Ethan saying that he's done when he in fact still has 3+ mins of assembling to do gives off big mom energy saying dinner is ready when it is definitely not, and now I'm standing around in the kitchen waiting lol
Just want to say I appreciate the no/low-cut format. As someone who's new to this and trying to learn, videos with a lot of cuts in them can leave me confused about steps I should be taking. But being able to see everything from start to finish really helps.
You need Chef John from Food Wishes in your life. All the other recommendations here are good channels, but in my opinion they're all a bit fancier than a home cook really wants to be. Chef John is the OG food UA-camr. I also recommend Adam Ragusea.
@@choronos Adam is great. I like more his learning videos and pods lately than his cooking. As a chef myself I find him abit hard headed regarding certain stuff for my taste but like I said, his educational ones are top notch
I love the fact that Ethan goes 'oh i gotta rush' and proceeds to calmly cut the chicken i really dig that even if he's in a hurry he isn't doing anything dangerously fast, at the end of the day all homecooks end up cooking fast but not cooking for a world record, and i like that realistic touch, feels like some real home cook mood
As a viewer, I definitely appreciate that his speed in the kitchen feels close to my own. It makes these videos more relatable. However, I 100% believe he could move a lot faster if he tried. I liken it to when I used the keyboard as a teenager. I'd been programming since I was 8. My friend comes over and asks, "is that as fast as you type'? And I just looked up surprised and said, "I don't know. I've never tried going faster." Turns out, all that practice made me REALLY fast once I tried.
@@thewiirocks Definetively! Of course there are a lot of times while i'm cooking that I do it very fast too I always try to maximize and optimize the time i spend in the kitchen, specially if i have a main protein and a side dish to prepare. As well as washing stuff right after using it while food is cooking at the same. My comment was mostly about other vids where they rush way too much, or at least in an unrealistic way, making a mess in the kitchen and even being careless enough that the final dish ends up a bit worse just cus gotta go fast.
youre wrong, there was a time where i competed with my friend for the world record grilled cheese speedrun, got it down to 2:29. i could probably improve it since i have a stronger stove now
I like the removal of ratings and the decreased emphasis on comparison. I think we all know what we are getting when we order Taco Bell, and what makes these videos interesting is how you hack available ingredients to make something similar but better. I also appreciate that due to the time constraints, you didn't do what a lot of UA-cam food creators do and go overboard, making your own shells, overly complicated dressings, etc. Much more easily replicated for home cooks.
I love the consistent acknowledgement of that "fast food vibe" that you keep referring to. There is something "cozy" about the taste of fast food that's just a bit different to homecook cozy. It's a delicate line to straddle between speed and making something that captures that taste.
@@spike_021 Yup. That channel (and others) basically don't even recreate the item faithfully. The flavor profile, textures, condiments are different enough as to be something entirely different.
Idk you can capture fast food taste. I look at the ingredients list on premade food and there are a lot of chemicals used that home cooks don't have access to or know how to use (or want to). I imagine there's something like that going on with fast food places that really want specific and consistent flavor profiles.
@@cookiesandbussies1577 Taco bell is pretty straightforward in their ingredients. They're not the highest quality, but it shouldn't be anything difficult to replicate with the right tools. The biggest difference is going to be in the meat flavor as Taco Bell uses a meat product that's heavily blended with carbohydrate filler. Though I saw a suggestion that you could blend steel cut oats to get a similar result.
This is probably my favorite show idea out of any cooking based content from any channel. You take it seriously and put it in the realm of reality instead of ideal conditions
I disagree in that Joshua Weiss man frequently goes over the top with hard to source Ingredients, much longer times to create the items, and the use of kitchen equipment that the average joe doesn’t have. I do appreciate the effort Joshua puts into his cooking and videos and enjoy watching them upon occasion. It’s just not something that’s pragmatic for most I feel
@@pepeshiraz655 just because the idea is the same but different execution u cant say he steals the idea. Thats like saying anything thats created after the first one is just plagiarism, that doesnt make sense and you know it.
Ethan I have been following you for a long time and I just want to say I am so glad you have found a large audience that can appreciate what you bring to the UA-cam cooking community. Your videos are very realistic, down to earth, and informative. Glad you are able to do what you love!
@@EthanChlebowski and if there are leftovers, a fight might break out in front of the fridge, and the glass dish may drop to the floor, and no one gets the leftovers (unless taking the dare from a brother to eat it anyways) HA! Good times.
A lot of people have made suggestions for the outer tortilla, but one that is widely available and has the right thickness, texture, and flavor to match the Gordita is Trader Joe’s “Middle Eastern Flatbread”. It is sold in the bread section by the tortillas and pita. I find store-bought pita has a drier, chalky chalky texture, an naan is too thick and is more like pizza-crust. The Middle Eastern flatbread ticks all the Gordita boxes of tortilla-like chew but slightly fluffy, thicker than a regular flour tortilla but not hugely so, and the same taste.
Love these videos! As a senior on a very tight budget, I can't afford eating out any more. Your make at home recipes really fill that fast food experience that I sometimes miss. Thank you. (The crunch wrap recipe is spot on in my opinion. Can't wait to try this one.)
I followed Ethan´s flour tortilla recipe and make tortillas at least once per week. They taste so much better that store-bought tortillas. This channel is pure cooking inspiration, keep it up!
I really like to use this shell combo for tacos even with plain soft corn tortillas. You get the structural integrity of the flour and flavour of the corn.
Great video as always. I really like that you have a progress bar for the sponsor section of the video. It's little details like this that makes your channel one of the best cooking channels on the platform.
18:10 As I understand it cleaning hot pans is best done with hot water - I've heard of pans warping due to sudden thermal changes, especially cheaper and/or less massive ones. It definitely makes things so much easier though.
Pans take several minutes to fully cool down typically. I'd think warping is a big issue if you go straight from the burner to cold water. Easy solution is to wait a minute or two (while prepping other things) before cleaning.
Also after emptied the pan you could just put some water in it and give a short boil and then let it cool down and clean it. That would be the best of both worlds.
One trick I've done to get ground beef closer to that taco bell texture is to pulse the finished beef in a blender. Not puree it, but just get the chunks broken down into finer, even grains of beef
Would using something like a potato masher work to get it finer? I’ve always just used the spatula but I feel like I see more people on UA-cam using a potato masher for ground beef now
“… I don’t even know what they call this thing… for us that was like a thicker flour tortilla instead of a pita bread.” LOL it’s a Gordita… it’s in the name! Thanks for putting this video together keep it up 🇲🇽🌮🇺🇸
I feel like he could do with 5 minutes of prep before he does these videos. Google what the name of the item means. Google exactly what sauce they use etc. Not hard.
It's really not an actual gordita. Gorditas are made with masa, this stuff uses a piece of flatbread. Go to any Taco Bell and ask them what the bread on a gordita crunch is called and they'll tell you that.
gotta say I loved the vibe of this video. felt way more realistic than any other youtuber whose done a video like this. appreciate the honesty saying sometimes a good taco still doesn’t hit the same way a taco bell taco does.
I might have to do some DIY Taco Bell now... When I worked there I would make a "cheesy potato crunch" basically a Cheezy Gordita but a DLT shell filled with potato, nacho cheese and onions. Only thing I miss about the job since ordering is like 10 bucks.
I encourage you to honestly! I made the crunchwrap from an earlier video and while i had issues finding a big enough tortilla, it was still very good and as always making something good yourself feels rewarding.
The best part of home-cooking “fast food” is that you can cook a big batch and use the leftovers to eat the same thing sometime in the future with it only taking a few minutes, rather than the better part of a half hour.
Really cool to see this series coming back! I appreciate you giving the heads up on what sort of marinade/sauces to use for the chicken variant, plus that tip on washing the stainless steel pan when heated. Thank you so much, Ethan! When it comes to Taco Bell, my favourite to get there is a chicken chalupa. I'm actually curious how one can make the fried tortilla at home AND if that is one worthy of the "homemade vs. fast food" race treatment.
I've got to be honest. Since I retired 5 years ago and have the time? I make EVERYTHING I eat. Yesterday was 'baking day'. I made bagels and English muffins. This morning I made a 'RussMcMuffin' using Canadian bacon that I also made. Starting your Kielbasa recipe today.
I like how you "inadvertently" make a very mild chipotle mayo by not cleaning your spoon before dipping in for some mayo. Looks like something I would do.
@@erikgutierrez3613 i have followed Josh longer than Ethan but lately I haven’t been enjoying Josh’s content as much. It feels like he’s lost his relatable nature, at least for me.
Ethan, you are my favorite cooking UA-camr and there are some great folks out there! Your commitment to communicating cooking science and the practical lens on much of your content inspires me to cook more because I’m understanding fundamentals. Cheers
When you go to Taco Bell, you don't have to order the ingredients at a store or cleanup afterwords. I love how videos like this never take that into the equation of 'How long it takes to make something' lol. I consider cooking time to include shopping for the ingredients and cleaning up.
@@pastiewhitelightning you can always buy in bulk with ingredients but not fast food meals (who want to eat cold fast food), and u can cook multiple meals with a single grocery trip. If you are someone that often cooks shopping time is irrelevant because you will shop regardless if you make these fast food dishes or not. Theres always counterargument for both sides. This video purpose is both to entertain and to show that hey, maybe what you think as "fast" isnt always fast and sometimes the alternatives is as good but you DONT HAVE TO always take one or the other.
@@Crustee0 You’re failing to see the point here. Plenty of people opt for eating out because they don’t have the time to do any of what you are saying. And, again, the fact that cleaning up after this is being ignored as well. I have no qualms with a video saying “hey, here’s how you can make a CGC at home if you wanted to”, but to pretend that it’s faster when you add in the other parts is irksome. Plenty of other home cook channels do this.
@@pastiewhitelightning "dont have the time". This video shows exactly that its somewhat similar in time, and even adding the "cleanup" you mention it would at best add 5-10 minutes. You are exaggerating the cleanup time, you saw how he washed the pan between the processes and it was super quick to wash a pan. And they do acknowledge this is during rush hours, which means meal time for most people. And if u read what i said before, this just shows an alternative way, not the absolute route u must take whenever you have craving for any fast food.
Ethan, you ought to check out the "Sante Fe Gordita," an item Taco Bell discontinued many years ago. I still make the recipe all the time. They really should bring it back!
Love your videos! Ever since I watched your video on how to sharpen knives I’ve been a member since. To see your channel and quality of videos grow has been amazing to be part of. I definitely look forward to each upload
Honest question: You mention washing your pan while its still hot, but I've heard all sorts of conflicting info on this. Is washing it while its still hot specific to Stainless Steel uncoated pans (like the one in the video)? Does that system apply to, say, a copper pan or a ceramic coated steel pan? I always let them cool before washing to avoid any sort of warping or creating hotspots since thats what I was told as a kid. If you have a video on this I'd love to find it!
If you're washing with hot water it's fine, at least for the cast iron and stainless steel pots and pans I've used. I couldn't speak to copper or ceramic ones since I don't use them. Basically it's about temperature differential: so as long as you aren't using cold or lukewarm water its ok. It's better to wash them when it's still hot when you can as it will be much easier to get the gunk and food residue etc off.
thanks E, i thought i loaded an old video for dinner and was pleasantly surprised to see a new kitchen setup, with a new recipe for future. keep up the great work.
Hey, Ethan. The closest pita I've found to be like Taco Bell's are the ones by the brand Papa Pita. The classic whites have the same chew. They're almost identical in my experience. Hope that helps!
It depends on what you want to test. Because I would argue the timer should start when Ethan's doing grocery shopping for these ingredients, and then where would the test be?
@@j_freed I would say then include time shipping to grocery store from farm. And time processing ingredient. But it's not a fair comparison to make a choice to go to taco bell or go to the grocery store since that is the real difference. If you had all the food to make this it is easier yeah to make food but who usually orders food when you gotta fridge full of groceries.
I think the "faster" bit was… slightly cooked, if you will. But the take-away (or take-out) is that it's pretty darn quick to put together. So I'm not sure the speed was a truly fair comparison - but fair enough, really. I think it was a little slower, but definitely better, and definitely worth it, and definitely not too much effort. Lovely to see. And I did appreciate the "chicken hand" - the focus on cross-contamination safety. This was really nice.
* assuming you dont take in account the time it took to shop for those ingredients and you know everything you need to do beforehand Also driving to the store and driving back is much less effort than making it yourself.
Taco Bell doesn’t use pitas. They use Gorditas which are just thicker tortillas. They’re called gorditas because it means little and fat, because the tortillas are thicker than usual flour tortillas
"He's not gonna use that chipotle spoon for the..." "OH NO HE PUT THE CHIPOTLE IN THE MAYO" at least chipotle mayo is a thing 😂😂 keep up the good work Ethan!
If you're old school, Taco Bell used to use "Baja" sauce on their cheesy gordita crunch. It's similar to spicy ranch, but the ratios of the ingredients are a bit different. They do sell the Baja sauce in stores though, so if you wanna change things up and remember how they tasted in the early 00s, there's that... I think they changed it to spicy ranch in '08-09 because of the recession and trying to cost cut on their menu.
That is such a smart idea to use the baking sheets to group the separate components together. This is one of those, why didn't I think of that things?!!!
18:03 i was always told that trying to wash your pans while theyre still hot could warp them or make them crack. is that a myth or is it just dependent on the pan?
Warm pans with hot/warm water are fine to wash, but you can definitely warp and crack certain pans if they're screaming hot and you immediately put water on them. With experience you figure it out.
Depends on the pan mostly, for the most part its fine with stainless cookware though as long as your water isn't ice cold and the pan isn't smoking from the heat or something wild like that
I used the potato masher to break up the meat too - one is about 70 years old that I used for non-stick pans. The other is silicon coated. And, I echo the baking sheet organizing method. "A good while" - cooking my eyeball. But, love the fond/deglaze to develop a deeper flavour profile.
This is completely pedantic, but as someone who did training at Taco Bell for years your flatbread is upside down and it's been driving me insane the whole video lol. Btw, how did you melt the cheese? You seem to have cut that part out. At TB they use a steamer machine that I doubt anyone would have in their home, but a quick trip under a blowtorch or the broiler would probably do the trick. Also: I'm honestly not sure exactly what flavorings go into the spicy ranch. The sauces come pre-made in bags. I looked at the ingredients once (to prove to a coworker that it was primarily mayo), but that was like 5 years ago
This is just my own experience in recreating the Gordita, it might be different in Ethan's case. But usually what I do is I lay the pita bread down and sprinkle cheese on it. Then put one side of the hard shell taco onto the pita bread. Microwave for 40 sec. One side of the hard shell is glued to the pita. I fold the other flap of the pita to stick it to the hard shell. Then I let it lay down on the side that wasn't stuck together. Let it sit out so it doesn't come undone. Then I can let the whole wrap sit up properly. Both sides won't come undone now.
The Greek yogurt tip on sauce was brilliant. Idk why I’ve never thought of that. I always seem to have some extra yogurt when I buy a batch. One of my go to sauces now is some salsa verde and some Greek yogurt. Ads a nice tangy kick to my meals
I like homemade versions of Taco Bell stuff since not only is it more delicious versions of some of my favorite fast food but it lets me customize it further. I made your Crunchwrap recipe with leftover crock pot pork carnitas instead of beef and it is quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever made, and it didn’t even take long to assemble!
my man Ethan! thanks for this awesome rendition of the Gordita Crunch. it's giving me some great ideas for one of my own. glad you try your best to keep things simple, and repeatable. it adds a different quality to videos that people may want to follow along and make the food themselves. keep it simple, keep it cool.
Hey man, I like how you naturally/ purposedly respect the rules of hygiene in the kitchen. I wish I could cook more often and improve on cooking skills. And yes, strong ingredients like cumin must be used wisely. Keep up with your good content. Edit: I like that you use an induction cooker, I have a cheap version (they are awesomely fast and efficient) and I like the stainless steel/steel/cast iron pans for their non pretentious requirements in handling (like scraping for the fond and being able to use the steel wool if its needed for the cleaning). All the best from Romania/Denmark.
I think it’s less about speed and more about effort. Some of us are absolutely exhausted and that’s why we resort to fast food. Match the same effort (or less) as a person ordering Taco Bell and waiting, and you win for sure. It’s impossible. Time is important, but it’s certainly not everything.
Actually, think about the time spent before going to the store, preparing the recipe, getting the ingredients and the time spent after cleaning all this stuff up. When you go to taco bell you do none of that. Few of these modern cooking channels saying "Hey, stop ordering out, just make it yourself! It's faster and easier!" never bring that up...
You can tell someone is a real chef when they become immune to burns. Ethan just grabbing a bite out of a sizzling pan with his bare hands like it's nothing.
I really love that this shows people that you can make homemade in the time it takes you to go get expensive food. That's really kind of crappy. Yours is all nice ingredients. I love your pan. I love that pan one you got that from, and that you made it in like 22 minutes. It was fantastic and anybody can do it. Yours looks super awesome. Don't fool yourself. That is delicious looking. Good job
Believe it or not, I have a hard time finding good soft pita bread like the ones from Greek restaurants. The local grocery stores only carry the thin, dry, pita pocket style.
Why I love your videos, simple, share ingredients/portions and techniques. Great ad insert very slick just shows how good your production is. New kitchen looks nice 👍
That pan cleaning tip is going to save me so much time... I was always under the impression that I should let the pan cool prior to cleaning it to avoid damaging/warping the pan, but the "deglazing" makes a lot of sense.
Love these vids. It may be a little more work, obviously, but it’s worth it. You’re getting less additives, it’s easier on your body, and it tastes better because you made it. It’s a sense of pride that comes with it. Not to mention, collectively, it’s cheaper. If you bought Taco Bell or whatever fast food you like, you’ll spend $3-$5 on the item, add a $2 drink, and tax, and you’re looking at close to $10 for one meal. If you spent $15 on the ingredients, and make it at home you’ll have enough ingredients to make multiple. So with that being said, choose decent quality ingredients and buy enough to make a few meals, rather than $10 on one meal. Save that money each time for one year, see how much you have. See how much you saved as well
Great, excellent job, I love fast food but at home I can buy my own ingredients and know where the meat comes from rather than meat from a franchise. Also enjoy the technical aspect Ethan explain as well as his organisation. He makes it look fun
That little cheers thing where UA-camrs touch their food with the other guy is the most bizarre trend. My food is not touching anyone else’s food. Ever.
Nice, dude. I was trying to prove you could do this a while back. I think you could easily get it under 15 minutes by just going with beef or chicken instead of both. Taco Bell beef supposedly has some sugar, yeast, lactic acid (like in buttermilk), and cocoa in the non-beef 12%. And the rest of that is starch, lecithin, etc. (I'd skip those, they're just tasteless filler). Flatbreads or tortillas are interesting because they sound really time-consuming, but then it ends up being quite easy to whip up a couple to order. Then you can get that perfect size and thickness.
you gotta bake those crunchy taco shells to get the right texture. it might have happened off screen, but i'm mentioning it just in case. sometimes i'll add takis to a tortilla wrapped meal for different flavored crunch.
The Mexican market near my house sells "Gordita" tortillas... perfect for making these at home. They a thinner than pita bread, but thicker than a traditional flour tortilla.
As someone who has worked at a Taco Bell, this premise is dumb. I can make two of those in under a minute, and if the Taco Bell is staffed and near you then you are home in 10mins.
22:30 I completely agree, I always have to explain to people that I understand Taco Bell isn’t authentic tacos, but they’re Taco Bell tacos. Just something different.
Made this for dinner tonight, It was so freaking awesome!! we did add a spicy mango and peach salsa and diced tomatillos, cilantro and lime and shallots. Used chicken thighs also! It's a family favorite now! Thanks Ethan
Hi Ethan, I have a challenge for you: I am gluten free (like, celiac disease type gluten free, not the fad diet kind) and also am vegetarian. I'd love to see a video on high protein, filling, and/or quick recipes that fit this :-) I know a lot of people like me really struggle with variety and getting enough protein! Love your videos, I find myself adapting your recipes or taking flavor profiles as inspiration when I actually have the time to cook real meals 💚 Thanks for all you do
Ethan saying that he's done when he in fact still has 3+ mins of assembling to do gives off big mom energy saying dinner is ready when it is definitely not, and now I'm standing around in the kitchen waiting lol
Lol, this hit too close to home.
But have you washed your hands yet???
@@TheSublime321 now THAT hits close to home for me. I was asked 3 times every meal. Even if I washed up in front of the parents.
Mom, it's still in the god damn oven and you call me in here like this? 🤌
But have you washed your hands and set the table?
Just want to say I appreciate the no/low-cut format. As someone who's new to this and trying to learn, videos with a lot of cuts in them can leave me confused about steps I should be taking. But being able to see everything from start to finish really helps.
+1!!!
You should also watch kenji lopez alt, if you dont know him already, he does cooking with a gopro
@@uHaveMe Kenji, Ethan and Not Another Cooking Show are the holy trinity of UA-cam cooks for me.
You need Chef John from Food Wishes in your life. All the other recommendations here are good channels, but in my opinion they're all a bit fancier than a home cook really wants to be. Chef John is the OG food UA-camr.
I also recommend Adam Ragusea.
@@choronos Adam is great. I like more his learning videos and pods lately than his cooking. As a chef myself I find him abit hard headed regarding certain stuff for my taste but like I said, his educational ones are top notch
I love the fact that Ethan goes 'oh i gotta rush' and proceeds to calmly cut the chicken
i really dig that even if he's in a hurry he isn't doing anything dangerously fast, at the end of the day all homecooks end up cooking fast but not cooking for a world record, and i like that realistic touch, feels like some real home cook mood
As a viewer, I definitely appreciate that his speed in the kitchen feels close to my own. It makes these videos more relatable. However, I 100% believe he could move a lot faster if he tried.
I liken it to when I used the keyboard as a teenager. I'd been programming since I was 8. My friend comes over and asks, "is that as fast as you type'? And I just looked up surprised and said, "I don't know. I've never tried going faster." Turns out, all that practice made me REALLY fast once I tried.
@@thewiirocks Definetively!
Of course there are a lot of times while i'm cooking that I do it very fast too
I always try to maximize and optimize the time i spend in the kitchen, specially if i have a main protein and a side dish to prepare.
As well as washing stuff right after using it while food is cooking at the same.
My comment was mostly about other vids where they rush way too much, or at least in an unrealistic way,
making a mess in the kitchen and even being careless enough that the final dish ends up a bit worse just cus gotta go fast.
youre wrong, there was a time where i competed with my friend for the world record grilled cheese speedrun, got it down to 2:29. i could probably improve it since i have a stronger stove now
I like the removal of ratings and the decreased emphasis on comparison. I think we all know what we are getting when we order Taco Bell, and what makes these videos interesting is how you hack available ingredients to make something similar but better. I also appreciate that due to the time constraints, you didn't do what a lot of UA-cam food creators do and go overboard, making your own shells, overly complicated dressings, etc. Much more easily replicated for home cooks.
I love the consistent acknowledgement of that "fast food vibe" that you keep referring to. There is something "cozy" about the taste of fast food that's just a bit different to homecook cozy. It's a delicate line to straddle between speed and making something that captures that taste.
A fair bit of which is "natural flavors", and of course familiarity
i like that approach better than another cooking channel that does this style of video, where they just disparage the restaurant of the week (video).
@@spike_021 Yup. That channel (and others) basically don't even recreate the item faithfully. The flavor profile, textures, condiments are different enough as to be something entirely different.
Idk you can capture fast food taste. I look at the ingredients list on premade food and there are a lot of chemicals used that home cooks don't have access to or know how to use (or want to). I imagine there's something like that going on with fast food places that really want specific and consistent flavor profiles.
@@cookiesandbussies1577 Taco bell is pretty straightforward in their ingredients. They're not the highest quality, but it shouldn't be anything difficult to replicate with the right tools. The biggest difference is going to be in the meat flavor as Taco Bell uses a meat product that's heavily blended with carbohydrate filler. Though I saw a suggestion that you could blend steel cut oats to get a similar result.
This is probably my favorite show idea out of any cooking based content from any channel. You take it seriously and put it in the realm of reality instead of ideal conditions
Adam Ragusea also posts some top notch cooking content.
he stole the idea from josh weissman
I disagree in that Joshua Weiss man frequently goes over the top with hard to source Ingredients, much longer times to create the items, and the use of kitchen equipment that the average joe doesn’t have. I do appreciate the effort Joshua puts into his cooking and videos and enjoy watching them upon occasion. It’s just not something that’s pragmatic for most I feel
@@mcbrainstem you mentioned it being your favorite "idea" for a segment. the idea was for the segment was josh's
@@pepeshiraz655 just because the idea is the same but different execution u cant say he steals the idea. Thats like saying anything thats created after the first one is just plagiarism, that doesnt make sense and you know it.
Ethan I have been following you for a long time and I just want to say I am so glad you have found a large audience that can appreciate what you bring to the UA-cam cooking community. Your videos are very realistic, down to earth, and informative. Glad you are able to do what you love!
I couldn’t agree more!!
Ethan and Gabe both eat the same way.. taking massive bites like they're afraid someone is going to take the food away from them 😁
That someone is the other brother lol
We have 2 more brothers so growing up we learned quickly there is typically no leftovers!
:)) nice.
@@EthanChlebowski and if there are leftovers, a fight might break out in front of the fridge, and the glass dish may drop to the floor, and no one gets the leftovers (unless taking the dare from a brother to eat it anyways) HA! Good times.
@IanHarrison, NAILED IT
These videos let off the ultimate home cooking vibes
this kitchen is absolutely stunning - looks like a dream to cook in!
It looks so big and open!
So excited to see this series come back!!
A lot of people have made suggestions for the outer tortilla, but one that is widely available and has the right thickness, texture, and flavor to match the Gordita is Trader Joe’s “Middle Eastern Flatbread”. It is sold in the bread section by the tortillas and pita. I find store-bought pita has a drier, chalky chalky texture, an naan is too thick and is more like pizza-crust. The Middle Eastern flatbread ticks all the Gordita boxes of tortilla-like chew but slightly fluffy, thicker than a regular flour tortilla but not hugely so, and the same taste.
or you could do yours at home probably the easiest bread to do at home
Wrong Indian fried bread
I thought about pitas or flatbread
Idk what kinda naans you'll got there
Love these videos! As a senior on a very tight budget, I can't afford eating out any more. Your make at home recipes really fill that fast food experience that I sometimes miss. Thank you. (The crunch wrap recipe is spot on in my opinion. Can't wait to try this one.)
I like that he didn't know where anything was. That felt very relatable.
Ethan: Oh, I gotta rush. Also Ethan: washes the frying pan and casually explains the importance of doing it while it is still hot.
at least i mean, thats a new one for me and pretty darn useful
I followed Ethan´s flour tortilla recipe and make tortillas at least once per week. They taste so much better that store-bought tortillas. This channel is pure cooking inspiration, keep it up!
Just gotta say that I completely love seeing a start to finish, unedited cooking video! More of this, please!
I really like to use this shell combo for tacos even with plain soft corn tortillas. You get the structural integrity of the flour and flavour of the corn.
Great video as always. I really like that you have a progress bar for the sponsor section of the video. It's little details like this that makes your channel one of the best cooking channels on the platform.
18:10 As I understand it cleaning hot pans is best done with hot water - I've heard of pans warping due to sudden thermal changes, especially cheaper and/or less massive ones. It definitely makes things so much easier though.
Pans take several minutes to fully cool down typically. I'd think warping is a big issue if you go straight from the burner to cold water. Easy solution is to wait a minute or two (while prepping other things) before cleaning.
Also after emptied the pan you could just put some water in it and give a short boil and then let it cool down and clean it. That would be the best of both worlds.
Rapid cooling is the real culprit
One trick I've done to get ground beef closer to that taco bell texture is to pulse the finished beef in a blender. Not puree it, but just get the chunks broken down into finer, even grains of beef
But why?
@@geminihexx9858 to get closer to the taco bell texture....did you not read the comment?
I hate cleaning raw meat from the blender/food processor though. Any tips on that?
@@TheGreektrojan Definitely do the blender after it's cooked, not when it's raw.
Would using something like a potato masher work to get it finer? I’ve always just used the spatula but I feel like I see more people on UA-cam using a potato masher for ground beef now
These are my favorite series even though I look forward to Ethan's videos each week. That is how you know quality.
“… I don’t even know what they call this thing… for us that was like a thicker flour tortilla instead of a pita bread.” LOL it’s a Gordita… it’s in the name! Thanks for putting this video together keep it up 🇲🇽🌮🇺🇸
I feel like he could do with 5 minutes of prep before he does these videos. Google what the name of the item means. Google exactly what sauce they use etc. Not hard.
If you're Mexican, you know that's NOT a gordita, doesn't matter if Taco Bell decides to name this that way.
@@satchito basing off of Google pics, it looks hard not bready. Is it supposed to be like that?
@@бронза.вафля.конус it’s made with corn flour, so it’s a different texture than a thick flour flatbread
It's really not an actual gordita. Gorditas are made with masa, this stuff uses a piece of flatbread. Go to any Taco Bell and ask them what the bread on a gordita crunch is called and they'll tell you that.
gotta say I loved the vibe of this video. felt way more realistic than any other youtuber whose done a video like this. appreciate the honesty saying sometimes a good taco still doesn’t hit the same way a taco bell taco does.
Ethan, could you consider making some recipes for packed lunches? Would be so helpful for uni students
isnt that one? maybe have the lettuce and onion at a different compartment, but it looks like pretty much a good meal at the uni
i love how Ethan and his brother just kinda vibe at the end of the video. feels similair to me and my brother, love the vids as always :)
Always love these videos! Reminds me of Kenjis POV videos. It’s nice to see an inside view of how chefs (Pro home cooks) move around the kitchen.
I don't know what's more criminal, how good that homemade version looks or that it took 30 MINUTES TO GO THROUGHT THE TACOBELL DRIVETHRU FOR 2 ITEMS
I might have to do some DIY Taco Bell now... When I worked there I would make a "cheesy potato crunch" basically a Cheezy Gordita but a DLT shell filled with potato, nacho cheese and onions.
Only thing I miss about the job since ordering is like 10 bucks.
I encourage you to honestly! I made the crunchwrap from an earlier video and while i had issues finding a big enough tortilla, it was still very good and as always making something good yourself feels rewarding.
He also did a great video on the crunch wrap supreme. It's totally doable and more filling 😁
I think its sweet that ethan feeds his mustache too. It shows he cares :)
Ethan and Gabe are those old 'Spy Vs. Spy' cartoons. While still brothers, they couldn't be more different. It gives this a great human element.
The best part of home-cooking “fast food” is that you can cook a big batch and use the leftovers to eat the same thing sometime in the future with it only taking a few minutes, rather than the better part of a half hour.
Really cool to see this series coming back! I appreciate you giving the heads up on what sort of marinade/sauces to use for the chicken variant, plus that tip on washing the stainless steel pan when heated. Thank you so much, Ethan!
When it comes to Taco Bell, my favourite to get there is a chicken chalupa. I'm actually curious how one can make the fried tortilla at home AND if that is one worthy of the "homemade vs. fast food" race treatment.
i believe the flatbread used for the chalupa is the same one used for the outside of the cheesy gordita crunch and the now discontinued flatbread taco
I've got to be honest. Since I retired 5 years ago and have the time? I make EVERYTHING I eat.
Yesterday was 'baking day'. I made bagels and English muffins. This morning I made a 'RussMcMuffin' using Canadian bacon that I also made. Starting your Kielbasa recipe today.
I like how you "inadvertently" make a very mild chipotle mayo by not cleaning your spoon before dipping in for some mayo. Looks like something I would do.
it angered me.
I liked how you included the sponsor part into the video. I didn't fast forward like I normally do. Very smart of you.
Love this series. So much better than Josh Weissman’s, especially with your not portioning things out and keeping editing minimal.
You show JW some god dang respect! lol
@@erikgutierrez3613 i have followed Josh longer than Ethan but lately I haven’t been enjoying Josh’s content as much. It feels like he’s lost his relatable nature, at least for me.
Add 0.06c of onions
@@ElectroIgnition Josh thinks hes the best cook in the world. He thinks he cannot do wrong and his way is the only way.
I still enjoy Josh Weissman's video style for entertainment, but for pure cooking Ethan's videos are way better
Ethan, you are my favorite cooking UA-camr and there are some great folks out there! Your commitment to communicating cooking science and the practical lens on much of your content inspires me to cook more because I’m understanding fundamentals. Cheers
Would love to see the Breakfast Crunch Wrap!!!!
I've been missing Gabe for a while, it's nice to know he's still around and having fun.
I think you should definitely do this during lunch hours. That would factor in the lunch rush to see if cooking at home is quicker than going out
I can definitely do that next time around, decided on the evening work/dinner traffic this time!
When you go to Taco Bell, you don't have to order the ingredients at a store or cleanup afterwords. I love how videos like this never take that into the equation of 'How long it takes to make something' lol. I consider cooking time to include shopping for the ingredients and cleaning up.
@@pastiewhitelightning you can always buy in bulk with ingredients but not fast food meals (who want to eat cold fast food), and u can cook multiple meals with a single grocery trip. If you are someone that often cooks shopping time is irrelevant because you will shop regardless if you make these fast food dishes or not. Theres always counterargument for both sides. This video purpose is both to entertain and to show that hey, maybe what you think as "fast" isnt always fast and sometimes the alternatives is as good but you DONT HAVE TO always take one or the other.
@@Crustee0 You’re failing to see the point here. Plenty of people opt for eating out because they don’t have the time to do any of what you are saying. And, again, the fact that cleaning up after this is being ignored as well. I have no qualms with a video saying “hey, here’s how you can make a CGC at home if you wanted to”, but to pretend that it’s faster when you add in the other parts is irksome. Plenty of other home cook channels do this.
@@pastiewhitelightning "dont have the time". This video shows exactly that its somewhat similar in time, and even adding the "cleanup" you mention it would at best add 5-10 minutes. You are exaggerating the cleanup time, you saw how he washed the pan between the processes and it was super quick to wash a pan. And they do acknowledge this is during rush hours, which means meal time for most people. And if u read what i said before, this just shows an alternative way, not the absolute route u must take whenever you have craving for any fast food.
actually love these uncut videos def show a lot more than what you see in an edited video love it
Ethan, you ought to check out the "Sante Fe Gordita," an item Taco Bell discontinued many years ago. I still make the recipe all the time. They really should bring it back!
Love your videos! Ever since I watched your video on how to sharpen knives I’ve been a member since. To see your channel and quality of videos grow has been amazing to be part of. I definitely look forward to each upload
To truly nail a tacobell recipe, one must first manufacture the absence of love as an ingredient. Only then can one make taco bell at home.
I really enjoy these types of video's, they're so engaging and fun to watch. Thanks for all the tips and tricks as well.
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Honest question: You mention washing your pan while its still hot, but I've heard all sorts of conflicting info on this. Is washing it while its still hot specific to Stainless Steel uncoated pans (like the one in the video)? Does that system apply to, say, a copper pan or a ceramic coated steel pan? I always let them cool before washing to avoid any sort of warping or creating hotspots since thats what I was told as a kid. If you have a video on this I'd love to find it!
If you're washing with hot water it's fine, at least for the cast iron and stainless steel pots and pans I've used. I couldn't speak to copper or ceramic ones since I don't use them. Basically it's about temperature differential: so as long as you aren't using cold or lukewarm water its ok. It's better to wash them when it's still hot when you can as it will be much easier to get the gunk and food residue etc off.
my favorite style of cooking video, real time. I think the viewer learns more from that than any recipe video.
How did you melt the cheese onto the pita? And get the taco to stick. I feel like that’s the hardest
Even Ethan's ads are helpful, I also didn't know I needed those bowls. Best food-tuber out there!
I made the crunchwrap supreme a couple weekends ago. they were a big hit!!!
thanks E, i thought i loaded an old video for dinner and was pleasantly surprised to see a new kitchen setup, with a new recipe for future. keep up the great work.
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Hey, Ethan. The closest pita I've found to be like Taco Bell's are the ones by the brand Papa Pita. The classic whites have the same chew. They're almost identical in my experience. Hope that helps!
I am very glad your channel is growing! I love your kitchen.
Honestly the timer should start when he leaves the house!
It depends on what you want to test. Because I would argue the timer should start when Ethan's doing grocery shopping for these ingredients, and then where would the test be?
@@yriafehtivan But then you’d have to also start from the time that Taco Bell ships ingredients from the warehouse…
@@j_freed I would say then include time shipping to grocery store from farm. And time processing ingredient. But it's not a fair comparison to make a choice to go to taco bell or go to the grocery store since that is the real difference. If you had all the food to make this it is easier yeah to make food but who usually orders food when you gotta fridge full of groceries.
@@yriafehtivan why would you start there?
I appreciate the transparency on the rush-hour thing!
I love your kitchen; well, what can be seen of it. White, light, and spacious! I'd probably just live in a kitchen like that. 😁
I think the "faster" bit was… slightly cooked, if you will. But the take-away (or take-out) is that it's pretty darn quick to put together. So I'm not sure the speed was a truly fair comparison - but fair enough, really. I think it was a little slower, but definitely better, and definitely worth it, and definitely not too much effort. Lovely to see. And I did appreciate the "chicken hand" - the focus on cross-contamination safety. This was really nice.
I'd love to see calculations on the price differences.
* assuming you dont take in account the time it took to shop for those ingredients and you know everything you need to do beforehand
Also driving to the store and driving back is much less effort than making it yourself.
Taco Bell doesn’t use pitas. They use Gorditas which are just thicker tortillas. They’re called gorditas because it means little and fat, because the tortillas are thicker than usual flour tortillas
14:05 i was SO on the edge when he was holding that spoon he used for the mayo near the sour cream
"He's not gonna use that chipotle spoon for the..."
"OH NO HE PUT THE CHIPOTLE IN THE MAYO"
at least chipotle mayo is a thing 😂😂
keep up the good work Ethan!
Love the series. One thing I think to make it more fair would be to have your brother beside you at the start and include the drive time to the store.
If you're old school, Taco Bell used to use "Baja" sauce on their cheesy gordita crunch. It's similar to spicy ranch, but the ratios of the ingredients are a bit different. They do sell the Baja sauce in stores though, so if you wanna change things up and remember how they tasted in the early 00s, there's that... I think they changed it to spicy ranch in '08-09 because of the recession and trying to cost cut on their menu.
That is such a smart idea to use the baking sheets to group the separate components together. This is one of those, why didn't I think of that things?!!!
Ethan Chlebowski best in the UA-cam cooking game!
I do food reviews while I’m high on my UA-cam channel
you have a lot of good tips for a self taught chef. I'd like to also know how long things last in the fridge, etc. aka food prep and preservation.
18:03 i was always told that trying to wash your pans while theyre still hot could warp them or make them crack. is that a myth or is it just dependent on the pan?
also the song that plays in the back off these videos, specifically the bass, reminds me of the track "squadra" from jojos golden wind
Yes this is true but his pan wasn’t hot enough for that to happen. The pan would need to be rippin hot, like smoking. Also dependent on the pan
Warm pans with hot/warm water are fine to wash, but you can definitely warp and crack certain pans if they're screaming hot and you immediately put water on them. With experience you figure it out.
Depends on the pan mostly, for the most part its fine with stainless cookware though as long as your water isn't ice cold and the pan isn't smoking from the heat or something wild like that
I used the potato masher to break up the meat too - one is about 70 years old that I used for non-stick pans. The other is silicon coated. And, I echo the baking sheet organizing method. "A good while" - cooking my eyeball. But, love the fond/deglaze to develop a deeper flavour profile.
This is completely pedantic, but as someone who did training at Taco Bell for years your flatbread is upside down and it's been driving me insane the whole video lol. Btw, how did you melt the cheese? You seem to have cut that part out. At TB they use a steamer machine that I doubt anyone would have in their home, but a quick trip under a blowtorch or the broiler would probably do the trick.
Also: I'm honestly not sure exactly what flavorings go into the spicy ranch. The sauces come pre-made in bags. I looked at the ingredients once (to prove to a coworker that it was primarily mayo), but that was like 5 years ago
This is just my own experience in recreating the Gordita, it might be different in Ethan's case. But usually what I do is I lay the pita bread down and sprinkle cheese on it. Then put one side of the hard shell taco onto the pita bread. Microwave for 40 sec.
One side of the hard shell is glued to the pita. I fold the other flap of the pita to stick it to the hard shell. Then I let it lay down on the side that wasn't stuck together. Let it sit out so it doesn't come undone.
Then I can let the whole wrap sit up properly. Both sides won't come undone now.
The Greek yogurt tip on sauce was brilliant. Idk why I’ve never thought of that. I always seem to have some extra yogurt when I buy a batch. One of my go to sauces now is some salsa verde and some Greek yogurt. Ads a nice tangy kick to my meals
can't tell if you're tiny or that kitchen is huge
is literally all this guy makes is taco bell beef ?
I like homemade versions of Taco Bell stuff since not only is it more delicious versions of some of my favorite fast food but it lets me customize it further. I made your Crunchwrap recipe with leftover crock pot pork carnitas instead of beef and it is quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever made, and it didn’t even take long to assemble!
I felt that little pre-cooking snacky snack at 1:06 in my soul :3
my man Ethan! thanks for this awesome rendition of the Gordita Crunch. it's giving me some great ideas for one of my own. glad you try your best to keep things simple, and repeatable. it adds a different quality to videos that people may want to follow along and make the food themselves. keep it simple, keep it cool.
I really like these videos, feels like watching a reality show but in a good way.
Hey man, I like how you naturally/ purposedly respect the rules of hygiene in the kitchen. I wish I could cook more often and improve on cooking skills. And yes, strong ingredients like cumin must be used wisely. Keep up with your good content. Edit: I like that you use an induction cooker, I have a cheap version (they are awesomely fast and efficient) and I like the stainless steel/steel/cast iron pans for their non pretentious requirements in handling (like scraping for the fond and being able to use the steel wool if its needed for the cleaning). All the best from Romania/Denmark.
I think it’s less about speed and more about effort. Some of us are absolutely exhausted and that’s why we resort to fast food. Match the same effort (or less) as a person ordering Taco Bell and waiting, and you win for sure. It’s impossible. Time is important, but it’s certainly not everything.
Actually, think about the time spent before going to the store, preparing the recipe, getting the ingredients and the time spent after cleaning all this stuff up. When you go to taco bell you do none of that. Few of these modern cooking channels saying "Hey, stop ordering out, just make it yourself! It's faster and easier!" never bring that up...
I’m crying. Your kitchen is so nice… mine has less than half the counter space than one of your counters
You can tell someone is a real chef when they become immune to burns. Ethan just grabbing a bite out of a sizzling pan with his bare hands like it's nothing.
I really love that this shows people that you can make homemade in the time it takes you to go get expensive food. That's really kind of crappy.
Yours is all nice ingredients. I love your pan. I love that pan one you got that from, and that you made it in like 22 minutes. It was fantastic and anybody can do it.
Yours looks super awesome. Don't fool yourself. That is delicious looking.
Good job
Believe it or not, I have a hard time finding good soft pita bread like the ones from Greek restaurants. The local grocery stores only carry the thin, dry, pita pocket style.
Love the editing and info pop outs while the main cooking is still going. Great work Ethan!
Why I love your videos, simple, share ingredients/portions and techniques.
Great ad insert very slick just shows how good your production is. New kitchen looks nice 👍
That pan cleaning tip is going to save me so much time... I was always under the impression that I should let the pan cool prior to cleaning it to avoid damaging/warping the pan, but the "deglazing" makes a lot of sense.
Love these vids. It may be a little more work, obviously, but it’s worth it. You’re getting less additives, it’s easier on your body, and it tastes better because you made it. It’s a sense of pride that comes with it. Not to mention, collectively, it’s cheaper. If you bought Taco Bell or whatever fast food you like, you’ll spend $3-$5 on the item, add a $2 drink, and tax, and you’re looking at close to $10 for one meal. If you spent $15 on the ingredients, and make it at home you’ll have enough ingredients to make multiple. So with that being said, choose decent quality ingredients and buy enough to make a few meals, rather than $10 on one meal. Save that money each time for one year, see how much you have. See how much you saved as well
Great, excellent job, I love fast food but at home I can buy my own ingredients and know where the meat comes from rather than meat from a franchise. Also enjoy the technical aspect Ethan explain as well as his organisation. He makes it look fun
That little cheers thing where UA-camrs touch their food with the other guy is the most bizarre trend. My food is not touching anyone else’s food. Ever.
For the bread, Stonefire mini naan might be a good choice. They're smaller and perfectly round, will have to try it out for myself...
Nice, dude. I was trying to prove you could do this a while back. I think you could easily get it under 15 minutes by just going with beef or chicken instead of both.
Taco Bell beef supposedly has some sugar, yeast, lactic acid (like in buttermilk), and cocoa in the non-beef 12%. And the rest of that is starch, lecithin, etc. (I'd skip those, they're just tasteless filler).
Flatbreads or tortillas are interesting because they sound really time-consuming, but then it ends up being quite easy to whip up a couple to order. Then you can get that perfect size and thickness.
you gotta bake those crunchy taco shells to get the right texture. it might have happened off screen, but i'm mentioning it just in case. sometimes i'll add takis to a tortilla wrapped meal for different flavored crunch.
The thing that I like the most about these videos is that he doesn't seem to be rushing.
The Mexican market near my house sells "Gordita" tortillas... perfect for making these at home. They a thinner than pita bread, but thicker than a traditional flour tortilla.
As someone who has worked at a Taco Bell, this premise is dumb. I can make two of those in under a minute, and if the Taco Bell is staffed and near you then you are home in 10mins.
You're cross-contaminating like a total pro.
22:30 I completely agree, I always have to explain to people that I understand Taco Bell isn’t authentic tacos, but they’re Taco Bell tacos. Just something different.
Made this for dinner tonight, It was so freaking awesome!! we did add a spicy mango and peach salsa and diced tomatillos, cilantro and lime and shallots. Used chicken thighs also! It's a family favorite now! Thanks Ethan
Hi Ethan, I have a challenge for you: I am gluten free (like, celiac disease type gluten free, not the fad diet kind) and also am vegetarian. I'd love to see a video on high protein, filling, and/or quick recipes that fit this :-) I know a lot of people like me really struggle with variety and getting enough protein! Love your videos, I find myself adapting your recipes or taking flavor profiles as inspiration when I actually have the time to cook real meals 💚 Thanks for all you do