Taco-Bout a Party: How to Create the Perfect Taco Bar

Don’t know what to serve at your next dinner party? Or do you need an idea for a fun weeknight dinner? Tacos are always the answer. We have the recipe for a kickass taco bar. All you need to do is read on.

Where to start?

For a group of 6 or less:

• 1 main taco dish, 2-4 sides, taco toppings, tortillas

Mid-sized groups of 8-10:

• 1-2 appetizers, 2-3 main taco dishes, 2-4 sides, taco toppings, tortillas, drink options

A large group that came to party:

• 2-4 appetizers, 3-4 main taco dishes, 4 sides, taco toppings, tortillas, drink options

Now what?

Once you know the general size of your party, it’s time to get cookin’.

Tortillas

We’re not saying you need to make your tortillas by hand, like we do, but having options is a good idea.

• Soft: We love a classic corn tortilla. They’re gluten free, which makes them good for everyone, but there’s nothing wrong with getting flour tortillas, too.

• Crispy: Some people like the crunch! A lot of hard shell tacos are made from corn, but make sure you check to see if they’re gluten free if you have a guest with an allergy or sensitivity.

• Low carb: So, lettuce isn’t technically a tortilla, but it’s an alternative for anyone who would rather have a lettuce wrap or wants to make their taco a taco salad.

Meat

You can’t go wrong with ground beef, but mix things up with pulled chicken, grilled steak, chorizo or braised pork. And if you have any vegetarians in your group, black beans with grilled veggies is the way to go.

Toppings

Ahhh, the piece de resistance. If there’s one piece of advice we can give you, it’s to not skimp on your toppings.

• Cheese: Queso fresco has our top vote, but shredded cheddar, Monterey jack and/or pepper jack are also tasty.

• Lettuce: Shred that stuff.

• Sour cream: If you want to get real fancy, you can add lime and cilantro or chipotle peppers to your sour cream. Or you can just stick a spoon in the container you got from the store. No wrong choice.

• Veggies: Onions, peppers and radishes are perfect taco toppings. An avocado is, by definition, a fruit, but also a good topping.

• Salsa: You know the saying “less is more”? Not the case with salsa. You need chunky and smooth, pico de gallo and corn, mild and hot. All of them. You can put salsa on your tacos or eat it with chips, which we talk about later.

• Guacamole: Good on your taco and on chips.

• Add some heat: Hot sauce and pickled or fresh jalapenos for your spicy food fans.

Sides

As much as we love tacos, you can’t just have tacos at your party. You need a little variety to your meal. Some house favorites include rice, refried beans, elote, chips and guac, and chips and queso.

Chips and salsa

Even though they belong in the sides category, chips and salsa are essential to any taco bar, so we needed to give them a special shout out. See above for our stance on how much salsa you should provide. (Hint: As much as possible)

Cocktails

We’d say, “What’s a taco party without margaritas?!” but you already know the answer to that. Margaritas are a must. And if you want to know how to make our world-famous (read: Stateline area-famous) margaritas, we’ve got you covered.

But, hey, why should you do all the work when truk’t can do it for you?

Our catering menu features tacos and all the fixings plus sides, salads and house-made margarita mix. We’re here to make your parties easier to plan and your food more enjoyable to eat.

Hand-made Tortillas

The tortilla can make or break your taco. The filling’s important, of course, but if your tortilla sucks, your whole taco sucks. At truk’t, we know how big of a deal corn tortillas are, so we make ours by hand, just like Grandma.

And because we know how crucial a good tortilla is, we only get the finest ingredients. We searched high and low for the best masa (corn flour) and found it in Chicago from El Milagro Tortillas. It’s the key ingredient to our taco vessels.

So, how do we do make our famous corn tortillas? It’s simple.

We mix equal parts masa and water, then add salt and oil before putting the dough in the mixer and mixing until it’s a soft, sticky consistency. You want the dough to be sticky, but not so sticky that you can’t get it off your hands. When you pull the dough from your hand, it shouldn’t leave any behind.

"The filling’s important, of course, but if your tortilla sucks, your whole taco sucks."

After the dough’s prepared, we run it through our tortilla press. It flattens the dough until it’s the right consistency, then we turn on the cutting function to make perfectly round tortillas. As soon as they come off the press, we place the tortillas on our flat top grill. Once they bubble and can move freely on the grill, we know it’s time to flip.

See? Easy.

This is how most people make tortillas today, but there are other more labor-intensive processes that include grinding corn by hand to turn it into masa. No, thank you.

So, we don’t make our tortillas exactly like Grandma did, but they taste just as fresh. Especially when you add Chicken Tinga, Peking Duck or any of our other kickass taco fixings on top.