Champurrado Oaxaqueño con Masa de Maíz

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy clay olla or thick-bottomed 4-quart pot
• •Wooden molinillo
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Clay jicaras or deep ceramic mugs for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Dissolve the masa

   Break the fresh masa into small pieces and place it in a bowl with 2 cups of the water. Work it with your hands until it dissolves into a smooth, milky liquid with no lumps. If you are using masa harina, whisk it into 1 cup of warm water and let it hydrate for five minutes, then thin it with another cup of water. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Press on the solids. You want a smooth liquid, not a gritty one. The straining is not optional. Lumps of undissolved masa in champurrado are the mark of someone who rushed.

   Fresh masa from a tortilleria gives this drink its full corn flavor and its proper body. Masa harina works, but it is a compromise. If you have access to a Mexican market or tortilleria that sells fresh masa, use it.
2. 2

   Heat the water with canela and piloncillo

   Pour the remaining 4 cups of water into a heavy clay olla or a thick-bottomed pot. Add the canela stick and the chopped piloncillo. Set it over medium heat and stir occasionally until the piloncillo dissolves completely. This takes about ten minutes. Piloncillo is stubborn. Chopping it into smaller pieces helps, but it will dissolve on its own terms. Do not rush it with high heat or it will scorch on the bottom of the pot.

   To chop piloncillo, wrap the cone in a kitchen towel and hit it with a heavy rolling pin or the flat side of a meat pounder. It will crack into manageable pieces. Trying to knife through a whole cone will dull your blade and test your patience.
3. 3

   Add the chocolate

   Once the piloncillo is dissolved, add the chopped chocolate de metate. Stir with a wooden spoon until every piece has melted into the liquid. The pot will turn a deep, earthy brown. Oaxacan chocolate de metate is grainier than commercial Mexican chocolate. It dissolves differently, leaving a slight texture in the drink that is not a flaw. It is the character. If you are using a brand like Mayordomo or La Soledad, you are in the right place. If you are using Abuelita or Ibarra, you will get something drinkable, but you will not get Oaxacan champurrado.

4. 4

   Add the dissolved masa

   With the chocolate water at a gentle simmer, pour the strained masa liquid in a slow, steady stream while stirring constantly. Do not dump it in all at once or you will get clumps that no amount of whisking will break. Stir in one direction. The mixture will begin to thicken almost immediately. This is the masa doing what masa does: it absorbs water and swells as it cooks. Lower the heat so the champurrado barely simmers. It will spit and pop if the heat is too high, and it scorches easily once the masa thickens.

   Champurrado thickens as it sits. If it gets too thick on the stove, add a splash of hot water and stir it in. You are looking for the consistency of a thick atole that coats the back of a spoon but still pours from a ladle.
5. 5

   Cook until thickened

   Stir the champurrado frequently over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. It needs this time for the raw corn flavor to cook out and for the masa, chocolate, and piloncillo to become one thing instead of three things in a pot. Taste it at the fifteen-minute mark. You should taste chocolate first, then the earthy sweetness of piloncillo, then the corn underneath both, warm and round. If it tastes flat, add the pinch of salt. Salt in champurrado is not about making it salty. It is about waking up the chocolate.

6. 6

   Froth with the molinillo

   Remove the canela stick. Place a molinillo in the pot, hold the handle between your palms, and roll it back and forth rapidly. The champurrado will begin to foam. Work the molinillo for a full minute until a thick layer of froth covers the surface. This is not decorative. The frothing changes the texture, introducing air that lightens the density of the masa and makes the drink feel alive in the mouth instead of heavy. Ladle into clay jicaras or deep mugs. Serve immediately. Champurrado does not wait. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

   If you do not own a molinillo, use a whisk and beat vigorously for two minutes. It will not produce the same fine foam, but it will aerate the drink. A molinillo costs a few dollars at any Mexican market and lasts a lifetime. Buy one.

Chef Tips

• •Chocolate de metate oaxaqueño is the only chocolate that belongs in this drink. Mayordomo, La Soledad, and Guelaguetza are all brands ground in Oaxaca on stone metates. If you live outside Mexico, order it online from a Mexican specialty vendor. It keeps for months in a cool, dry place. Do not substitute with Abuelita or Ibarra unless you have no other option, and know that what you are making will taste like a different drink.
• •Champurrado is masa-based, not flour-thickened, not cornstarch-thickened. This is not negotiable. The corn is what makes it champurrado. Without the masa, you have chocolate caliente. A fine thing, but a different thing. No me vengas con atajos.
• •The drink thickens as it cools. If you are serving it over the course of a morning, keep the pot on the lowest possible heat and add small splashes of hot water as needed. It should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon but still pourable from a ladle.
• •In Oaxaca, champurrado is paired with tamales de mole negro or pan de yema during the posadas and on Dia de Muertos. A jicara of champurrado and a tamal wrapped in banana leaf at seven in the morning is a Oaxacan December. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Advance Preparation

• •The masa can be dissolved and strained up to two hours ahead. Keep it refrigerated and stir before using, as it will settle.
• •Champurrado can be made up to one day ahead and reheated gently over low heat with a splash of water to thin it back to the right consistency. Froth again with the molinillo before serving. It will not be as good as fresh, but it will be good enough for a busy December morning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)