fajita

Mixed beef and chicken fajita ingredients, served on a hot iron skillet.

A fajita (IPA: /faJita/) is a generic term used in Tex-Mex cuisine, referring to grilled meat served on a flour or corn tortilla. Though originally only beef, popular meats today also include chicken, pork and shrimp. In restaurants, the meat is often cooked with onions and bell peppers. Popular condiments are sour cream, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, cheese, and tomato.

In Spanish, fajita is the diminutive form of the word faja which translates to "belt" or "girdle" in English. Butchers along the Texas border with Mexico used the word to refer to the diaphragm muscle of a steer. Researchers found references to Hispanic ranch hands eating this cut of beef in a tortilla with condiments as early as the 1930s but the word fajita is not known to have appeared in print until 1971, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Newspaper advertisements for fajitas began appearing in regional newspapers in Texas in 1975.

The cut is known in the U.S. as the skirt steak, and remains popular for making fajitas. In fact, many purists insist that only skirt steak can be used for making fajitas, and that the use of other meats, such as chicken, constitutes another dish altogether. Regardless, use of the word fajita has evolved from the term for a cut of beef to include the cooking method (thus chicken fajita) and also to define the grilled strips of peppers and onions that usually accompany the meat.

Condiments and tortillas.

Sonny Falcon is believed to have operated the first commercial fajita taco stand at a weeklong outdoor event in Kyle, Texas in 1969. He also went to rodeos, fairs, and outdoor festivals selling his fajita taco. An Austin reporter christened him "The Fajita King" and Falcon was able to trademark the name.

The food became popular in restaurants such as Ninfa's and other Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants in Houston and San Antonio, Texas. Ninfa's originally called the dish tacos al carbon and later tacos a la Ninfa before using the term fajita.

In many restaurants, the fajita meat is brought to the table sizzling loudly on a metal platter or skillet, with the tortillas and condiments served on the side. This presentation is credited to Chef George Weidmann, chef of the Hyatt Regency La Vista restaurant in Austin, Texas.

See also

• Cuisine of the Southwestern United States

References

• A Six-Part History of Tex-Mex
• Steer Anatomy(see skirt steak)
• Fajitas

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