Xalapa Garnachas Veracruzanas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy pot for simmering the beef
• •Cast iron comal or heavy steel comal
• •Tortilla press lined with plastic
• •Blender
• •Clay cazuela or heavy skillet for frying the salsa
• •Wide skillet for semi-frying in manteca
• •Low barro rojo platter for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Build beef broth

   Put the falda de res in a pot with the half onion, smashed garlic, bay leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and enough water to cover by two inches. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim the gray foam, then cook partially covered for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat shreds without fighting you. Reserve at least 2 cups of broth. Shred the beef finely while it is still warm, because cold beef tears into dry ropes.

2. 2

   Pickle the onion

   Stir the diced red onion with the vinegar, crumbled Mexican oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Let it sit at least 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. For Xalapa garnachas, the onion is diced small, not cut into big Yucatán-style rings. Different state, different table. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

3. 3

   Cook the potatoes

   Put the diced potatoes in a small pot, cover with water, and season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Simmer 7 to 9 minutes, just until tender at the center. Drain and spread them on a plate so the surface dries. You want separate little cubes, not mashed potato hiding the beef.

4. 4

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile jalapeño seco and chile guajillo separately, turning often, just until they darken slightly and smell alive. Do not blacken them. Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes. On the same comal, roast the tomatoes, quarter onion, and unpeeled garlic until the tomato skins blister and the garlic softens.

   At the Xalapa market, ask for chile seco de jalapeño or chipotle seco. Canned chipotle in adobo makes the salsa sweet and vinegary. Useful for other dishes, wrong here.
5. 5

   Fry the salsa

   Peel the roasted garlic. Drain the chiles and blend them with the roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 cup reserved beef broth, and salt to taste. Heat 2 tablespoons manteca de cerdo in a clay cazuela or heavy skillet. Add the salsa and fry it 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it turns brick red and the fat freckles the surface. Add more broth only if it gets too thick to spoon. La manteca es el sabor.

6. 6

   Shape the masa

   Knead the fresh masa with the fine sea salt. If it cracks at the edges when pressed, knead in warm water one tablespoon at a time. Divide into 24 balls and press each into a small tortilla about 3 inches wide, a little thicker than a taco tortilla. Cook on a hot comal 30 to 45 seconds per side, until the surfaces set and small brown freckles appear. Keep them covered in a clean cloth.

7. 7

   Semi-fry tortillas

   Melt 1 cup manteca de cerdo in a wide skillet over medium heat, enough to come about 1/4 inch up the pan. Fry 3 or 4 tortillas at a time, 20 to 30 seconds on the first side and 10 to 15 seconds on the second. The edges should blister and tighten, but the center must stay pliable. If they snap like tostadas, you went too far. Spoon a little salsa over each tortilla as it comes out so the red fat stains the masa.

   Keep the lard at a steady sizzle. Cold lard makes greasy garnachas. Angry lard makes brittle ones. Listen to the pan.
8. 8

   Top by the dozen

   Arrange the garnachas on a barro rojo platter. Add a small mound of shredded beef to each one, then a few potato cubes, another spoonful of salsa roja, and drained pickled red onion. Serve immediately, by the dozen, the way a cenaduría in Xalapa would. No lettuce, no sour cream, no yellow cheese. This is Veracruz. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh masa from a tortillería is the first choice. Masa harina works only if you knead it well and let it rest 20 minutes before pressing. Fresh nixtamal smells like corn. A bag gets you close, not all the way.
• •Do not use flour tortillas. Flour tortillas belong to the northern states. These garnachas are Veracruz antojitos and they need corn masa.
• •The salsa should be warm from chile jalapeño seco, not punishing. Not all Mexican food is about heat. Here the flavor is smoke, tomato, lard, and corn.
• •Garnachas are semi-fried, not deep-fried tostadas. They should bend when you pick them up and still hold the meat and potato. That texture is the point.
• •Make the beef and salsa ahead if you want a weeknight cena. Fry the tortillas only when people are ready to eat. A cold garnacha is punishment, not dinner.

Advance Preparation

• •The beef can be cooked, shredded, and refrigerated in a little of its broth up to 2 days ahead.
• •The salsa roja can be made 3 days ahead. Reheat it in a spoonful of manteca and loosen with beef broth before using.
• •The pickled red onion can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The small tortillas can be pressed and cooked a few hours ahead, kept wrapped in a cloth, then semi-fried right before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)