Gorditas Infladas Veracruzanas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tortilla press lined with plastic
• •Wide heavy pot or small cazo for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Cast iron comal
• •Spider or slotted spoon
• •Bean masher or sturdy wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the masa

   In a wide bowl, mix the masa harina, warm water, salt, baking powder, and softened lard with your hand until the dough comes together. Knead for three minutes. It should feel like soft clay from a potter's table, smooth and moist, with no dry crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. Cover with a damp towel and rest for 20 minutes so the corn can drink the water.

   Press a small piece between your palms. If the edges crack, work in warm water one tablespoon at a time. Dry masa will not puff. It will split, and then you will blame the recipe instead of the hydration.
2. 2

   Cook the picadillo

   Melt 1 tablespoon lard in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until glossy, about three minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the ground beef and break it into small pieces. Let it brown until the raw smell is gone. Stir in the grated tomatoes, chopped jalapeno, potato, carrot, water, olives, capers, raisins, Mexican oregano, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Cover and cook 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until the mixture is moist but not wet, 5 to 8 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf. A gordita pocket can carry picadillo. It cannot carry soup.

3. 3

   Refry the black beans

   Melt 2 tablespoons lard in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the black beans, bean broth, epazote, and salt. Mash with a bean masher or the back of a spoon until thick and spreadable, about 6 minutes. Pull out the epazote sprig. Veracruz eats black beans with seriousness. Pinto beans push this dish north, and that is not where we are.

4. 4

   Roast the salsa

   Heat a dry comal over medium-high heat. Roast the tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, and unpeeled garlic until blistered in spots and softened, turning as needed. The tomatoes should slump, the jalapenos should darken, and the garlic should feel soft inside its skin. Peel the garlic. Blend everything to a coarse salsa with the salt. Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a small pan, add the salsa, and fry it for 5 minutes until the color deepens. Stir in the chopped cilantro off the heat.

5. 5

   Shape the gorditas

   Divide the rested masa into 12 balls, each about the size of a small lime. Keep them covered. Line a tortilla press with plastic cut from a clean bag, place one ball in the center, and press gently into a disc about 4 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Do not press tortilla-thin. These are gorditas. They need enough body to open into a pocket.

6. 6

   Fry until puffed

   Heat the 3 cups lard in a wide heavy pot to 350F. The fat should be 1 1/2 inches deep, and the pot should be no more than half full. Slide in one masa disc. It should bubble immediately around the edges. After 20 seconds, spoon hot lard over the top and nudge the center gently with the spoon. The gordita will swell like a small pillow. Fry 45 to 60 seconds per side, until pale gold with a few darker freckles. Work with two or three at a time only.

   If the gorditas stay flat, the lard is too cool, the masa is too dry, or the disc is too thin. Fix the problem before frying the whole batch. No me vengas con atajos.

   Keep your hands dry around hot lard, and lower each disc away from you. This is basic kitchen discipline.
7. 7

   Drain and open

   Lift each puffed gordita with a spider or slotted spoon and drain on a rack or brown paper. While still warm, cut a slit along one edge with a small knife, opening only enough to make a pocket. Do not cut it in half. You are making a stuffed bite, not a sandwich.

8. 8

   Fill and serve

   Spread a spoonful of refried black beans inside each pocket, add picadillo, spoon salsa roja over the filling, then finish with crema Mexicana, queso fresco, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime if you want it. Serve immediately, family-style, with extra salsa on the table. The crisp edge waits for nobody. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh nixtamal masa from a tortilleria or molino is best. Use 1 1/2 pounds fresh masa in place of the masa harina and water, then adjust with a few spoonfuls of water only if the edges crack. Masa harina is the practical route outside Mexico, not an upgrade.
• •Use rendered pork lard from a butcher if you can. The shelf-stable hydrogenated brick has less flavor and a waxy finish. La manteca es el sabor, especially in antojitos fritos.
• •The little baking powder is a modern market habit, not a cake trick. It supports the puff, but it will not save dry masa or lazy frying.
• •The picadillo must cook down until spoonable and tight. If liquid runs across the skillet when you push it with a spoon, keep cooking. Wet filling tears the pocket.
• •Do not bake these. Do not air-fry them. The pocket happens because hydrated corn masa hits hot fat. Remove that and you are making something else.

Advance Preparation

• •The picadillo can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before filling so it loosens without becoming watery.
• •The refried black beans can be made up to 2 days ahead. Add a spoonful of bean broth when reheating if they tighten too much.
• •The salsa roja can be made 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Taste for salt after chilling because tomato dulls when cold.
• •The masa can be mixed and held covered at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Do not shape and fry hours ahead. Gorditas infladas are best within minutes of leaving the lard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 385g)