The smell of burgers filled the air as I took my nightly walk with my dog back in February. Our leisurely stroll turned into a high-stakes mission — I had to find where the heavenly scent was coming from.
The source of the smell came from a blue food truck covered in Looney Tunes-esque farm animals. I patiently waited in line and ordered a cheeseburger, rushing home so I could start chowing down on my meal.
It was love at first bite — the juicy meat with a perfectly crisp outside covered in American cheese and a tangy sauce, all sandwiched between two pieces of fluffy brioche bread.
When I was finished, there was no doubt in my mind that I had just eaten the best burger I’ve ever had in my entire life.
For three years, CowPig has been making their customers fall in love with their smash burgers and loaded fries, proving that you don’t need a fancy restaurant to serve food so delicious that you can’t get enough of it.
Javier Castro and his sons own CowPig, a food truck that specializes in smash burgers, chicken tenders and loaded fries.
Javier Castro got his start in Las Vegas, where he was an overnight cleaner at a casino kitchen. He moved up the ranks, becoming the dishwasher, then cook, then sous chef and finally head chef.
He later moved to California where he worked for a while, eventually coming to Tucson to work at the Starr Pass Resort. His final move before opening CowPig was to Casino Del Sol, where he worked as head chef for 10 years.
After spending 25 years of his life in the restaurant business, Castro was burnt out.
“I was done. I didn’t want to cook anymore,” Castro said.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Castro was able to spend more time with his three sons. One night as he was talking to a friend who had just bought a food truck, he decided to also invest in a food truck where he and his sons could serve up tasty food on their terms.
Just like that, his passion for food was restored.
To make his smash burgers, Castro uses fresh ground beef from a local butcher, making sure it’s cold when he presses the patty into the griddle so it gets a nice crisp.
In the beginning, though, CowPig wasn’t serving smash burgers. Instead, they got their start with breakfast. They soon realized that a breakfast truck didn’t seem to be a hit with customers, so they began playing around with different menu items, testing out what worked and what didn’t.
“There’s so many trucks out here, you got to separate yourself from everybody else,” Castro said. “We discovered people liked burgers, loaded fries and chicken tenders, and that's what we took off with. We perfected it and kept going from there.”
Castro decided to go with smash burgers in particular to help separate him from the competition.
Smash burgers are thinner than your typical burger patty and Castro uses fresh ground beef from a local butcher, making sure it’s cold when he presses the patty into the griddle so it gets a nice crisp around the edges.
Castro and his sons were able get creative when it came to crafting the CowPig menu. The menu features a variety of smash burgers as well as hand-battered chicken tenders, plus fries smothered in buffalo sauce, ranch and CowPig sauce, topped with pieces of chicken tenders.
CowPig's CowMelt sandwich is topped with juicy grilled onions and green chile.
While their fries and chicken are delicious, the real showstoppers are their CowMelt and Basic Cow burgers.
The CowMelt is a fan favorite at the food truck. For this sandwich, Castro makes a smash burger and adds green chiles, caramelized onions, bacon, Swiss cheese and CowPig sauce on top. To finish it off, he uses Texas toast as the buns.
Every burger place needs a classic cheeseburger and CowPig’s take blows them all out of the water. While it may be called the Basic Cow, there is nothing basic about the taste. All the classic flavors blend together so perfectly, getting you hooked after your first bite.
The Basic Cow is a smash burger topped with lettuce, pickles, onions, American cheese and CowPig sauce. You get a taste of gooey cheese and their special CowPig sauce with every bite you take. Mix that with the crispiness of the patty and the softness of the bread and you have a 10/10 burger.
Whether the Castros are at Coop, which is their new chicken tender spot at 429 N. Fourth Ave., or parked at an event in their bright blue truck, you can always count on the family to serve up burgers that put fast-food restaurants to shame.
“We're just out there having fun, working together and being a family,” Castro said.
Check out CowPig’s Instagram page to see their weekly schedule.
If your love language is food, you might be interested in knowing how to make it. Yair Ben-Dor has more on making the perfect burger.
