Gorditas de Horno Potosinas para Desayuno

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Horno de barro or 500F home oven with baking stone, baking steel, or heavy sheet pan
• •Cast iron comal for toasting chiles and charring vegetables
• •Blender for the chile ancho salsa
• •Wide skillet or clay cazuela for the chicharron filling
• •Wooden spoon or bean masher
• •Cotton servilleta for holding the baked gorditas

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the horno

   Set a baking stone, baking steel, or heavy upside-down sheet pan in the middle of the oven and heat to 500F for at least 30 minutes. If you have a wood-fired horno de barro, bake after the flames have died and the floor is fiercely hot. These gorditas need a hard first blast so the masa sets outside and stays tender inside.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho and chile guajillo separately, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until they darken slightly and smell deep. Do not blacken them. The ancho brings the dark fruit flavor that belongs in the chicharron, and the guajillo gives clean red color.

   Burned chile turns bitter. If a chile goes black, throw it out. No me vengas con atajos.
3. 3

   Blend the salsa

   Cover the toasted chiles with hot water and let them soften for 15 minutes. Drain them. Blend with the charred tomatoes, one quarter of the onion, the peeled charred garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup fresh water until smooth. Strain if your blender leaves skins behind. The sauce should be brick red and thick enough to coat a spoon.

4. 4

   Cook the chicharron

   Finely chop the remaining onion. Melt 1 tablespoon manteca in a skillet over medium heat and cook half the chopped onion until translucent. Add the chile salsa and fry it for 5 minutes, stirring, until the color deepens and the fat starts to show at the edges. Add the chicharron prensado and cook 8 to 10 minutes more, until the filling is thick and glossy. Taste before salting. Chicharron already carries salt.

5. 5

   Mash the beans

   In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons manteca over medium heat. Add the rest of the chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the frijoles bayos or flor de mayo with their cooking liquid and the epazote sprig. Mash with a wooden spoon until thick and spreadable, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the epazote. The beans should hold inside the gordita, not run out onto the plate.

6. 6

   Work the masa

   In a wide bowl, knead the fresh masa with the softened manteca, salt, and baking powder. Add warm water a tablespoon at a time until the dough feels soft, smooth, and alive under your hands, not cracked and not sticky. Cover with a damp towel and rest 15 minutes. The rest matters. Masa that has not rested fights you.

7. 7

   Shape thick rounds

   Divide the masa into 12 equal balls. Grease your palms lightly with manteca and pat each ball into a round about 3 1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Do not press them thin like tortillas. A gordita needs enough body to split after baking. Smooth any cracked edges with damp fingers.

8. 8

   Bake the gorditas

   Slide the masa rounds onto the hot stone or sheet pan, leaving space between them. Bake 8 minutes, flip carefully, and bake 5 to 7 minutes more, until the surfaces look dry, the edges show toasted brown freckles, and each gordita feels light for its size. If the bottoms brown too fast, move them to a cooler part of the oven. The center should be cooked through, never gummy.

9. 9

   Open and fill

   Wrap the baked gorditas in a clean cotton servilleta for 5 minutes so they soften enough to open. With a small sharp knife, split each gordita along one side without cutting all the way through. Fill some with chile ancho chicharron, some with epazote beans, and some with queso fresco. Be generous, but do not tear the pocket.

10. 10

    Serve for breakfast

    Set the gorditas on a barro plate with salsa roja de chile de arbol or chile cascabel, diced raw white onion, and cilantro at the table. Cafe de olla belongs beside them. Eat them while the masa is still tender and the fillings are warm. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh masa from a tortilleria is the first choice. If you cannot get it, use 2 cups masa harina mixed with about 1 1/2 cups warm water, rest it 20 minutes, then knead in the manteca, salt, and baking powder. It is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Chicharron prensado is compressed pork rind sold at carnicerias and Mexican markets. Do not use the puffy bagged snack. That belongs with salsa and a beer, not inside these gorditas.
• •Chile ancho is the potosino instinct here: deep, dark, and round. Chile guajillo helps the color. Chile de arbol belongs in the table salsa, not as the whole personality of the filling.
• •If your oven only reaches 450F, bake a little longer and finish the gorditas on a dry comal to strengthen the toasted spots. A low oven makes pale, tired masa.
• •The gorditas must be thick. If you make tortillas and call them gorditas, the senora at the mercado will look at you once and say nothing. That silence is worse than a scolding.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicharron filling can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat it in a skillet with a spoonful of water until glossy again.
• •The refried beans can be made 2 days ahead. Reheat with a little bean broth or water so they spread without drying out.
• •The masa is best mixed the day you bake. Baked unfilled gorditas can be cooled, wrapped, and refrigerated for 2 days, then reheated on a comal or in a hot oven before splitting.
• •For a breakfast table, bake the gorditas first and keep them wrapped in a servilleta. Fill them just before serving so the pockets do not turn soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)