Kibis Yucatecos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Fine-mesh sieve for draining the bulgur
• •Heavy deep pot or cazo for frying
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan for draining
• •Wooden spoon and a wide mixing bowl for kneading
• •Slotted spoon or kitchen spider

Instructions

1. 1

   Pickle the cabbage

   Combine the shredded cabbage, lime juice, naranja agria, oregano, and salt in a glass bowl. Add the red onion half-moons. Toss with your hands so the acid touches every shred. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. This is not a garnish. This is the partner. The Lebanese in Yucatan adopted the Peninsula's pickled cabbage and they were right to. It cuts through the fried bulgur the way nothing else does.

   Naranja agria is the sour orange of the Peninsula. It is not a substitute for anything; it is the flavor of Yucatan. If you cannot find it, the mix of orange and lime gets you closer than straight lime alone.
2. 2

   Cook the beef for the filling

   Place the brisket in a saucepan with the halved onion, two whole garlic cloves, bay leaf, and the tablespoon of salt. Cover with water by an inch. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim the foam. Cook partially covered for about an hour and fifteen minutes, until the meat shreds with a fork. Do not boil it hard. Hard boiling toughens the meat and clouds the broth. Lift the meat out, let it cool enough to handle, and shred it finely with your fingers. Reserve half a cup of the cooking liquid.

3. 3

   Soak the bulgur

   While the beef simmers, place the fine bulgur in a bowl and cover with the cold water. Let it sit for 30 minutes. The grains should plump and soften but not turn mushy. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve and squeeze out every drop of water with your hands. Wet bulgur makes a kibi that splits in the oil. The shell has to be tight and almost dry to the touch before you work it.

4. 4

   Make the shell mixture

   Combine the drained bulgur with half a pound of the ground beef, the grated onion, allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and chopped hierbabuena. Knead this with your hands for a full five minutes. You are not mixing. You are working the bulgur and meat into one paste. The longer you knead, the smoother the shell. Yucatecan cooks of Lebanese descent will tell you the kibi is in the kneading, not in the frying. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

   If the paste feels stiff and cracks when you press it, wet your hands with cold water and keep kneading. A little moisture from your palms is all it needs. Do not add water directly to the bowl.
5. 5

   Cook the picadillo filling

   Heat the lard in a wide skillet over medium. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, about five minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook one minute more. Add the remaining half pound of ground beef and break it up as it browns. Stir in the chopped tomato, allspice, and cinnamon. Cook five more minutes, then add the shredded brisket and the reserved cooking liquid. Simmer until almost dry. Off the heat, stir in the pine nuts and raisins. Taste and salt. Let it cool completely before you stuff. Warm filling tears the shell.

6. 6

   Form the kibis

   Wet your hands with cold water. Take a piece of shell mixture the size of a small egg and roll it into a smooth ball. Hold it in your palm and press your index finger into the center, hollowing it into a thin-walled cup. Rotate it as you press, thinning the walls until they are about a quarter inch thick. Spoon in a tablespoon of cooled filling. Pinch the opening closed and reshape into a football, pointed at both ends. That shape is not decorative. It cooks more evenly than a sphere and it is how they make them at the cantinas off Calle 60 in Merida. Asi se hace y punto.

   If the shell cracks while you are forming it, dip your fingers in cold water and smooth it closed. Cracks let the filling escape into the oil and turn the kibi greasy.
7. 7

   Fry until crisp and dark

   Heat about three inches of lard or oil in a deep heavy pot to 350F. Lower the kibis in carefully, four or five at a time, never crowding. Fry for about four minutes, turning once, until the outside is the color of a roasted coffee bean and the bulgur shell is firm and crackling. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack. Do not drain on paper. Paper traps steam against the bottom and the underside goes soft. The shell should sound hollow when you tap it.

8. 8

   Serve at the cantina table

   Pile the kibis on a platter. Set the pickled cabbage and red onion alongside, the sliced habanero in its own small dish for the brave, and lime wedges to squeeze at the moment of eating. The eater splits the kibi in half, fills it with cabbage, adds a sliver of habanero, and eats. This is botana, the cantina ritual of the Peninsula. The kibi is meant to be eaten with cold beer at four in the afternoon when the heat in Merida has not yet broken. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •The bulgur must be fine grind, trigo fino #1. Coarse bulgur is for tabbouleh, not for kibi. It will not bind into a shell and the kibis will fall apart in the oil. Look for it at Middle Eastern markets or the Lebanese-Mexican groceries in Merida and Mexico City.
• •Do not skip the hierbabuena. Spearmint is not mint. Spearmint is what carries the Lebanese signature through the bulgur, and Yucatan grows it in pots on every patio. Dried spearmint is a compromise, not an upgrade. Fresh is the recipe.
• •The habanero on the table is non-negotiable. This is Yucatan. The Peninsula eats habanero with everything and the kibi is no exception. If your guests cannot handle it, slice the habanero thinly and let them choose. Do not pre-empt the choice by leaving it out.

Advance Preparation

• •The pickled cabbage is better the next day. Make it the day before and refrigerate overnight; the acid will soften the cabbage and pull the flavors together.
• •The shell mixture and the cooled filling can both be made one day ahead and refrigerated separately. Form and fry the kibis the day you serve them.
• •Formed but unfried kibis can be frozen on a sheet pan, then bagged and held for up to one month. Fry from frozen, adding about one minute to the cooking time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)