The Restaurant Fajita Sizzle Might Have Been Deceiving You All Along

Fajitas are a Tex-Mex style dish that is pretty universally loved by everyone. The meal typically features a flour tortilla with skirt steak, but can also be filled with meat like chicken, shrimp, and even fish. Then the addition of ingredients like savory onions, bell peppers, spicy salsa, and sour cream or guacamole, really take it to the next level. With so many different variations of fajitas, it's easy to see why people enjoy ordering it at restaurants so much.

It's also a fun and satisfying experience to hear the dish sizzle, as your server brings it to your table. It's long been assumed that the reason fajitas are making this sound is that they're still cooking in the cast iron skillet when they come out of the kitchen and land in front of you. However, one Tiktok user recently brought this idea into question when they posted the meal being prepared by a cook using water to make it smoke.

Many of us thought it was common knowledge that this Tex-Mex entree sizzles in the pan when it arrives at our table because it's still cooking, but TikTok user @sallamibrahim24 has us questioning whether or not that's true. In the video he posted, you can see a restaurant employee squeezing a bottle and it looks like water comes pouring out onto the skillet which then creates plumes of smoke. The server then carries the fajitas to a table to be served to the customer that presumably ordered it.

Social media users were in disbelief that water was used to create this illusion, versus just letting it continue to cook in the skillet. One TikToker posted his shock about this "artificial sizzle" and his followers were quick to weigh in with their own thoughts. "My whole life has been a lie," one user lamented. Another added, "I have no words." Other followers who had previous restaurant experience said this seemed to be a common practice at places they worked. However, others disagreed saying eateries they've worked at actually made fajitas the legitimate way.

Looks like the next time you go out and order this style of meal, you'll have to ask your server to know for certain. But if that sounds too awkward, try making our authentic sizzling steak fajitas recipe from the comfort of your own home. This way you'll know that sizzle is real.