Moronga Frita con Salsa Verde

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 10-inch cast iron or carbon steel skillet
• •Cast iron comal for charring tomatillos and warming tortillas
• •Blender or basalt molcajete for the salsa
• •Sharp paring knife for the moronga casing

Instructions

1. 1

   Char the salsa ingredients

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-high. Lay the tomatillos, serranos, garlic, and onion piece directly on the hot surface. Turn them every few minutes until the tomatillos are blistered and softened and the chiles have black spots on their skins, about eight to ten minutes total. The tomatillos will go from bright green to a duller olive color and they will start to weep their juice. That weeping is what you want. Raw tomatillo salsa tastes like grass. Charred tomatillo salsa tastes like food.

   Do not let the tomatillos burst open completely. You want the skins blistered and the flesh tender, not collapsed into the comal. Pull them as soon as the skin gives when you press it.
2. 2

   Blend the salsa verde

   Transfer the charred tomatillos, chiles, garlic, and onion to a blender or a molcajete. Add the cilantro and salt. If you are using a blender, pulse it. Do not puree it smooth. Salsa verde for moronga should have texture, little flecks of chile and onion you can see. If you are using a molcajete, grind the garlic, chile, and salt to a paste first, then work in the tomatillos one at a time. Taste it. Adjust salt. Set it aside at room temperature so the flavors settle while you cook the moronga.

3. 3

   Open the moronga

   Lay the moronga on a cutting board. With a paring knife, slit the casing lengthwise and peel it back. Discard the casing. The filling inside is dark, soft, and already cooked. It will look like a coarse paste flecked with onion and herbs. This is normal. Moronga is sold pre-cooked because the blood has to be set quickly when the pig is butchered. Your job is to crisp it, not cook it through.

4. 4

   Render the lard and aromatics

   Melt the manteca in a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the diced white onion and cook for two minutes until it turns translucent. Add the minced garlic and chopped serrano. Cook for thirty seconds more, just until the garlic is fragrant. La manteca es el sabor. Do not substitute oil here. The lard carries the flavor that the moronga grew up with.

5. 5

   Fry the moronga

   Crumble the moronga into the skillet in rough chunks, not fine crumbs. You want pieces the size of a kidney bean. Spread them in a single layer and let them sit untouched for three to four minutes. The bottom needs to crisp into a dark brown crust. When you smell that crust starting to form, stir once, spread again, and let it crisp on a new side for another three minutes. The moronga is ready when the edges are crisp and dark and the inside is still soft. Stir in the chopped hierbabuena off the heat. The mint should hit the residual warmth and release its oil without cooking out.

   Hierbabuena is the herb that separates Tlaxcala and Hidalgo moronga from other regional versions. Yerbabuena, not mint from a supermarket plastic clamshell. Find it at a mercado or grow it. The flavor is rounder and more peppery than spearmint.
6. 6

   Warm the tortillas

   While the moronga finishes, warm the tortillas on a separate dry comal over medium heat, about twenty seconds per side. They should puff slightly and pick up a few light brown spots. Stack them in a cloth servilleta to hold the warmth. Cold tortillas ruin a hot taco. Así se hace y punto.

7. 7

   Build the tacos at the table

   Bring the skillet of moronga and the bowl of salsa verde to the table along with the warm tortillas, raw white onion, cilantro, and lime. Each person spoons moronga into a tortilla, covers it with salsa verde, and finishes with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Eat with your hands. This is breakfast food in Tlaxcala and Hidalgo, eaten standing up at a fonda counter before the workday starts. Do not put it on a fork. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •Buy your moronga from a Mexican carniceria, not a generic blood sausage from a European deli. The seasoning is different. Mexican moronga is built around onion, chile, and herbs. European morcilla often has rice, cinnamon, or sweet spices that have no place in this dish.
• •If you cannot find fresh hierbabuena, do not substitute dried mint or peppermint. Leave it out and use a little more cilantro at the end. A bad substitution is a worse choice than an honest omission.
• •Moronga renders fat as it crisps. Do not drain it. That dark, iron-rich fat is part of the flavor and the tortilla soaks it up. This is not a low-fat dish. La manteca es el sabor.

Advance Preparation

• •The salsa verde can be made the night before and refrigerated. The flavor deepens overnight. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.
• •Moronga itself should be cooked and eaten the same morning. Leftover fried moronga loses its crisp edges and the hierbabuena flavor fades within a few hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)