When you’re planning your wedding food and want something that looks good, is oh so tasty, but that’s different and less costly than a full dinner think about having a fabulous wedding taco bar with all the trimmings. You can make it as simple as you wish or as elaborate as you can imagine all within your budget even if it’s tight so “Go for it.” It’s so easy that you can even put it together yourself, have fun doing it, and save the cost of a caterer. That leaves you with some extra money in the budget to use elsewhere — like your honeymoon!!! There are a few things you need to do before the preparation of the food so keep reading to see what you need to do and how much fun and how tasty you can make your wedding taco bar.
Keeping the Food the Proper Temperature
You’ll need to rent enough chaffing dishes as you will need them for both hot and cold food. Rectangular sterno chaffing dishes can be used for the food you need to keep warm and usually these dishes require two sterno units. For things like the vegetables and salsa you’ll need to put ice in the water pan and, of course, no sterno units. Start the sterno at least 20 minutes before placing the food in the chaffing dish to make sure it is very hot. Note that you can find what you need at an event rental store or you can purchase them at a restaurant supply store but it’ll save you money if you’re able to rent them.
Your Plates and Flatware Ready for Wedding Guests
Be sure to have purchased or rented enough of the plates and flatware you’ll need to have for your guests. Now to set up the table in a way that both appealing and in a convenient way for the guest to build their tacos. Start the taco bar line with plates, napkins and flatware arranged in an attractive way. Next, have corn and flour tortillas in baskets for the guests to select their favorite. Also, be sure to give them a choice of hard or soft taco shells. The next thing on the table is your meat, you should have several choices for people, options can be ground or chopped turkey, chicken, ground beef or shredded pork, and even fish; any and all of these make great tacos — see the video at the bottom to see a younger Rachel Ray creating 2 different meat fillings. It’s also a good idea is to have some hot chaffing dishes of refried beans, black beans, and pinto beans for guests who like beans and for the vegetarians who would be attending you wedding reception. I know they will really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Delish Toppings to Start Your Wedding Tacos
Next, put a variety of vegetables in line, although some people put the cheese next so that the heat from the meat and beans welts the cheese. This should include tomatoes, scallions, finely chopped onions, lettuce and/or cabbage shredded. Finely chopped olives is a nice touch and all of this can easily be done a day or two before the wedding. For a special touch, you could have some grilled vegetables including squash, onions, and peppers. Now comes you cheeses which you can now buy already shredded in at least 16 oz. packages. Serve them from large bowls with tongs so you guests can easily pick up the cheese. Salsa, sour cream, and guacamole are, of course, a must and see if you can get half pans so they may be served side by side. Be sure to have salsa of different spiciness, but be sure you label them each for their degree of spiciness. Be sure to have side dishes to go along with your tacos. Refried beans and Spanish rice are quite traditional. Include a bowl of tortilla chip which are especially good warmed. Another nice addition is to have a green salad with a choice of dressings instead of, or along with, the beans and rice. Another idea is to have a nacho fountain which is rather like a chocolate fountain.
Sangria Toast to the Newlyweds
Have nacho cheese flowing from it and serve chips, vegetables, pretzels, bread and things like that with it; this also is a nice treat for the vegetarians attending. The drinks you serve should be along the same Mexican theme such as sangria, tropical fruit smoothies, and mexican beer or margaritas if your your budget allows. Be sure to have a lot of water handy for drinking as this kind of food makes people especially thirsty and can be too spicy for some people.
There are some things you should do to ensure you have a successful wedding bar
First, keep the dishes always look bountiful. In addition to having napkins, have a basket or bowl of handy wipes on the table. Be sure and label the meats and other food so your guests will know what is in each chaffing dish. The table linens for the buffet table should match your theme or be something compatible with a great taco bar. I hope this is helpful in your planning a wedding taco bar, I know it made me hungry for a taco and the trimmings as I wrote about it. If you can add anything to this about what to serve or what you might have seen at a wedding taco bar reception please share it by making a comment below and thanks a million. Here is a video of Rachel Ray making 2 taco fillings that could be used for a wedding taco bar.