zooguy96 said:

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I've saved up all summer (I'm a teacher and did extra work this summer) for a food trailer. I have enough $$ for the trailer and maybe some of the extras (generator, etc.). Still have to save up more $$ and do more research.

I love to try out/create new recipes, and have influences from a lot of cultures (I'm half filipino, and love asian/indian food among other types). I usually don't like to get many recipes online, because you have to try multiple recipes to get a good one. So, with that said, let me know recipes that people have liked which might work.

TIA.

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I'd advise you to keep it simple and create crossover items that use common ingredients. Think about a Papasitos style marinade that could work for Mexican or Asian. Something like your fish tacos can have multiple versions with traditional and something like "island fish tacos". Focus on fewer things and making them really good. Most of our revenue at Orderup comes from a handful of items. When we expand soon, we'll be dropping 70% of the menu for the next concept.

El Milagro tortillas out of Austin are the best corn tortillas I've found on a shelf if you're not going homemade. Not sure if you can find them in TN

Smoked meats are a highly underutilized taco filling. Brisket, chopped beef, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, turkey, etc can all be seasoned liked tacos, smoked, and enjoyed by a crowd. I've done these numerous times at my house and it's always a crowd pleaser. Homemade tortillas, homemade salsa, and smoked meats are are tremendous combination. Before venturing into other cuisines like Indian and Cajun you should try the smoker.

Why so complicated? I've had many a great crispy taco in the Magic Valley that was ground beef and a little finely chopped potato and spices……almost like picadillo, but no peppers. Why not do picadillo?

zooguy96 said:

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I've saved up all summer (I'm a teacher and did extra work this summer) for a food trailer. I have enough $$ for the trailer and maybe some of the extras (generator, etc.). Still have to save up more $$ and do more research.

I've had a lot of practice making your standard chicken, steak, and grilled fish tacos. I make them for teacher potlucks, etc, and everyone loves them (I have to spice them down cause it's East Tennessee - but transplants from the SW also love them). I'm always getting requests to make more. My tacos look a little different - I use white corn tortillas, seasoned rice, marinated meat (I created my own marinade recipe), queso fresco, and lime juice. I have homemade queso and homemade salsa as add-ons. So, it's more of a burrito-taco. I'm also trying to branch out and create some fusion taco ideas.

So far I've got:

Tandoori chicken (I have a very good recipe I use).
Shrimp (also have a good recipe).
Adobo (have a good recipe)

I'd also be interested in getting recipes for:

Boudin.
Cajun Shrimp
Some type of spicy/sweet asian beef.

Or, whatever ideas you've got. I'd also be interested in vegetarian varieties - been eating a ton more vegetables on the diet I'm currently on.

I love to try out/create new recipes, and have influences from a lot of cultures (I'm half filipino, and love asian/indian food among other types). I usually don't like to get many recipes online, because you have to try multiple recipes to get a good one. So, with that said, let me know recipes that people have liked which might work.

TIA.

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not to be a Debbie Downer but I think you're fixing to be in for a rude awaking if you plan on doing all that variety and specialties in a food truck. The amount of shopping, and prep you're going to be required to do will overwhelm you even before you start cooking to serve.

As a former food TRAILER owner here's my advice. Stick to a handful of recipes that are cheap, simple, easy to make/source and do those well. The more variety you have the more of a PITA it will become. Use toppings that you can cross source between your meats and wont have you required to make five different sauces for five different tacos.

Not to mention you're selling TACOS. People aren't gunna pay $10 a taco just so you can cover your cost and make a buck or two selling some type of fancy taco with expensive ingredients inside of it.

As part owner of a taco restaurant, you are going to be overwhelmed and spend way too much money.

Maybe 1 or 2 non traditional tacos can work, but people usually want basics. And basics are easy and cheap to make.

Also, Asian tacos aren't going to work with corn tortillas

Lots of good advice here. I have no idea what folks in East Tennessee like and don't like when it comes to tacos but the bottom line is you have to keep it simple. To control expenses and for consistency of the food you are serving. Too many options results in too long of prep time and wasted food. $$$

Run small scale "limited time" offerings to test the waters on new menu items. If it doesn't sell, you aren't wasting a ton on ingredients. If it sells really well, you continue running it.

I have no idea if there are any taco trucks in East Tennessee but I would go find some and survey their menus. Ask them what are their top sellers and taste their top sellers. See if they are busy during peak taco truck hours - this will let you know if it's a credible source. Check pricing while you're there so you can see where you stand with the market.

Don't overdue the fillings. For the meats, go for high margin items. Chicken, pork, egg, potato based tacos are going to bring you much higher margins than beef fajita will. Beef fajita will be your top seller at every taco truck but you can offset the higher cost of beef with other high margin tacos or by bumping up your price. Whatever you see fit.

Charge extra for add-ons such as shredded cheese, guac, queso fresco, beans, rice, etc. but be sure whatever add-ons you offer, will sell. Cheese and avocado are expensive so don't want to throw away. Cilantro, onions, salsa will need to be factored in to the price of the taco as these should be included unless the customer doesn't want it. Not all add-ons should be equally priced. Shoot for 50-70% margin on each add-on. Don't want to give them away but also don't want someone to never come back because shredded cheese on two tacos costs more than a bag at the grocery store.

Create portion sizes that fit your taco price when serving meat on the tortilla. If you have employees or even yourself get heavy handed too often, you lose on every taco you make. For standard sized corn and small flour tortillas, 2-3oz of meat is plenty. You want your customer buying multiple $2-3 tacos versus one giant $4 taco. (Made up prices but you get the point) More tacos, more possible add-ons = $$$

Supplies and smallwares are an added expense that sometimes gets forgotten about. Kitchen utensils and holding containers are like anything else - buy expensive, quality stuff if you want it to last. For supplies that the customer takes with them, (foil sheets, paper trays, to-go boxes, bags, napkins, salsa cups/lids, etc.) factor that in to your price as well.

Last thing I have is food safety. Take the ServSafe manager course to ensure you are up to speed on all things food safety. This is something that can ruin your business in a heartbeat if someone gets sick and the last place they ate at was Zooguy's taco truck. Keep dates on items that are kept in the refrigerator. If something is questionable, throw it out. A few dollars lost is much better than a bad experience for a customer and possible illness.

I'll close by saying I've never operated a taco truck so I may get some feedback from taco truck owners here. However, I've eaten at probably ~20-25 different ones over the last five years. I've worked in front/back of the house of kitchens and managed on a multi-unit level a chain of QSR Mexican restaurants. I don't mind discussing restaurant operations with you but like I said, I've never operated a food truck. Hope this helps!

You have gotten a lot of good ideas here and some good advice. I have never operated a Taco Truck or stand, but I have eaten at probably thousands from Michigan to Guatemala. One thing I will point out, I don't think I have ever eaten a true Mexican one that advertises/offers "Fajita" tacos, reason why is that Fajitas or Arracheras (what they call them in Mex) are too expensive to use for tacos, as most folks seeking a taco are also looking for economy.

In South Texas and Mexico most tacos will be "bistek" which encompass a wide variety of cuts of meat. Many use Agujas or Agujas Nortenas, I have no idea what that cut of meat is in the US, but if you have access to a Mexican Meat market they can tell you. They are usually about 50% the cost of the Fajita type cuts. We grill them a lot in South Texas as a cheaper and easier alternative and we thin slice or chop them up for tacos, they eat great.

I would also recommend serving a cup of bean soup or charro beans with your taco orders, many taco stands and trucks do this. It is a good cheap filler, just look on youtube for "frijoles a la charra" or "charro beans". As Fido98 alludes/mentions, tortillas are the key to a good taco. I strongly suggest you search out some "taquero" style tortillas, they are gonna be smaller than regular and that is why in Mex and South Texas orders are served with 5 or 6 tacos. It also gives folks the chance to order a variety of tacos in an order. I think someone mentioned "Al Pastor" on here or "Trompo" you can make that style of pork a variety of ways and it is specially intended to use cheap cuts of pork in the process. There are ways to make it in a crockpot, oven, etc. the seasoning and the marinade is the important part and you can have that pre-cooked chopped up and then just heat it on the flat top.

There are a myriad of things that you can do, but the prep to make it easy to serve is the key.