I don't remember, but my mom said that I cried when they blew up Jack. I was about three years old. Harrisment, you completely read my mind. I always order JITB tacos with no sauce. Not only does the sauce cool down the taco too quickly (let's face it, you have about three minutes from piping hot to room temperature, tops), but they simply taste better with no sauce.
1 lb ground beef 1/2 cup refried beans 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons chili powder 1/4 cup mild taco sauce (Ortega or Pico Pica brand or any smooth taco sauce, no chunks of tomato and stuff) 12 soft corn tortillas (try to use thin ones and warm them up before using so they don't crack when you fold them) 3 cups cooking oil, crisco oil will give the tacos a taste closest to the original 6 slices American cheese 1 head finely chopped lettuce Slowly brown the ground beef over low heat, using a wooden spoon to chop and smoosh the meat, keep it very fine and smooth. When the beef is brown, drain the fat. Add the refried beans and use the wooden spoon to smash the whole beans into the mixture, creating a smooth texture. Add the salt, chili powder, and 2 tablespoons of the taco sauce to the mixture; remove from the heat. In another skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil until hot (test with a small piece of tortilla, it should bubble when dropped into the oil). Spread 1/12 of the beef mixture on the center of each corn tortilla. Fold the tortillas over and press so that the beef filling acts as an adhesive and holds the sides together. Drop each taco into the pan of hot oil and fry on both sides until crispy. When cooked, remove the tacos from the oil and place them on a rack or some paper towels until they are a little cooler. Pry open each taco slightly; add 1/2 slice of American cheese (cut diagonally) and some lettuce; top with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the remaining taco sauce. SAN DIEGO - The Mayans might have invented the taco, but Jack made it a cult hero. With its crispy shell, special blend of beef and spice, half slice of American cheese, and zippy taco sauce -- there's nothing in the world like a Jack in the Box® taco. It's one of a kind, made from a recipe that hasn't changed since the taco first appeared on the Jack in the Box menu in the mid-1950s. Ask anyone who grew up with Jack in the Box and they'll tell tales of late-night trips to the Box to satisfy their taco craving. Much like White Castle's "Slyder" in the East, Jack's tacos have developed a fanatical following and a reputation for curing whatever ails you, especially after an overindulgent night on the town. "Our tacos have a cult following that even we can't explain," said Janet McCulley, product manager for Jack in the Box. "They're a craved item with phenomenal customer loyalty, especially among our target audience of men age 18-34." The Tao of the Taco With approximately 10 percent of Jack in the Box food sales coming from tacos, the taco trade is big business for the burger baron. So what makes Jack in the Box tacos so irresistible? The secret isn't in the sauce, it's in the special manufacturing process developed by the chain. "Making a Jack in the Box taco is 50 percent art and 50 percent science," said Alan Cline, director of purchasing at Jack in the Box. "All the components have to be just right, from the texture of the tortillas to the seasoning of the meat. If something¹s not right, it's not a Jack in the Box taco and we won't sell it." Until 1982, Jack in the Box tacos were produced in manufacturing facilities at the chain's corporate headquarters in San Diego. After closing the taco assembly line in San Diego, the company moved the operation to Specialty Brands food processing in Lampassas, Texas. Then, with demand continuing to rise - to the tune of 600 tacos being purchased each minute - the chain enlisted an additional manufacturing facility, Winchester Food Processing in Hutchinson, Kan., in 1998. Both plants follow Jack's time-tested taco-making process, beginning with tortillas made from fresh, stone-ground corn. "Many fast-food chains make their shells from a mix, but we ship in truckloads of corn each week, steam cook the corn and then stone-grind it into masa," said Cline. "The masa is then pressed into sheets from which the tortillas are cut and sent into a 700-degree oven." Jack in the Box grinds its own taco beef at both plants before cooking it in a special spice mixture. The fully cooked meat is then deposited onto fresh-from-the-oven tortillas by a machine that fills 60 tacos a minute, an improvement over the old days when the meat filling was applied by hand with teaspoons. Once filled with meat, the tortillas are folded and sent down the line where employees inspect the tacos for tears and holes, then hand-pack the tacos in trays. The trays of tacos are shrink-wrapped, flash-frozen and sent off to Jack in the Box distribution centers for delivery to restaurants. Placing the meat in the tortilla in the factory not only contributes to the taco's unique flavor and appearance, it also increases speed of service in the restaurants. "Stuffing the taco before it goes to the restaurant streamlines the taco-making process significantly," said Cline. "All employees have to do is drop the taco in the deep fryer, top it with cheese, lettuce and taco sauce, and serve it to the guest." Touting the Taco Since 1995, the chain has offered two regular tacos for 99 cents, a very popular promotion. "Jack in the Box tacos are seen as a high value," said McCulley. "Two tacos is a lot of food for 99 cents." The popularity of Jack¹s tacos is so great that minimal advertising is required for the product. In 1997, the chain aired a commercial titled "Auction," which featured usually staid blue bloods giddily sharing their favorite taco memories. But for the most part, the chain relies on in-restaurant signs to promote its tacos. So, thanks to Jack's ever-growing taco tribe, the Jack in the Box taco has marked its place in fast-food history. But unlike the Mayans, who went the way of the Yugo, Jack's tacos are here to stay. Jack in the Box Inc. (NYSE: JBX) operates and franchises more than 1,600 quick-serve restaurants and has systemwide sales of $2 billion. With headquarters in San Diego, the company has approximately 42,000 employees and operates in 15 states.
best JITB commercial ever- <embed src="http://www.vsocial.com/ups/7b99b143f1f63a84f9bcc87b794d02da" height="400" width="410"></embed> The true question is how many of these tacos can you eat in one sitting? I've put down a dozen before once.
You'd think Jack in the box tacos are cheap but check this out...... My experience with Jack in the box came,During My Junior year at Saint Mary's University,in San Antonio.The drive-thru did not work,so we had to go inside the place..turns out that a customer wanted to return his tacos,the guy even had his receipt and all.The tacos were 2 weeks old!!Heated words were exchanged between the manager and customer.The manager wanted him out so fast,that he gave him his money back along with 2 new tacos.My girlfriend said,"well at least he didnt have gun" Ever since then,I've stuck with What-a-burger as my Fast food provider! only in San Antonio
I worked there, it's actually 55 seconds frying time. They would sit there forever though, up to 2 hours until they threw them out. And nobody ever washed their hands. And it was all frozen food. That is all.
Have not had them for at least 5 years. Read the thread and just finished 4 of them. My stomach already hurts
I've always assumed they were pre-packaged and microwaved all together, that's why the shell is so soft and greasy, and probably why there's no cheese in them (I think?). At least at Taco Bell you see their gnarled boogerhands putting the meat in the taco, so you know it's fresh-like. But I've lived in the Midwest for four years I miss JitB tacos sooo much. Them and Ultimate Cheeseburgers and the spicy curly fries and Shipley Donuts and 2-in-the-morning Gumbo from Frenchy's at Wheeler and Scott in the middle of Tropical Storm Allison (actual quote: "ain't no rain-storm gonna keep a brotha from gettin' his eat on.")
There's a fast food chain in the West Coast, Del Taco, that has Taco Tuesday nites. 3 tacos for 99 cents! The tacos are more authentic (for fast food) in that they don't deep fry or add american cheese slices in it.
Come on, you can't just scarf down four JITB tacos after a five year hiatus. The human body simply wasn't designed to handle that much grease and salt at one time. You have to start with two tacos. After your body has had a chance to adjust to the first two tacos, then you eat two more a couple days later. Then, and only then, will you be able to handle four tacos in one sitting...
Nice.........I think I polished off 9 in one sitting before. Not for the faint of heart. Me and a buddy wanted to see how many we could eat.
It's a fast food place. It's possible that some of us may have ingested a booger from some pissed-off minimum wage employee seeking some form of revenge, because his hopes and dreams of being shift leader were shattered when he found out that his pregnant girl-friend of 15 had an affair with the midnight shift acting manager with the comb-over. It happens all the time.
I hear a lot of gross **** happens at fast food restaurants. Most people spend on one order what the employees make in one hour. The majority are high school kids who don't give a ****. While I wouldn't go as far to say they stick the tacos in their underwear (remember Road Trip), I wouldn't be shocked to hear the tacos are dropped on the floor, the employees didn't wash their hands, etc. etc.
No, they are soggy because they can sit there for up to an hour if no one orders them. The key is to order them with "extra lettuce" and then you will get them immediately out of the fryer and they are not soft and greasy. Also they do have cheese in them, along with a beef, vegetable protein, lettuce and hot sauce. I cannot get them in Chicago but I do miss them. I remember being a teenager and putting down ten of those bad boys for $5. If nothing else my dad would give me $5 to get the hell out of his hair, and if that didn't work I would tell him I would get him a couple Jumbo Jacks and curly fries if he sprung for my tacos.
