Taco bell style chalupa

How do you make a replica of taco bell chalupa.Any ideas?? I sometimes find that chicos call it tostada shells sometimes gordita shells.I am not sure if they are all the same.I want to know how chalupa shell is made of exactly.

Blue, welcome to Roadfood! You made the same post in the recipe section. Not sure where this fits best but we maybe don't need it both places.
Joe

That's easy.Just buy Old El Paso or even Taco Bell or other brand of tostado sheels.They are flat and already fried.By the way,they are also called chalupas.Anyways,you can warm the shells in the oven for about 5 or 10 minutes,then remove and add your hot refried beans.Use what ever brand is available in your area.You can use also La Sierra's refried beans with chorizo sausage too.Put that on the shell,add lettuce,tomato cheese,etc. You can cook up some ground meat and add that too.It's not hard to do at all.

Gorditas here in Texas are something different.It's usually fresh corn masa fromed into a ball,then patted into a round shape.It is grilled and when cooked,split open and filled with meat,beans or whatever you want .

A chalupa should be a boat shaped thick corn tortilla kinda thing. Not sure how Taco Bell makes them.
Joe

Looks like TB chalupa shells are like a toco shell but way thicker, and not corn. Maybe a peta, flatbread kinda thing.

quote:

Originally posted by bluewrox

How do you make a replica of taco bell chalupa.Any ideas?? I sometimes find that chicos call it tostada shells sometimes gordita shells.I am not sure if they are all the same.I want to know how chalupa shell is made of exactly.

Typical recipe for Americanized Chalupa
Vegetable oil
12 flatbreads "not tortillas"
6 cups of refried beans
Half a pound of grated cheddar cheese
1 large tomato, chopped
3 cups of lettuce, shredded
In a small skillet, heat about half an inch of vegetable oil. Test the oil for the correct temperature by putting in a small piece of tortilla. If the oil immediately bubbles frantically and the quickly becomes crips then the oil is at the right heat. This is important because a low temperature will result in the tortilla boiling, rather than frying, and will produce an unpleasantly fatty and soggy chalupa shell.

Fry the tortilla completely flat in the fat, on both sides, until very crisp. Drain and keep the fried tortilla warm on a newspaper covered cookie sheet in a warm oven. Spread a layer of refried beans on each fried tortilla, about a quarter of an inch thick. Top with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese and about table spoon of chopped onion.

Place the assembled chalupas on a cookie sheet and brown under broiler until the cheese melts and begins to bubble. Watch them carefully at this stage, as they can burn quite quickly. Top with shredded lettuce and tomato, and serve immediately.

Thanks Sizz. That sounds right to me.

Now I wonder how they make a chalupa shell in Mexico?
Joe

Ok, I have had a Mexican chalupa, daa. It WAS a fried corn tortilla shaped kind of like a boat, but not like a taco shell. Mine had pork and onoins in it. Hmmm, where did I have that? It was good!
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by PapaJoe8

Thanks Sizz. That sounds right to me.

Now I wonder how they make a chalupa shell in Mexico?
Joe

chalupa shell in Mexico is a deep-fried corn tortilla .so you ask why aint it called a taco?? ......... cuz it's sort-of cross between a burrito and a taco.........

Here is a copycat reciepe from reciepe zaar. A chalupa in Mexico is much like a tostada except shaped like a shallow bowl and filled with meat and then topped with lettuce, onions and tomatoes.

http://www.recipezaar.com/81138

joe

I can sure see the reason for my confusion about all this;
Americanized chalupa, Mexican chalupa, tostadas called chalupas at many restaurants. Once again the Roadfood folks get to the bottom of things.

The Zaar recipe sounds pretty much like what Taco Bell does. Their shell looks like a taco shell and is some kind of bread.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by PapaJoe8

I can sure see the reason for my confusion about all this;
Americanized chalupa, Mexican chalupa, tostadas called chalupas at many restaurants. Once again the Roadfood folks get to the bottom of things.

The Zaar recipe sounds pretty much like what Taco Bell does. Their shell looks like a taco shell and is some kind of bread.
Joe

I guess restaurants work with what they have, and then call it something familiar. The Taco Bell chalupa and gordita are good examples. The Taco Cabana pupusa is another, it is no where near the real thing.
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joe