WEBB CITY, Mo. — Last Saturday morning, Carmen Vargas quickly moved from one side of the compact El Rey kitchen to the other, placing freshly rolled corn tortillas on a small electric griddle, flipping others on the griddle that needed flipping and taking off the ones that were done.

By the end of the day, El Rey Mexican Restaurant, located at 402 S. Jefferson, served nearly 300 of the fresh, made-from-scratch tortillas.

Marcos Renteria owns El Rey with his wife, Carletta. The couple purchased the restaurant in December and have been featuring the home-style tortillas on weekends since taking ownership.

Renteria said the fresh tortillas reminded him of the homemade tortillas his mother used when preparing tacos when he was growing up in Mexico.

“Oh my gosh, they were just the best tacos ever,” he said.

In fact, it’s his mother’s cooking that sort of drives the way the Renterias do business. They want their customers to feel like they are part of a family. They want to serve the foods that Marcos Renteria grew up on and they want to prepare it with that same freshness and attention to detail that comes with good home-style cooking.

The made-from-scratch tortillas are just one way for the Renterias to achieve that goal.

“Fresh tortillas just gives you that great taste,” he said. “That flavor is 10 times better than anything else.”

There is really no secret to making fresh tortillas, Vargas said. A mix of corn masa, flour, water, a roller and a special press is pretty much all you need to turn out tortillas.

You also need a lot of extra time Ñ which is why, at least for now, Renteria is only featuring fresh tortillas on weekends.

El Rey had been operating at the Webb City location for several years when the Renterias bought the restaurant. Vargas was cooking at the restaurant when the Renterias took over. An accomplished cook who has extensive restaurant experience in both Mexico and the United States, Vargas did the majority of the cooking at El Rey. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, Renteria said he quickly offered Vargas a job and she accepted.

“I told her, ‘Now you are part of our family,’” he said.

El Rey is pretty much a family affair. In addition to Vargas working the kitchen, the Renterias’ daughter Ashley is the restaurant’s manager.

“We’re all in this together,” he said. “If the restaurant does well, we all do well.”

The El Rey menu is a combination of traditional and the not-so-traditional. On weekends, in addition to fresh tortillas, customers looking for authentic Mexican dishes can try traditional soups and stews such as menudo, birria or pozole. El Rey patrons can also sample the restaurant’s more familiar array of dishes such as a burritos, carne asada, tamales, enchiladas, tortas, tacos and a host of other Mexican staples.

Renteria said many of the dishes served at El Rey are based on his mother’s recipes. Others come from Vargas. For example, Renteria said he had been searching for a recipe for a Mexican style barbecue known as barbacoa when he mentioned the dish to Vargas.

“She told me that she knew how to make it, and I said, ‘Whoa, you know how to make barbacoa?’” he said.

Armed with information, Renteria ordered a special piece of kitchen equipment that will allow Vargas to prepare traditional barbacoa. He hopes to add the dish to the menu in March.

Caldo de Res (Mexican beef soup)

2 pounds beef shank, with bone

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

3 cups beef broth

4 cups water

2 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 potato, quartered (optional)

2 ears corn, husked and cut into thirds

2 chayotes, quartered (optional)

1 medium head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

1/4 cup sliced pickled jalape–os

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 limes, cut into wedges

4 radishes, quartered

Cut the meat from the beef bones into about 1/2 inch pieces, leaving some on the bones.

Heat a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the oil, tilting the pan to coat the bottom. Add the meat and bones, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until thoroughly browned.

Add 1 onion, and cook until onion is also lightly browned. Stir in the tomatoes and broth. The liquid should cover the bones by 1/2 inch. If not, add enough water to compensate. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour with the lid on loosely. If meat is not tender, continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so.

Pour in the water, and return to a simmer. Add the carrot and 1/4 cup cilantro, and cook for 10 minutes, then stir in the potato, corn and chayote. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Push the cabbage wedges into the soup, and cook for about 10 more minutes.

Ladle soup into large bowls, including meat vegetables and bones. Garnish with jalape–os, minced onion, and additional cilantro. Squeeze lime juice over all, and serve with radishes.

Source: allrecipes.com

 

Oaxacan tacos

2 pounds top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil

18 (6 inch) corn tortillas

1 medium onion, diced

4 fresh jalape–o peppers, seeded and chopped

4 limes, cut into wedges

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the steak strips, stirring constantly, until browned on the outside and cooked through, but not too firm, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Heat the oil in the skillet, and quickly fry each tortilla on both sides, until lightly browned and flexible. Set aside, and keep warm.

Place tortillas on a plate, and top with steak strips, onion, jalape–o, and cilantro to taste. Squeeze lime juice over. Wrap and eat.

Source: allrecipes.com

 

Want to go?

El Rey is opened from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. To go orders may be made by calling 417-673-3060.

We have included some Mexican style recipes from allrecipes.com that you can try at home.