View source for Tex-Mex

{{Short description|Cuisine in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2017}}
[[File:CornmealProducts.jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.00|Examples of modern Tex-Mex dishes and ingredients: corn, tortilla chips, cheese, tacos, salsa, chilis, and beef dishes.]]
'''Tex-Mex cuisine''' (derived from the words ''[[Texas]]'' and ''[[Mexico]]'') is a regional [[American cuisine]] that originates from the culinary creations of [[Tejanos|Tejano]] people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the [[Southwestern United States]] to the rest of the country. It is a subtype of [[Cuisine of the Southwestern United States|Southwestern cuisine]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Walsh|first=Robb |title=The Tex-Mex Cookbook|publisher=Broadway Books |location=New York |edition=XVI}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Feniger|first1 = Susan|last2 = Siegel|first2 = Helene|last3 = Miliken|title = Mexican Cooking for Dummies|publisher = Courage Books|year = 2002|location = Scranton|first3 = Mary Sue}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lightmillennium.org/2005_15th/emartinez_tex_mex_cuisine.html |title=Mexicans in the U.S.A: Mexican-American / Tex-Mex Cuisine |last=Martinez |first=Etienne|website=Lightmillennium.org|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> found in the American Southwest.

==Common dishes==
[[File:Selling baked beans and tortillas.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|
"Preparing plates of [[tortilla]]s and [[fried beans]] to sell to [[1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike|pecan shellers]], [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]" by [[Russell Lee (photographer)|Russell Lee]], March 1939]]

Some [[ingredient]]s in Tex-Mex cuisine are also common in [[Mexican cuisine]], but others, not often used in Mexico, are often added, such as the use of [[cumin]], introduced by Spanish immigrants to Texas from the [[Canary Islands]],<ref name=NYT010615>{{cite news|author1=Jennifer Steinhauer |title=If It's Chili, It's Personal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/dining/if-its-chili-its-personal.html |access-date=6 January 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=February 10, 2014 |quote=it was Canary Islanders who brought a taste for it in heavy doses}}</ref> but used in only a few central Mexican recipes.

Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized by its heavy use of shredded [[cheese]], [[bean]]s, [[meat]] (particularly [[Chicken as food|chicken]], [[beef]], and [[pork]]), [[chili pepper]]s, and [[spice]]s, in addition to flour [[tortilla]]s.

Sometimes various Tex-Mex dishes are made without the use of a tortilla. A common example of this is the "fajita bowl", which is a [[fajita]] served without a soft tortilla.

Generally, cheese plays a much bigger role in Tex-Mex food than in mainstream Mexican cuisine, particularly in the popularity of [[chile con queso|queso]], which is often eaten with tortilla chips (alongside or in place of [[guacamole]] and [[salsa (sauce)|salsa]]), or may be served over [[enchiladas]], [[tamales]], or [[burritos]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Goodgame |first=Dan |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/chile-con-queso/ |title=Recipe: Chile con Queso – Texas Monthly |date=15 July 2013 |publisher=Texasmonthly.com |access-date=2019-03-28}}</ref>

[[Nachos]], although invented in the US-Mexico border town of [[Piedras Negras, Coahuila]], became extremely popular in Texas before spreading across the US. They were named after its inventor, [[Ignacio Anaya|Nacho Anaya]].

Tex-Mex circa the 1950s relied on combination platters using American-style cheeses, did not often have margaritas, and involved pecans in desserts.<ref name=Sharpe101>{{cite magazine|last=Sharpe|first=Patricia|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/tex-mex-101/|title=Tex-Mex 101 |magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|date=August 2003|access-date=2023-12-20}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Chili with garnishes and tortilla chips.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|right|Chili with garnishes and tortilla chips]]
[[File:Ninfasfajitameat.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|Original Ninfa's ''tacos al carbón/[[fajita]]s'']]

The cuisine that would come to be called Tex-Mex originated with ''[[Tejanos]]''  as a mix of native Mexican and Spanish foods when Texas was part of New Spain and later Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/tracing-the-history-of-tex-mex|title=Tracing the History of Tex‑Mex|work=History|date=2 September 2020 |last1=Pruitt|first1=Sarah}}</ref>

[[File:Fajitas_Wraps.JPG|thumb|right|upright=0.75|''Fajitas'', wheat ''tortillas'' as ''taco'' wraps]][[File:Chili-con-carne.jpg|thumb|Bowl containing ''[[Chili con carne]]'' served in a Tex-Mex style, with pork, beef, [[Cheddar cheese|cheddar]] and [[Monterey Jack|monterey jack]] on top.]]
From the [[South Texas]] region between [[San Antonio]], the [[Rio Grande Valley (Texas)|Rio Grande Valley]] and [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], this cuisine has had little variation, and from earliest times has always been influenced by the cooking in the neighboring northern states of Mexico.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.eater.com/2018/3/7/17081968/best-food-texas-tex-mex-barbecue|title=Everything You Know About Tex-Mex Is Wrong|last=McCarron|first=Meghan|date=7 March 2018|work=Eater|access-date=2018-06-13}}</ref>

The [[ranch]]ing culture of South Texas and Northern Mexico straddles both sides of the border, where beef, grilled food, and tortillas have been common and popular foods for more than a century.<ref name=":0" />

A taste for ''[[cabrito]]'' (kid [[goat]]), ''[[barbacoa]] de [[cabeza]]'' (barbecued beef heads), ''[[carne seca]]'' ([[Beef aging#Dry aged beef|dried beef]]), and other products of [[cattle]] culture is also common on both sides of the [[Rio Grande]].

In the 20th century, as goods from the United States became cheap and readily available, Tex-Mex took on such [[Americanized]] elements as [[Cheddar cheese|Cheddar]], [[Monterey Jack|jack]], and [[pimento cheese]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NMBnDwAAQBAJ&dq=tex+mex+20th+century+american+cheeses&pg=PA16|title=Tex-Mex Cookbook: Traditions, Innovations, and Comfort Foods from Both Sides of the Border|isbn=978-0-525-57387-6 |last1=Fry |first1=Ford |last2=Dupuy |first2=Jessica |date=23 April 2019 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed }}</ref>

In much of Texas, the cooking styles on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border were the same until a period after the [[U.S. Civil War]]. With the railroads, American ingredients and cooking appliances became common on the U.S. side.<ref>{{cite news|last=Walsh |first=Robb |title=Pralines and Pushcarts |newspaper = [[Houston Press]] |date = 27 July 2000 |url = http://www.houstonpress.com/2000-07-27/restaurants/pralines-and-pushcarts/2/ |access-date = 11 December 2011}}</ref>

Around the 1970s the composition of dishes popular in Tex Mex changed; [[Ninfa's]] popularized the [[fajita]] beginning in 1973.<ref name=Sharpe101/>

A 1968 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' feature wrote "[i]f the dish is a combination of Old World cooking, hush-my-mouth [[Cuisine of the Southern United States|Southern cuisine]] and Tex-Mex, it's from the Texas Hill Country."<ref>"Pedernales Recipes 'Good for What Ails.'" ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. 12 September 1968. p. K30</ref>

=== Outside the US ===
[[File:Zarillo Western & Tex Mex Puutarhakatu 8.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Zarillo Western & Tex Mex restaurant in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]]]
In [[France]], [[Paris]]'s first Tex-Mex restaurant opened in March 1983.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2000-11-23/restaurants/the-french-connection/2/|title=The French Connection|last=Walsh|first=Robb|date=23 November 2000|website=Houstonpress.com|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> According to restaurateur Claude Benayoun, business had been slow, but after the 1986 release of the film ''[[Betty Blue]]'', which featured characters drinking [[tequila]] shots and eating ''[[chili con carne]]'', "everything went crazy."<ref name=":3" /> According to Benayoun, "''Betty Blue'' was like our ''[[Easy Rider]]''; it was unbelievably popular in France. And after the movie came out, everybody in Paris wanted a shot of tequila and a bowl of chili."<ref name=":3" />

Tex-Mex became widely introduced in the [[Nordic countries]] and the [[United Kingdom]] in the early 1990s through brands like [[Old El Paso]] and ''Santa Maria'', and very quickly became a staple meal in the Nordics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/norway/articles/how-taco-tuesday-became-taco-friday-in-norway/|title=How Taco Tuesday Became Taco Friday in Norway|access-date=9 July 2021|date=23 July 2018|website=The Culture Trip}}</ref> Minor local variations on Tex-Mex in these areas are to use [[gouda cheese]], or to substitute taco shells with stuffed [[pita]] breads. Previously, Tex-Mex had been sold on a limited scale in [[Stavanger]], Norway since the late 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/rogaland/_-vi-solgte-taco-og-tortillachips-for-alle-andre-1.14297697|title=– Vi solgte taco og tortillachips før alle andre|language=nb|access-date=9 July 2021|date=23 November 2018|website=[[NRK]]}}</ref>

Tex-Mex has also spread to [[Canada]], where it has become as naturalized as in the United States. The cuisine is also readily found in [[Argentina]], [[India]], [[Japan]], [[Mexico]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Thailand]], and many other countries.<ref name=":3" />

==Terminology==
[[File:Tex_Mex_Time.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|Ingredients commonly used in Tex-Mex [[cuisine]]|alt=small bowls of corn, tomatoes, peppers, guacamole, and other ingredients]]
[[File:Nachos with Guacamole.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Nachos]] with [[guacamole]]]]
The word "TexMex" (unhyphenated) was first used to abbreviate the [[Texas Mexican Railway]], [[charter]]ed in southern Texas in 1875.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/tracing-the-history-of-tex-mex|title=Tracing the History of Tex-Mex|last=Pruitt|first=Sarah|website=HISTORY|date=June 16, 2015 |language=en|access-date=2019-10-04}}</ref> In the 1920s, the [[hyphen]]ated form was used in American newspapers to describe Texans of Mexican ancestry.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{cite news|title=Tex-Mex|date=23 May 1922|newspaper=Mexia Evening News|location=Mexia, Texas}}</ref>

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' supplies the first-known uses in print of "Tex-Mex" in reference to food, from a 1963 article in ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'', and a 1966 item in the ''Great Bend'' (Kansas) ''Tribune''.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' entry for Tex-Mex: 1963 ''N.Y. Times Mag''. 11 Aug 50/1 Star of the evening was her Texas or Tex-Mex chili. 1966 Great Bend (Kansas) Daily Tribune 19 Oct 5/4 It's too bad that it has become known as ‘chili powder’ because some homemakers may associate it only with the preparation of ‘Tex-Mex’ dishes.</ref>

However, the term was used in an article in the ''Binghamton'' (New York) ''Press''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Spallone|first=Roz|date=20 May 1960|title=Miss New York State's crown just 'old hat' to family|page=15|work=Binghamton Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/252622091/?terms=%22tex-mex%22%20taco|access-date=16 Mar 2021}}</ref> in May 1960 and a syndicated article appearing in several American newspapers on October 6, 1960, uses the Tex-Mex label to describe a series of recipes, including chili and enchiladas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=6 Oct 1960, 32 - The Record at Newspapers.com|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/490585932/?terms=%22Tex-Mex%22|access-date=2021-02-20|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}</ref>

The recipes included the suggestion of "cornmeal pancakes" in place of tortillas, which at the time were not reliably available to readers outside of the Southwest.

[[Diana Kennedy]], an influential food authority, explained the distinctions between [[Mexican cuisine]] and Americanized Mexican food in her 1972 book ''[[The Cuisines of Mexico]]''. Robb Walsh of the ''[[Houston Press]]'' said the book "was a breakthrough cookbook, one that could have been written only by a non-Mexican. It unified Mexican cooking by transcending the nation's class divisions and treating the food of the poor with the same respect as the food of the upper classes."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2000-09-28/restaurants/mama-s-got-a-brand-new-bag|title=Mama's Got a Brand-new Bag|first=Robb|last=Walsh|date=28 September 2000|website=Houstonpress.com|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref>

The term "Tex-Mex" also saw increasing usage in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' from the 1970s onward while the Tex-Mex label became a part of U.S. vernacular during the late 1960s, '70s, and '80s.<ref>Wheaton, D.R. & Carroll, G.R. (2017). Where did Tex-Mex Come From? The Divisive Emergence of a Social Category. ''Research in Organizational Behavior'', 37, 143 – 166.</ref> Adán Medrano, a chef who grew up in San Antonio, prefers to call the food "Texas Mexican," which he says was the indigenous cooking of South Texas long before the [[Rio Grande]] marked the border between Texas and Mexico.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/dining/texas-mexican-food.html|title=Don't Call It Tex-Mex|last=Wharton|first=Rachel|date=2019-04-22|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-04-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Influential chefs ==
* [[Felix Tijerina]] was a successful restaurateur and civic leader who helped pioneer Tex-Mex cuisine through his dishes.
:Born in 1905, Tijerina began working as a busboy at the Original Mexican Restaurant after moving to [[Houston]] in 1922.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Pilcher|first=Jeffrey|title=[[Planet Taco A Global History of Mexican Food]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press, Incorporated]]|year=2012|pages=135}}</ref> He rose through the ranks and opened his restaurant, the Mexican Inn, in 1929.<ref name=":4" />
:After serving in World War II, Tijerina opened a chain of restaurants named the Felix Mexican Restaurant.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|title=TSHA {{!}} Tijerina, Felix|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tijerina-felix|access-date=2020-10-12|website=www.tshaonline.org}}</ref>
:With mildly-spiced dishes and reasonable prices, Tijerina's restaurants catered more towards an [[Anglo]] audience.<ref name=":4" /> His ''spaghetti con chile'' special exemplifies how Tijerina americanized traditional Mexican food to appeal to the local Texans.<ref name=":4" />
:Tijerina used his influence and economic profit from the restaurant business to become active in politics.<ref name=":4" /> In 1935, Tijerina joined the local council of LULAC ([[League of United Latin American Citizens]]), and eventually became the national president of the organization, holding the position from 1956 to 1960.<ref name=":4" />
:Tijerina died in 1965, but his chain of Felix Mexican Restaurants continued to promote Tex-Mex cuisine until operations stopped in 2008.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Press|first=Houston|date=2008-03-21|title=Felix Mexican Restaurant Closes After 60 Years in Business|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/felix-mexican-restaurant-closes-after-60-years-in-business-6406894|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Houston Press}}</ref>
* [[Josef Centeno]] grew up in [[San Antonio]], becoming familiar with Tex-Mex cuisine through his [[Tejanos|Tejano]] family's cooking.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Roasted Cauliflower with Cilantro-Pecan Pesto Recipe|url=https://www.sunset.com/recipe/roasted-cauliflower-with-cilantro-pecan-pesto|access-date=2020-10-31|website=Sunset Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>
:In 2011, Centeno opened his first restaurant, Bäco Mercat which became an instant success due to the multicultural menu.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Snyder|first=Garrett|date=August 1, 2020|title=Josef Centeno's downtown restaurant Bäco Mercat has closed permanently|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> 
:Centeno subsequently opened Bar Amá,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bar Amá|url=http://www.bar-ama.com/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Bar Amá|language=en-US}}</ref> then Orsa & Winston<ref>{{Cite web|title=Orsa & Winston|url=http://www.orsaandwinston.com/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=Orsa & Winston|language=en-US}}</ref> which received a Michelin star in June 2019. 
:Centeno's most recent Tex-Mex restaurant, Amácita,<ref>{{Cite web|title=amá•cita|url=https://www.ama-cita.com/|access-date=2021-03-27|website=amá•cita|language=en-US}}</ref> opened in July 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-02|title=LA chef Josef Centeno has a Michelin star restaurant and a new cookbook, now he's on a mission to defend Tex-Mex cuisine|url=https://www.dailynews.com/la-chef-josef-centeno-has-a-michelin-star-restaurant-and-a-new-cookbook-now-hes-on-a-mission-to-defend-tex-mex-cuisine|access-date=2020-10-31|website=Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>
:Centeno has also written two cookbooks: Baco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles (2017)<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Centeno|first1=Josef|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cXaDgAAQBAJ|title=Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles|last2=Hallock|first2=Betty|date=2017-09-05|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=978-1-4521-5578-4|language=en}}</ref> and Amá: a modern Tex-Mex kitchen (2019).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hallock|first1=Betty|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JPCjDwAAQBAJ|title=Ama: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen|last2=Centeno|first2=Josef|date=2019-10-01|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=978-1-4521-5685-9|language=en}}</ref>
:Centeno has become a leading chef in Tex-Mex cuisine, receiving praise for both his restaurants and his cookbooks. While the New Yorker listed Centeno's Amá: a modern Tex-Mex kitchen as one of the best cookbooks in 2019, the LA Times named Orsa & Winston as the "Restaurant of the Year" in 2020.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Rosner|first=Helen|title=The Best Cookbooks of 2019|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2019-in-review/the-best-cookbooks-of-2019|access-date=2020-10-31|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":5" />

== Related cuisines ==
* [[Mexican cuisine]]
* [[New Mexican cuisine]]
* [[Southwestern cuisine]]
* [[American cuisine]]
* [[Texan cuisine]]

==See also==
{{American cuisine}}

* [[Tex-Mex cuisine in Houston]]
* [[List of Mexican restaurants]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Cookbook|Tex-Mex Cuisine}}
* "[https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tex-mex-foods Tex-Mex Foods]" entry in the ''[[Handbook of Texas]]''
* Robb Walsh's "Six-Part History of Tex-Mex" in the ''Houston Press'': 
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/pralines-and-pushcarts-6564138 Pralines and Pushcarts] (July 27, 2000)
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/combination-plates-6563946 Combination Plates] (August 31, 2000)
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/mamas-got-a-brand-new-bag-6563658 Mama's Got a Brand-new Bag] (September 28, 2000)
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/the-authenticity-myth-6587532 The Authenticity Myth] (October 26, 2000)
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/the-french-connection-6591134 The French Connection] (November 23, 2000)
** [https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/brave-nuevo-world Brave Nuevo World] (December 21, 2000)

{{Chicano and Mexican American topics}}
{{Cuisine of the United States}}
{{Mexican cuisine}}
{{Cuisine}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tex-Mex cuisine| ]]
[[Category:American cuisine]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Mexican cuisine]]
[[Category:Mexican-American cuisine]]
[[Category:Texan cuisine]]