David Theiss: Gordo taco burger leads NASCAR-themed menu (recipe)

If you’re a NASCAR fan, the Daytona 500 is almost here, and with all of the NASCAR destinations in the U.S. each individual racetrack has their own unique foods. Doing some research, I found a lot of them have pretty interesting combinations Check these out.

• The famous Martinsville Speedway hot dog

A steamed bun topped with mustard, chili, and slaw

• New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Lobster mac and cheese

North Atlantic lobster, griddled with butter and lemon, served with creamy clam chowder mac and cheese, topped with oyster crackers and sprinkled with boil spices

• Bristol Motor Speedway

Buffalo chicken mac and cheese "poutine"

Golden fried chicken tossed with a buffalo-style hot sauce, served over a creamy three-cheese mac and cheese and drizzled with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing

• Kentucky Speedway

Loaded taco tots

House made all-beef taco meat, velvety nacho cheese sauce, sliced jalapenos, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, green onions and spicy salsa all piled on a mound of delicious tater tots

• Texas Motor Speedway

"Fork and Knife" footlong Texas chili cheese corndog

World famous Texas footlong corn dog fried to a golden brown, topped with velvety cheese sauce, house made chili and sliced jalapenos

• Atlanta Motor Speedway

Peanut butter and jelly milkshake

Creamy vanilla ice cream milkshake infused with smooth peanut butter and concord grape jelly topped with whipped cream

• Charlotte Motor Speedway

Racing hot chicken sandwich

Golden fried chicken breast filet topped with peppered smoked bacon, spicy buttermilk dressing and crispy lettuce, served on a toasted buttered roll

• And at the Iowa speedway try these epicurean delights

Victory loin

Giant pork tenderloin with bacon, tomato, cheese curds and cheese sauce

Newt dogg

Half pound all beef hot dog smothered with pulled pork, bacon and BBQ sauce

The restrictor plate

Waffle fries smothered in pulled pork, corn, bacon, pepper jack nacho cheese and jalapenos

Fast food is alive and well at these events. Just look at the staggering numbers for these foods. Speedway officials estimate that during Speedweeks the track will sell roughly 50,000 hamburgers, 28,000 feet of hot dogs and 84,000 soft drinks, along with 170 tons of ice.

They also expect to sell 16,000 jumbo pretzels, 30,000 bottles of water, 25,000 orders of French fries, 20,000 gallons of beer and 50,000 hamburgers. Sounds like a heck of a lot of heartburn!

Can’t afford to go to the races? Tune Into the race and try this recipe called the Gordo taco burger, and you’ll feel like you’re there. It’s simple and something you can make at home.

Gordo taco burger

All-beef patty seasoned with taco spices, grilled, topped with velvety cheese sauce, pickled jalapenos, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, crispy tortilla strips and spicy salsa, served on a toasted sub roll and drizzled with sour cream

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh ground chuck

Dry taco seasoning

1/2 pound sliced hot pepper cheese

1 tomato, sliced

Two handfuls shredded lettuce

Corn tortilla chips

Sliced jalapenos

1/4 cup salsa

4 brioche hamburger buns

2 dollops sour cream

Directions

Create four hamburger patties with the two pounds of ground chuck, season with taco seasoning and fry until how you like it done. Toast the brioche buns and melt the cheese on the burgers just before they are finished cooking.

Spread the salsa on the bottom bun, place burger on, then the tomato, jalapenos and lettuce. Drizzle the sour cream on the top bun and put tree or four tortilla chips on top of that and place over the other half of the burger. Mmmmm. Delicious! Enjoy the race.

David Theiss is owner of Butler Gourmet Meats in Carson City.