Carnicerias are tucked away in many neighborhoods in Tucson. The first time I walked into a meat market that cooked its products, I was blown away by the elegant simplicity of the concept: Cut out the middleman. Many, though not all, carnicerias have lunch counters and prepared foods, or grills outside to cook your carne on weekends.
Each market has its own specialties and marinade recipes. Regulars have their favorite places for carne asada, chorizo or tamales. Super Carniceria El Ranchito even has ice cream (although it’s next to their prepared food case, and you might be more tempted by their whole-tilapia pescado frito).
While I have loved Tortillas Don Juan doubly, for both its fresh meat and tortillas de harina, La Vakita in Green Valley was the carniceria that inspired this roundup. It’s tucked into a former gas station right off the highway at Esperanza Boulevard, next to a golf cart store more typical for the iconic retirement community.
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Their al pastor gets charred on the flattop grill in the back of the store, cooked by a gracious man who will ask you questions with patience: “Do you want pico de gallo and cheese on this?” If you want, but it doesn’t elevate the dish more than the marinade already has. If you order tacos, he’ll recommend corn tortillas. I’ve had both and prefer the flour.
La Vakita takes advantage of its proximity to Old Nogales Highway, offering empanadas and other pan dulce and tortillas from El Triunfo, a reader favorite from our tortilla roundup.
In my research for this article, though, I scoured reviews online and targeted a few carnicerias to check out in person. Here’s what I found:
Carniceria El Aguajito
Location: 2800 E. Fort Lowell Road
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends.
If you live in midtown, you should start coming to Carniceria El Aguajito instead of your local chain grocer. The produce selection is fresh and impeccably organized. The interior is warmly lit and feels homey. The woman at the cash register will let you know that their specialty — green corn tamales — are usually found at the register.
When they’re running low on stock, ask the attendants behind the meat counter and they’ll share what they have left, if any. You can also get La Noria’s delightfully tender, cult-classic corn tortillas in a red icebox by the checkout, to wrap anything you might pick up from the butcher.
Pro tip: I picked up the last six-pack of green corn tamales at 10:50 a.m. on a Wednesday. If you want to secure one of these perfectly sweet-savory treasures, get there close to opening.
Linda’s Meat Market
Location: 1777 W. 36th St.
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
There’s some witchcraft amiss at Linda’s Meat Market. The smell of the prepared foods in the back of the store is magical. I tried to ascertain what dish was at the source by ordering the red chile combo plate and a chile relleno. They’re both delicious, but perhaps the smell is more than the sum of its parts.
Super Carniceria y Pescaderia El Ranchito
Location: 6070 S. Sixth Ave.
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
El Ranchito is almost purposefully concealed by Tucson’s idiosyncratic layout: it’s on the part of Sixth Avenue passed where the street turns into Old Nogales Highway.
It makes more sense, if you’re coming from the north, to take Irvington to Drexel, and go west until you hit a road that looks like the tributary to Sixth Avenue’s river. At the intersection of Sixth and Bilby, you’ll find a treasure trove at Super Carniceria y Pescaderia El Ranchito.
While the ice cream counter feels like a novel throwback to a soda fountain, the real treats are the prepared fried foods immediately adjacent.
While the hearty chicharrones de puerco might seem more accessible, I found the chicharrones de res to be melt-in-your-mouth decadent. The pescado frito is the most tender tilapia you’ll find in Tucson, practically leaping onto your fork with the slightest disturbance.
The people working here are so kind. “Where are you from?” the counter attendant asked, noticing my camera. “We used to get people from out of town, Phoenix and stuff, taking pictures.” I’m not sure why they stopped, coming, but it’s our gain.
Beef Master Meat Market
Location: 527 W. 29th St.
Hours: 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, 6 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday
Carniceria El Guero Canelo
Location: 4519 S. 12th Ave.
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 12-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Carniceria El Novillo
Location: 7885 E. Golf Links Road
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Carniceria El Rodeo
Location: 3901 E. Benson Hwy.
Hours: 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily.
Pro tip: They will grill your meat outside on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from noon to 7 p.m.
Carniceria La Noria
Location: 704 E. Prince Road.
Hours: 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily.
Carniceria Los Vaqueros
Location: 2023 S. Craycroft Road.
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
Carniceria y Comisaria Camacho
Location: 4420 S. Sixth Ave.
Hours: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
El Herradero Carniceria y Panaderia
Locations: 4211 E. 22nd St., 1285 W. Ajo Way, 1305 W. St. Mary’s Road.
Hours: 22nd Street, 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Ajo Way, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Monday, 7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday.
St. Mary’s, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Pro tip: They’ll cook your meats (such as carne asada) at their grill only on the weekends.
Islas Meat Market
Location: 702 W. Irvington Road.
Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Pro tip: Google reviews unanimously declare this the best chorizo in town, in Arizona, in the world, in the universe. I haven’t gotten the chance to check it out yet, but I’m dying to try!
La Vakita Meat Market
Locations: Green Valley, 61 W. Esperanza Blvd. — West Tucson, 5975 W. Western Way Cir.
Hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
Los Amigos Meat Market
Location: 3929 S. 12th Ave.
Hours: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Mercado y Carniceria Los Primos
Location: 9895 S. Old Nogales Hwy.
Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
Mercado y Carniceria Mexicana
Locations: 4550 S. Sixth Ave., 6211 E. 22nd St.
Hours: Sixth Avenue, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
22nd Street, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
México Lindo Food Market, Frutería
Location: 50 W. Valencia Road
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Mr. Toro Carniceria
Location: 7545 S. Houghton Road
Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Rancheros Carniceria
Locations: 7627 E. Speedway,
16150 N. Oracle Road, Catalina
Hours: Speedway, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday.
Oracle, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
Super Carniceria del Valle
Location: 2611 W. Drexel Road.
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
Super Carniceria “Mi Ranchito”
Location: 5301 S. Park Ave.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Tortillas Don Juan
Location: 1924 S. Fourth Ave.
Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
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