Eating tacos is often a messy experience, with the crispy taco shell breaking almost immediately after your first bite and all the ingredients falling on your plate. It’s just fortunate that tacos are so delicious. If they’re just so-so, no one would want to attempt eating this delicacy because of the mess it can make.
But taco experts have found a way to eat one without making a mess. So, if you want to gorge on this Mexican dish at your favorite taco fast food franchise, keep in mind the following tips.
Use lettuce as lining
If you’re going to eat a taco that has not been prepared yet, you should first line the inner side with lettuce. The lettuce will block any of the sauce you’ll put into the taco from seeping through the shell.
After you’ve lined the shell with lettuce, follow it with rice, beans or cheese. These other ingredients will keep the hot meat from making your lettuce soggy and therefore prevent the sauce from seeping through the shell.
Don’t fill up the shell
A lot of people overdo it when it comes to filling up the taco shell with ingredients, and no one can blame them because they’re just so delicious that it’s almost impossible to resist putting as many ingredients as you can.
But if you’re wearing something expensive or you just don’t want half of your food to fall on the pavement, then don’t fill your taco shell up. Just add enough to make it tasty. One way to ensure that you’re not filling up your taco shell is to see if the ingredient you put in is as high as your pinky (line up your pinky beside the taco shell and use it as your measuring tool). If it’s as high as your pinky, add the next ingredient and the next until you’ve put all the ingredients you need.
Always use a plate
When you’re eating a taco, it’s inevitable that you’ll need a plate for it. No matter how confident you are about your skills in eating tacos, you can never eat one without spilling some of the ingredients on yourself or the floor.
To avoid any spillage on the floor or your shirt, use a plate and hold the taco over it instead of bringing it close to your mouth because if it spills, it will spill over the plate and not on yourself.
Never let your taco lie on the sides
When you’re going to sip your soda you need to put down the taco first because you really can’t balance a taco shell and a drink without spilling something from your already bitten taco shell.
When you do this, don’t let your taco lie down on its side. Otherwise, the filling will spill over and then you’ll have to put them all back in with your fingers or with your fork, which will be messy.
Instead, prop up your taco by inserting a fork in between and balancing it on the plate. This way your ingredients won’t spill and you’ll be able to add more ingredients more properly by putting them on top of the fork and slowly removing the latter when you’re ready to eat the taco again.
These are just some of the tips in eating a taco shell without making a huge mess. Follow them and chances are you won’t stain your shirt or mess up the floor, which will be a huge success to anyone eating a taco.
