Texas Monthly, which bills itself as “the national magazine of Texas,” is so focused on covering all things Lone Star that its masthead lists a barbecue editor. It also has correspondents who cover the rural-life blues, and a columnist who explains “western chic” and the dos and don’ts of boots.

Now, the publication is dipping a big Texan toe into another statewide obsession. José R. Ralat will begin work on Sept. 18 as the nation’s first taco editor.

“It’s a dream job,” Mr. Ralat said in a phone interview on Monday. “I had wanted to do something like this for a long time.”

Mr. Ralat, 43, is no stranger to the beat: For the magazine’s 2015 special issue about tacos, he and two friends visited 10 Texas cities and tried 390 distinctive tacos to name “The 120 Tacos You Must Eat Before You Die.” From that idea, the notion of hiring him as a taco editor was born.