5 Dishes You Must Serve on a Taco Trailer if You Want to Stand Out from the Crowd

5 Dishes You Must Serve on a Taco Trailer if You Want to Stand Out from the Crowd

So you’ve realized your dream of starting a food truck business, and what better fare to serve up than a traditional street taco? Busy professionals, hungry kids, and tourists alike all enjoy the aroma and the taste of a good and spicy taco.

Unfortunately, Mexican food trucks are a dime a dozen, and in order to stand out from the rest of the crowd, you might consider mixing up your offerings a bit to attract–and then keep–some loyal followers. Word of “mouth” travels fast, and if you are serving up the goods in new and innovative ways, you can expect to make some serious money come lunchtime. Here are five must-serve dishes you should consider adding to your menu to keep the lunchtime crowd coming back for more:

Texas Trash Dip

Perfect with chips, on tacos, or even as a starter, this warm gooey side of beans and some surprises will fill stomachs and inspire satisfied smiles. To make Texas Trash Dip, you’ll need:

• 8 oz pkg cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 32 oz refried beans
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 1 pkg McCormick taco seasoning mix
• 4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Melt cream cheese and sour cream in microwave or in a saucepan until melted. Combine all other ingredients except Mexican cheese and spread into a large 9×13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with tortillas, on tortillas, as a side, or with tortilla chips.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

Sure, grilled corn is sublime, but Mexican street corn takes it up to another level. The combination of cojita cheese, mayo, sour cream, chili powder and lime combine perfectly with the mellow flavors of corn to form a highly addictive side dish that should be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. To make Mexican street corn you will need:

• 8 ears corn, shucked
• 2 T vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c crumbled cojita cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro leaves
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder

Fire up your grill. Rub your corn with vegetable oil, then season with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, stir together 2/3 of the cojita cheese with the mayo, sour cream, cilantro, lime zest, chile powder and combine. Place seasoned corn on the hottest part of the grill, turning as needed, until a nice char has formed and the corn is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the grill, layer mayo mixture liberally on the corn and garnish with the remaining cojita cheese. Serve hot with extra lime wedges if desired.

A Good And Simple Fish Taco

While loyal followers of Mexican food swear that the only true taco is made from beef or chicken, we owe it to ourselves to begin to appreciate the classic fish taco. A little lighter and offering up a completely different flavor profile, this one might surpass the others in its popularity, if done right. To make a classic fish taco you will need:

• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from one lime
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 lb flaky white fish
• salt and pepper to taste
• corn tortillas
• avocado slices
• sour cream for garnish

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Toss in fish and coat thoroughly, let marinate for at least 15 minutes. While you are waiting for the marinade, assemble a corn and cabbage slaw with 1/2 cup mayonnaise, juice of one lime, 2 T chopped cilantro, 1 cup corn kernels, 2 c shredded purple cabbage, 1-2 T honey, salt and pepper. When cooking the fish, sear flesh side down on a hot grill for 4 minutes each side, turning halfway through. Assemble your masterpiece by placing grilled fish on a corn tortilla and garnishing with corn slaw, fresh avocado slices, and sour cream. These tacos will gain a loyal following all their own.