Fajitas are a prominent Tex-Mex dish, consisting of grilled meat, typically served with sautéed peppers and onions, and wrapped in a warm flour or corn tortilla. This customizable meal, built at the table with various condiments, has achieved immense popularity, transitioning from a regional specialty to a staple on menus globally. The dish has evolved significantly, but its success is rooted in its simple, flavorful origins and interactive presentation. Tracing the history of the fajita reveals a story of resourcefulness along the Texas-Mexico border.
The Original Setting and Time
The creation of fajitas can be traced to the ranchlands of South and West Texas, specifically the Rio Grande Valley, during the 1930s and 1940s. Mexican ranch workers, or vaqueros, were frequently paid in less desirable cuts of beef during cattle roundups and slaughtering operations. Among the portions they received was the skirt steak, a diaphragm muscle considered a tough scrap cut.
The workers developed a method to make this tough meat palatable by marinating it, grilling it quickly over an open fire or mesquite coals, and slicing it into thin strips. These grilled strips were wrapped in tortillas, creating a simple, hearty meal. The name fajita is a Tex-Mex diminutive term derived from the Spanish word faja, which means “strip” or “belt,” referring directly to the long, thin shape of the skirt steak cut.
The Evolution from Ranch Staple to Restaurant Star
For several decades, the fajita remained an obscure, regional food, primarily consumed by vaqueros and ranch families. This changed when Tex-Mex restaurants began to recognize its commercial potential, starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sonny Falcon, an Austin meat market manager, is often credited with commercially introducing the dish, selling fajita tacos at a festival in 1969.
Around the same time, Ninfa Laurenzo of The Original Ninfa’s in Houston began serving the grilled skirt steak, initially marketing it as tacos al carbon. The dish’s explosion into the mainstream came with the popularization of the signature “sizzling platter” presentation. This theatrical method, where the meat and vegetables are brought to the table loudly sizzling on a hot cast-iron skillet, added visual and aromatic appeal.
The dish’s restaurant debut transformed it from its humble beginnings, as chefs started using other meats like chicken and shrimp, and incorporating a variety of toppings. By the 1980s, the fajita craze was in full swing, elevating skirt steak from a low-cost cut to a premium item and cementing the dish’s place in Tex-Mex cuisine.