El Charrito El Charrito El Charrito is a brand of Tex-Mex TV dinners. The word is Spanish for "little cowboy". The brand was introduced in 1980 by the Campbell Taggart company, who owned the El Chico restaurant chain. Though its entrees included taquitos, queso, and beef enchiladas, it was also known for the uniquely named Saltillo Dinner, a three-compartment dinner consisting of two enchiladas (one each beef and cheese), Spanish rice and refried beans. In 1995 the parent company became Earthgrains and chose to focus on baked goods, selling the El Charrito brand to Don Miguel Mexican Foods, now a part of
Tex-Mex popular foods for more than a century. A taste for "cabrito" (kid goat), "barbacoa de cabeza" (barbecued beef heads), "carne seca" (dried beef), and other products of cattle culture is also common on both sides of the Rio Grande. In the 20th century, Tex-Mex took on such Americanized elements as yellow cheese, as goods from the United States became cheap and readily available. In much of Texas, the cooking styles on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border were the same until a period after the U.S. Civil War. With the railroads, American ingredients and cooking appliances became common on the