Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2021 and updated in May 2025.
It’s a Sunday morning in Tucson, and the family is in the car. You’re driving to your local carniceria to pick up fresh menudo and carne asada that will be grilled over a coal or mesquite fire in an otherwise anonymous parking lot. Maybe you’re lucky, and when you go inside you’re greeted by a dimly lit menu of burros and tacos. You don’t want to spoil the weekend’s cookout, but you make a mental note to come back and try the firetruck-red al pastor tomorrow at your lunch break.
Carnicerias are tucked away in every neighborhood 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. 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 doubly, for both its fresh meat and tortillas de harina, 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.
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 , a reader favorite from our .
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:
Pick up red chile beef and green corn tamales at Beef Master Meat Market.
Beef Master Meat Market
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
I finally had the chance to check out Beef Master when I was researching where to find in Tucson. I elected to try their red chile beef tamal, because the smell from their in-house taqueria had cast a spell on me. When an attendant saw that I was taking pictures of the tamal in the parking lot, he ran out to urge me to try the green corn tamales as well. I'm glad he intervened: their green corn are some of the best in town.
Carniceria Aguajito sources their coveted tamales from a local artisan.
Carniceria El Aguajito
Location:
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
If you live in midtown, you should start coming to 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.Ìý
Pro tip: I picked up the last 6-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.
Carniceria Los Toritos
Location:
Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday
A reader sent me an email asking what was going on with the carniceria at the Pinecrest Center on Speedway. So I went out to investigate, and was overjoyed to find a carniceria, panaderia and dulceria all in one. In addition to a full-service butcher counter, they offer tortillas so large they fold into a big rectangle, from Tortilleria Sahuarita; fresh-ground masa and homemade refried beans; a variety of pan dulce and house-made rolls; and a signature taco, made with green chile and cheese. It's one of the more comprehensive carnicerias out there.
Linda’s Meat Market
Location:
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
There’s some witchcraft amiss at . 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 Pescaderia y Carniceria El Ranchito, on South Sixth Avenue, fries whole tilapia in addition to their raw meat and fish, chicharrones and ice cream.
Super Carniceria y Pescaderia El Ranchito
Location:
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
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.
Chicharrones at Super Carniceria 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, but it’s our gain.
Carniceria El Guero Canelo
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed on Saturday and Sunday
VisitÌýÌýfor more information.
Carniceria El Novillo
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Carniceria El Rodeo
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily
Pro tip: They will grill your meat outside on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from noon to 7 p.m.
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Carniceria y Comisaria Camacho
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
El Herradero Carniceria y Panaderia
Locations:ÌýÌý|ÌýÌý|ÌýÌý|
Hours:Ìý22nd Street, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily | Ajo Way, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily | St. Mary's, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily | Prince Road, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Pro tip: They'll cook your meats (such as carne asada) at their grill only on the weekends.
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Super Carniceria y Pescaderia El Ranchito is located at 6070 S. Sixth Ave.
Islas Meat Market
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday
Pro tip: Google reviews unanimously declare this the best chorizo in town, in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, in the world, in the universe. I haven’t gotten the chance to check it out yet, but I’m dying to try!
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Al pastor tacos are the star of the menu at La Vakita Meat Market.
La Vakita Meat Market
Locations:ÌýGreen Valley,ÌýÌý| West Tucson,Ìý
Hours:ÌýGV, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday | West Tucson, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
VisitÌýtheirÌýÌýfor more information.
Los Amigos Meat Market
Location:
Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Visit their for more information.
Mercado y Carniceria Los Primos
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý8 a.m. to 8 p.m. dailyÌý
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Mercado y Carniceria Mexicana
Locations:ÌýÌý|Ìý
Hours:ÌýSixth Avenue, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily | 22nd Street, 8 a.m. 7:45 p.m. Monday, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday andÌý 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
México Lindo Food Market, FruterÃa
Location:
Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Super Carniceria El Ranchito has beautiful murals on its storefront.
Mr. Toro Carniceria
Location:Ìý
Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Rancheros Carniceria
Locations:ÌýÌý| Ìý|Ìý
Hours:Ìý7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Check out their for more information.
Super Carniceria del Valle
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Super Carniceria "Mi Ranchito"
Location:Ìý
Hours:Ìý8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Visit theirÌýÌýfor more information.
Tortillas Don Juan
Location:Ìý
Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Visit their for more information.
Wild West Meat Market
Location:Ìý4825 N. 1st Ave.
Hours:Ìý8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, the kitchen is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.Ìý
Visit their for more information. (Be on the lookout, new locations are coming soon!)