The Enchirito is the trademarked name of a menu item of the Taco Bell Tex-Mex food chain that is similar to an enchilada.

History

The introduction of the Enchirito to the Taco Bell menu is believed to have occurred sometime in the early sixties. In 1988, Taco Bell launched their value menu initiative, introducing under-a-dollar versions of many of their popular items.

Composition

The Enchirito was originally composed of a soft round yellow corn masa tortilla, filled with ground beef taco meat, beans, and onions, rolled into a tube shape. It was then placed in a foil-coated paper boat, and topped with what Taco Bell refers to as "red sauce," grated cheddar cheese, and three black olive slices. The proper utensil to use when consuming an Enchirito is the spork. Alternatively, it can be topped with "green sauce" which is a spicy sauce made from green chilies and onions. Burritos can also have the "green sauce" in them. They were originally called "Green Burritos." The Green nomenclature has been removed from the current menu.

Name

The coining of the name Enchirito (a portmanteau of the words enchilada and burrito) for this item was a bit of a peculiar action by Taco Bell. It was the only item on the menu, at the time, to not use the common Mexican food nomenclature for that item. Whereas a burrito is typically a flour tortilla filled with beans, and an enchilada is typically a corn tortilla filled with meat and smothered in chile sauce, the name Enchirito communicates the combination of these elements. On the other hand, it appears the unusual name was not to help Americans unfamiliar with the Spanish names of the food items; indeed, for many years Taco Bell menu boards featured a system of phonetic pronunciation guides known as phomenunetics next to each item.

Reappearance

When the Enchirito reappeared without much fanfare in the Taco Bell lineup early in the 21st century, it had changed. The serving container had become a coated pressed-paper oblong bowl when dining in, or a black plastic bowl with a clear plastic lid if ordering from the drive-thru. Most significantly, the character of the dish was altered by changing the yellow corn masa tortilla to a white wheat flour tortilla. The sliced olives were omitted. The chicken Enchirito and the steak Enchirito, which respectively substitute chicken or steak for the ground beef, are also regular menu items.

The change from the yellow to white tortilla may explain both the disappearance and reappearance of this Taco Bell classic. It is postulated by Enchirito buffs that the removal from the menu may have been one of corporate cost savings. Some Taco Bell managers familiar with the original Enchirito suggested that it was unwieldly to make, and often caused burns due to the tendency for the high-temperature red sauce to spill on the employees during preparation. The yellow dyed and pressed tortilla is more expensive than the white stretched tortilla. More likely is the fact that only the Enchirito used the yellow corn masa tortilla while the white wheat flour tortilla is common to several other menu items. This simplifies the inventory of each restaurant.

References

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