Burrito Estilo Tijuana (California Burrito)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron skillet, plancha, or charcoal grill (mesquite if possible)
• •Heavy pot for frying the papas
• •12-inch comal for warming and toasting the tortillas
• •Sharp chef's knife for chopping the carne asada
• •Glass or ceramic dish for marinating

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the carne asada

   In a glass dish, combine the garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, beer, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Lay the skirt steak in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, no more than 2 hours. Skirt steak is thin and the lime will start to denature the proteins past two hours. You want flavor, not texture damage.

   The soy sauce is not a Tex-Mex shortcut. Tijuana's carne asada culture grew up alongside the city's significant Chinese-Mexican community, and soy sauce in the marinade is genuinely Tijuanense. No me vengas con atajos.
2. 2

   Fry the papas

   Soak the cut potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes to release the starch. Drain and dry them thoroughly with a clean towel. Wet potatoes spit and steam in oil instead of frying. Heat vegetable oil or rendered beef fat to 325F in a heavy pot. Fry the papas in two batches for about 5 minutes per batch, until soft and pale. Lift them out and let them rest while you raise the oil to 375F. Fry them again for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp at the edges. Drain and salt them while still hot.

3. 3

   Make the pico de gallo

   Combine the diced tomatoes, white onion, serrano, cilantro, lime juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir and let it sit for 10 minutes. The tomatoes will release some juice and the onion will lose its raw bite. Taste and adjust salt. This is pico de gallo, not salsa fresca. There is no garlic in it. Asi se hace y punto.

4. 4

   Mash the guacamole

   Halve the avocados, pit them, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork until you have a chunky paste, not a puree. The Tijuana version of guacamole inside a California burrito stays simple: avocado, lime, salt. No tomato, no onion, no cilantro. Those are in the pico. Keep the layers separate.

5. 5

   Grill the carne asada

   Heat a grill, cast iron skillet, or plancha over high heat until it is screaming hot. Brush it with a little neutral oil. Pull the steak out of the marinade and shake off the excess. Lay it on the hot surface and do not move it for 2 to 3 minutes. You want a hard sear, dark crust, the smell of grilled beef hitting the air. Flip and cook another 2 minutes for medium-rare. Skirt steak is thin, it cooks fast.

   If you have access to mesquite or oak charcoal, use it. The taqueros on Avenida Revolucion cook over carbon de mezquite and that smoke is half of what makes Tijuana carne asada taste like Tijuana.
6. 6

   Rest and chop the meat

   Move the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Resist the urge to skip this. The juices need to redistribute or they will run out the moment you cut. Slice the meat against the grain into thin strips, then chop the strips crosswise into rough pieces, the size you would expect to find inside a taco. The carne asada inside a Tijuana burrito is chopped, not laid out in slices.

7. 7

   Warm the tortillas and melt the cheese

   Heat a comal or large skillet over medium. Warm each flour tortilla for 20 seconds per side until it is soft and pliable. The flour tortilla is a Noroeste birthright, not a shortcut. In Baja and Sonora it is the tortilla. Once warm, scatter 2 ounces of shredded queso asadero down the center of each tortilla and let the comal heat melt the cheese into a soft pull. The cheese goes on the warm tortilla, not on the meat. That is the difference between a burrito that holds together and one that falls apart.

8. 8

   Build and roll the burritos

   On top of the melted cheese, layer in this order: a generous handful of carne asada, a row of hot papas fritas, two tablespoons of guacamole, and two tablespoons of pico de gallo. Fold the sides in, then roll tightly from the bottom, tucking as you go. The fries on the inside are the whole point. They give the burrito its weight, its starch, its body. This is what makes it the California burrito and not just any other burrito.

9. 9

   Sear the burrito and serve

   Return the rolled burrito to the dry comal seam-side down. Press lightly for 30 seconds, then turn and toast the other side. The flour tortilla will get small charred spots and the cheese inside will bond everything together. Slice in half on a diagonal and serve immediately, while the papas are still crisp and the cheese still pulls. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •The flour tortilla is half the dish. If you have access to a Mexican panaderia or tortilleria that makes sobaqueras, the paper-thin Sonoran flour tortillas, use those. Supermarket flour tortillas are a compromise, not an upgrade. Warm them on a dry comal until they puff slightly. A cold or stiff tortilla will tear when you roll.
• •Skirt steak is the cut. Arrachera in Spanish. Ask your butcher for outer skirt if you can get it. Flap meat (arrachera de res in some markets) is the correct substitute. Do not use sirloin or flank as a shortcut. The grain and the fat content are wrong and the burrito will taste lean and chewy.
• •Queso asadero from Chihuahua is the proper cheese. It melts into long strings and has the right mild, slightly tangy flavor. Queso Chihuahua works just as well. Do not use cheddar. Yellow cheese on this burrito is a tell that the cook learned the dish from a chain restaurant, not from Tijuana.
• •If you have access to mesquite charcoal, cook the carne asada over it. The mesquite smoke is the cooking fuel of the northern Mexican desert and it is what makes the carne asada at Tijuana's taquerias taste different from carne asada cooked anywhere else.

Advance Preparation

• •The carne asada marinade can be mixed up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Do not marinate the meat longer than 2 hours; the lime will start to break down the proteins.
• •The pico de gallo can be made up to 4 hours ahead. After that the tomatoes get watery.
• •The papas fritas should be eaten the moment they come out of the oil. They do not hold. Build the burritos and serve immediately.
• •Guacamole loses color within an hour. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface if you must hold it briefly, but ideally mash it just before assembly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 575g)