade sweet teriyaki sauce

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

3 tsp. garlic powder



Mix together everything but the steak. Slice the steaks into strips and marinate in the liquid mixture one to four hours, then fry in very hot oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.



Serve with warm tortillas, grated cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream.



Try those recipes and see if you can taste the differences and adjust them...maybe more cumin? Maybe less? More lime juice? None at all?How do I reverse engineer my favorite fast food meal?
It sounds like you are wanting to make Taquietto(bad spelling). I lived for 11 years in Spring Valley about 45 years ago. I know what you mean, You have more of a Baja style mexican food than anything else.

The corn tortilla is fried after the filling is put in them. If the meat is not a fine ground beef it will be pork( could be shredded. Common to a lot of Baja dishes, are fine chopped onion, dried chiles, salt pepper and in some cases green chiles. These are cooked slowly and are all allowed to blend in flavor. Fill the tortilla roll tight and fry.

Just go to one of the stores that you go to all of the time.Tell them how much you like there food and you are moving out of the state to where they have no store. Would they tell you how they make them? Ask real nice and they may even take you back and let you watch. If they are running a store in San Diego they will speak enough for you to know what is being said.
To me the best way to reproduce a recipe is to start by asking the waiter or cook (if you can). It seems like you go to this place often enough to have a rapport with some of the staff. If you just ask them how its make 90% of the time they will tell you, and if you are really lucky or have a really cool staff they will let you see them cook the food! I love Max %26amp; Erma and they have a really good 鈥榗actus鈥?butter they put on their steak. I have the recipe for that simply b/c I asked! Also it the best way to get it EXACTLY the same taste as the fast food place!