Taco Polaco or Polaco Taco (Polish Taco)

“Taco Polaco” or “Polaco Taco” (Polish taco) is cited in print from at least the 1970s. The Polish taco consists of a Polish sausage in a tortilla, often served with refried beans and Monterey Jack cheese.
   
“Taco Polaco” (“Polaco Taco”) can be found in San Antonio and in Polish areas of the midwest, such as Chicago (IL), Minnesota and Wisconsin. Similar to the “Polish taco” is “German taco.”
     
 
Wikipedia: Kielbasa
Kielbasa comes from the Polish word kiełbasa for traditional Polish sausage. The word has become a commonly used North American term for Eastern European styles of sausage, including Ukrainian sausage, which is called kovbasa or kubasa. The sausage in Poland is usually sold in two forms, fresh and dry. The dry one has the advantage of being long lasting, while the fresh one can be eaten cold or cooked. The fresh form is used in traditional Polish dishes, such as biały barszcz or bigos.
 
Guero’s Taco Diner (San Antonio, TX)
POLACO TACO…$2.25
Chunk of polish sausage, refried beans and Monetery Jack cheese.
   
We Love Sandwiches
Polish Taco
by Paul
Bread type: Pita
Ingredients: Chopped smoked keilbasa, sauteed onions and green peppers, lettuce, tomato, cheese, Heinz (or any) chili sauce
Time to make (approx): 10 minutes
Chop up keilbasa and add to pan. Add onions and green peppers once keilbasa has cooked for about 4 minutes. Spoon into pita and add cheese, lettuce, tomato and liberal amounts of chili sauce.
 
16 March 1970, Brainerd (MN) Daily Dispatch, pg. 12, col. 4 ad:
POLISH TACOS
3 for $1.00
(Taco Towne—ed.)
   
6 August 1972, San Antonio (TX) Express and News, pg. 9G, col. 1 photo caption:
Oralia Valdez, right, and Evangeline Mata build sandwiches on the production line at the Snappy Snack commissary. The menu includes Polish tacos, a Polish sausage tucked in a flour tortilla.
 
10 February 1977, Southland Reporter (Chicago, IL), “Polish tacos? Revised recipe big favorite with Guizak family” by Joyce Macey,  section II, pg. 1, col. 2:
Mrs. Edwina Guziak, W. 85th pl., Chicago, couldn’t quite enjoy the Mexican taco recipe she received from her sister-in-law so she made a few changes and came up with her own creation which she calls Polish tacos.
(...)
POLISH TACOS
Two pounds ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper
One can 15 oz. tomato sauce
One half can (15 oz) Irish potatoes
Two tbls. French’s taco seasoning
One tbls. Lawry’s taco sauce
One pkg. Azteca flour tortilla shells (found in refrigerator section of your store)
About one half cup mild cheddar cheese  
 
Brown ground beef and drain. Add tomato sauce, potatoes, taco seasoning, taco sauce and simmer for 20 minutes.
Heat shells on skillet and put layer of meat into shell. Sprinkle meat with mild grated cheddar cheese, diced tomato and shredded lettuce.
 
Texas Monthly (April 1986)
MY FAVORITE TACO
Famous Texans Talk About Where They Eat The Tacos They Like Best.
(...)
Archbishop Patrick Flores, San Antonio. Homemade tacos. “I like tacos polacos, which is Polish sausage wrapped inside a corn or flour tortilla, and tacos de carne machacada, which is dried beef, eggs, and chile inside a corn or flour tortilla.”
 
29 August 1987, Dallas (TX) Morning News, “Hispanic Crusader to He Host of Pope”:
... a meeting in Rome last year, Flores caused the pope to laugh uproariously when the archbishop offered to cook some tacos Polancos—Polish tacos.
 
Hilltop Times (Hill AFB, UT)
August 31, 2000
Fiesta begins Hispanic Heritage observance
by Marisa Orosco
(...) 
“Our goal is to have several food booths with a variety of Hispanic cultural cuisine,” said John Medina, Hill’s Hispanic Employment Program Manager. “If you like Tex-Mex, we will have a booth selling Texas-style brisket including rice, beans, and salad. If you prefer New Mexico style food, we will have a booth serving tamales, frijoles, arroz, and salad. We’ll also introduce you to Polaco Tacos, Menudo, authentic Tejano-style Chalupas, and Frito pie. And, for those who may not ready for all of this, we will also have a both selling homemade ice cream, as well as soft drinks to compliment your meal.”
   
Google Groups: wny.rochester.freenet
Newsgroups: wny.rochester.freenet
From: “Richard Anselmo”
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 01:18:32 GMT
Local: Sun, Apr 28 2002 8:18 pm
Subject: Mart"s Polish Tacos to debut!
 
The great Polish Chef is at it again in his old world kitchen. After winning for the 7th Year in a row the Dingus Day Polish Sausage contest in Buffalo the day after Easter Sunday, Mr. Mart had a new idea for a new type of food!
 
Polish Tacos loaded with fresh cut up polish sausage, onions, and sauerkraut! The key to his new Polish Tacos are the special old world Polish hot sauce that is not to tame but not to hot! Mr. Mart plans to market his Polish Tacos this summer at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY and the New York State Fair in Syracuse, NY.  There is also plans to do something at the Genesee Country Museum in Mumford, NY on July 4th.
   
Google Groups: wny.rochester.freenet
Newsgroups: wny.rochester.freenet
From: Robert Kalita

Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 17:47:04 -0400
Local: Wed, May 1 2002 4:47 pm
Subject: Re: Mart"s Polish Tacos to debut!
 
I just visited San Antonio last week, during their Fiesta celebration.
I had a Polish Taco. It was a 6 inch Polish sausage (Alamo brand), cooked over a mesquite grill, and then placed on top of a soft tortilla. Slathered over the sausage, they put guacamole, and an onion/tomato salsa. It was awesome, with the smoky-ness of the mesquite probably being the dominant flavor. Growing up on kielbasa in Buffalo, this was a welcome alternative to my traditional taste buds.
 
Buddhas: The Fat City Six
May 24, 2006
An Outstanding Race
(...)
Amidst the 20-knot wind there was beer, cheesy brats*, roast corn, fudge, sodas, salads, Hebrew National taco polaco, and John’s super-sweet s’mores, served in no particular order due to our erratic management of the fire (see Dan’s approach below).
   
OC Weekly
!Ask a Mexican!
SPECIAL HALF-BREED EDICION
Gustavo Arellano
Published on September 20, 2007
*This page was modified on May. 7, 2008.
(...) 
Half-Polish: Bean Pole, Polo-Cholo, Polexican, Polexiqui (this particular gal was Yaqui Indian on her Mexican side; she also called herself a Mexipolaqui), Taco Polaco.
 
DateHookup.com
polish sausage taco
by bnsf580 at 5/14/2008 7:41:26 PM
 
Here are the ingredients for polish sausage taco.
1. 1 pound ground beef
2. taco seasoning
3. polish sausages
 
Directions for polish sausage taco.
1. Put the ground beef into the medium size pan.
2. Brown the ground beef on medium on the stove.
3. After you brown the ground beef, drain the grease into your grease can or whatever you have to get the grease out.
4. Add the taco seasoning to the ground beef, & sliced up the polish sausages into the pan on medium heat.
5. Stir up the polish sausages,taco seasoning, & the ground beef together in the medium size pan for about 5 to 10 minutes on medium low heat.
6. After its done, serve it up with soft shell tortilla. Its not the same old we are consuming to. I tried it & it is very good. I would suggest that you try it out. You can add cheese, lettuce, olives, taco sauce, salsa, ranch, or whatever you like. Serves at least 6-8 people or less.
 
KristenDay.com
Days in the Dells
Post on June 12th, 2008 by kristen
Despite our camper being stolen we had a nice time in Wisconsin Dells. We were some of the last people to see Lake Delton intact before it drained on Monday. Ironically it was the best weekend to not camp because of the awful storms.
 
We did get some time to explore the Dells. Just when I think I’ve seen everything in the Dells I’m pleasantly surprised. Here are our 2008 finds:
 
Rail Dog, 223 Wisconsin Ave., Wisconsin Dells
Have you ever had a Polish taco? As Polish as I am, I haven’t. Fry a Polish sausage and put it in a tortilla with all the Chicago dog toppings. This is the wonderful treat we had at the Rail Dog. It’s easy to find, just off the main drag and across the street from the H.H. Bennett B&B. Just look for the caboose! The Polish owner and his daughter were delightful to talk to.
 
This is just the part I know
30 June 2008
(...)
Polish Texan Cooking Demo - Also weird, the chef kept talking about how ‘all over San Antonio when you order breakfast tacos you’ll hear a type of taco called a Taco Polaco’ with Polish sausage. I’ve been around the block as far as breakfast tacos go, but never have I ever heard the term Taco Polaco. At this point, I started to wonder if they hired actors from NOVA to pose as various types of would-be Texans.
 
yelp
Guero’s Taco Diner
Category: Mexican
20323 Huebner Road
#111
San Antonio, TX 78288
(...)
Jai B.
San Antonio, TX
07/30/2008
Impressive list of tacos.  Let’s see… there was “Bicycle Heaven” which has beef fajita with papas, cheese and avocado…  then there was “California Dreaming” which included Mexican rice, avocado and queso… “Mo’s Favorite” consisting of carne guisada, cheese and topped with a fried egg… and the “Polaco Taco” which was polish sausage, refried beans and Monterey Jack… whoa… Polish sausage?  Fried egg?  Unconventional but interesting.  Then they had a list of tacos that are found pretty much everywhere in S.A. like puffy tacos, brisket tacos, fajita tacos… taco tacos… 
 
Roadside Curiosities
September 01, 2008
Rail Dog, Wisconsin Dells, WI
This is the Rail Dog, located in front of the Parkway Motel in the Wisconsin Dells, WI.
 
A side view of the rail car.
 
Yes, they are open! And the Knight in Shining Armor will lead you to a polish taco…
 
A Polish Taco—“from Poland thru Mexico to YOU!”—is a Vienna Polish sausage wrapped and deep-fried in a flour tortilla! Amazing.

The sign says: Only in the Dells can you get a Polish Taco in a CABOOSE!

Indeed.
Posted by Rebecca and Dale at 6:55 AM