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Hidalgo's ceremonial wedding broth from the Altiplano: turkey necks slow-simmered with fresh poleo, finished with rice and a fried base of toasted guajillo and ancho. The caldo that anchors a Hidalguense celebration.
This caldo is from Hidalgo. From the Altiplano specifically, the high cold plains that stretch from Pachuca up toward Real del Monte and east toward Actopan, where the guajolote, the native Mexican turkey, has been raised in courtyards since long before the Spanish arrived. When a family in this region marries off a daughter, the morning after the wedding is announced with the smell of this pot.
The defining ingredient is not the turkey. It is the poleo. Poleo is a highland pennyroyal that grows wild on the slopes around the old silver-mining towns of the Sierra de Pachuca, and the women of the Tianguis de Actopan carry it down in damp bundles to sell on market days. It has the cool sharpness of mint and the persistence of oregano, and it perfumes the broth in a way that no other herb does. Hierbabuena will not work. Spearmint will not work. If your mercado does not have poleo, find a Hidalguense vendor and ask. No me vengas con atajos.
The turkey neck is the cut for this caldo because it carries flavor that breast meat cannot match, with enough collagen to give the broth real body and enough bone to make it worth gnawing at the table. The chile guajillo base, fried in manteca until the fat separates, gives the caldo its color and its weight. The rice goes in toward the end to thicken the broth without turning it into stew. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and this one belongs to Hidalgo.
My mother did not know this dish. It was not Jalisciense and it never crossed her notebook. I learned it in Actopan in my fifth year of the 32-state project, sitting in the patio of a woman named Dona Eustolia who was preparing for her granddaughter's wedding. She let me stir the pot. She corrected my chile-toasting. She told me the poleo had to be tied in a bundle so it could be lifted out cleanly before serving. Recetas probadas y garantizadas. Now I am writing it for you the way she taught it to me.
The guajolote, Meleagris gallopavo, is native to Mesoamerica and was domesticated in the central Mexican highlands at least 2,000 years before the Spanish arrival, making it one of only two animals (along with the Muscovy duck) that pre-Columbian Mexico raised for food. In Hidalgo's Otomi and Nahua communities, turkey caldos were ceremonial dishes reserved for weddings, baptisms, and the festivals of the patron saints, with the bird often raised specifically for the occasion. Poleo, Mentha pulegium and the related native species Hedeoma piperita, was used by the Otomi for both culinary and medicinal purposes long before colonization, and its inclusion in this caldo reflects a continuity of highland herbal tradition that survived the Spanish substitution of European mints in most of the rest of Mexican cooking.
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into 2-inch sections
Quantity
1 pound
for added body
Quantity
1 medium
halved, plus 1/2 cup finely diced for serving
Quantity
1
halved crosswise, plus 3 cloves reserved for the chile base
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
10 sprigs
tied with kitchen twine
Quantity
6
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
2
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
2 medium
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1/2 cup
rinsed until the water runs clear
Quantity
2 medium
peeled and cut into thick coins
Quantity
2 small
peeled and cut into wedges
Quantity
1 sprig
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
toasted on the comal
Quantity
for serving
warmed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| turkey necks (pescuezos de guajolote)cut into 2-inch sections | 3 pounds |
| turkey wings or backsfor added body | 1 pound |
| white onionhalved, plus 1/2 cup finely diced for serving | 1 medium |
| head of garlichalved crosswise, plus 3 cloves reserved for the chile base | 1 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon, plus more to taste |
| fresh poleo (Mexican pennyroyal)tied with kitchen twine | 10 sprigs |
| dried chile guajillostemmed and seeded | 6 |
| dried chile anchostemmed and seeded | 2 |
| roma tomatoes | 2 medium |
| manteca de cerdo (pork lard) | 1 tablespoon |
| long-grain white ricerinsed until the water runs clear | 1/2 cup |
| carrotspeeled and cut into thick coins | 2 medium |
| chayotespeeled and cut into wedges | 2 small |
| fresh epazote | 1 sprig |
| dried Mexican oregano (preferably oregano de monte) | 1 teaspoon |
| chopped fresh cilantro (optional) | for serving |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
| dried chile de arbol (optional)toasted on the comal | for serving |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
Heat a heavy 8-quart olla de barro or stockpot over medium-high. Working in batches so you do not crowd the pot, brown the turkey neck sections on every side, about 8 minutes per batch. The skin should turn deep golden and stick a little before releasing. Those browned bits at the bottom of the pot are the foundation of the broth. Do not skip this. A pale turkey neck makes a pale caldo, and a pale caldo dishonors the bird.
Add the turkey wings or backs to the pot. Cover everything with cold water by three inches, about 4 quarts. Add the halved onion, the halved head of garlic, the bay leaves, and the salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Skim the gray foam that rises in the first 20 minutes. Cold water draws the flavor out slowly and keeps the broth clear. A rolling boil gives you a cloudy pot and tough meat.
Once the foam stops rising, lower the heat until you see lazy bubbles every few seconds. Drop in the tied bundle of poleo. Cover partially and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The poleo is what makes this Hidalguense. It is a wild pennyroyal that grows on the highland slopes around Real del Monte and Pachuca, and the women who carry it down to the Tianguis de Actopan will tell you it cannot be replaced with regular mint or with hierbabuena. If you cannot find poleo fresh, find it dried. If you cannot find it dried, you are making a different soup.
While the broth simmers, heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles separately, about 20 seconds per side. They should puff and smell sweet, never blacken. On the same comal, char the tomatoes and the 3 reserved garlic cloves until the tomato skins blister and split, about 6 minutes total. Place the toasted chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water, not boiling. Soak for 20 minutes.
Drain the chiles. Transfer them to a blender with the charred tomatoes, the charred garlic, and 1 cup of the turkey broth. Blend until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids. In a small skillet, melt the manteca over medium heat. Pour in the strained chile puree. It will sputter. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the puree darkens and the fat separates at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This step deepens the chile and is the difference between a thin caldo and a serious one.
Remove and discard the spent onion, garlic head, bay leaves, and the bundle of poleo from the broth. Stir the fried chile base into the broth. Add the rinsed rice, the carrots, the chayote wedges, and the sprig of epazote. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is tender and the chayote yields to a knife. Taste for salt now. The rice absorbs flavor as it cooks, so the broth needs to be assertive before it goes in.
Crumble the dried oregano between your palms over the pot and stir once. Ladle the caldo into deep barro cazuelas, making sure each bowl gets a section of turkey neck, a piece of carrot, and a wedge of chayote. The eater is expected to gnaw the meat off the neck bones at the table. That is part of the dish. Set the cilantro, diced onion, lime, toasted chile de arbol, and warm tortillas in small platitos around the table. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
1 serving (about 550g)
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