Pepita con Tasajo de Chiapa de Corzo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting pepitas, rice, chiles, and aromatics
• •Wide clay cazuela from Chiapas or heavy Dutch oven
• •High-powered blender or metate
• •Wooden spoon for constant stirring
• •Fine-mesh strainer, optional if the blender leaves chile skin behind

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the beef

   Lay the beef strips on a rack set over a sheet pan. Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over both sides and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 18 hours. In Chiapa de Corzo the meat would already be tasajo, salted and dried by someone who knows the trade. In your kitchen, the refrigerator does the safe work. If you bought true tasajo de res, do not salt it again. Soak it in cold water for 20 to 40 minutes, until it tastes salty but not punishing.

   Do not cut the beef into tiny pieces. Pepita con tasajo needs long strips that can carry the sauce. Ground beef has no place here.
2. 2

   Cook the tasajo

   Rinse the cured beef quickly under cold water and pat it dry. Put it in a heavy pot with 8 cups water, half the white onion, and the 4 peeled garlic cloves. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 45 to 60 minutes, until the meat is tender but still holds its shape. Skim the surface during the first 10 minutes. Lift out the meat and reserve at least 4 cups of the broth. That broth is the backbone of the sauce.

3. 3

   Toast the pepitas

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the pepitas in a single layer, stirring constantly, until they puff slightly, turn speckled gold, and smell nutty, 4 to 6 minutes. Do not let them go dark. Burned pepita turns the whole cazuela bitter, and no amount of achiote will rescue it.

4. 4

   Toast rice and spices

   On the same comal, toast the rice until it turns pale gold and smells lightly roasted, about 4 minutes. Move it constantly. Toast the peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seed for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. The rice thickens the sauce. If it tastes raw, the sauce tastes chalky. This is why you toast it.

5. 5

   Toast and soak chiles

   Toast the chile ancho pieces on the hot comal for 15 to 20 seconds per side, just until flexible and fragrant. Place them in a bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes. Hot water, not boiling. The ancho gives dried-fruit depth and color, not aggressive heat. Not every Mexican dish is trying to burn your mouth.

6. 6

   Roast the aromatics

   Roast the tomatoes, the remaining half onion, and the 3 unpeeled garlic cloves on the comal until blistered in spots. Turn them with tongs so the tomatoes soften and the onion picks up browned edges. Peel the garlic. This roasted base keeps the pepita sauce from tasting flat.

7. 7

   Blend the pepita

   Drain the soaked chile ancho. In a blender, combine the toasted pepitas, toasted rice, toasted spices, drained chiles, roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, peeled roasted garlic, achiote paste, and 2 cups of the reserved beef broth. Blend for a full 2 minutes, scraping as needed, until the sauce is very smooth and thick like atole. A metate gives the finest texture. A blender works if you do not get lazy.

   If the blender struggles, add reserved broth 1/4 cup at a time. Add only enough to keep the blades moving. Thin sauce is not pepita con tasajo.
8. 8

   Fry the sauce

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a wide clay cazuela or heavy Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Pour in the pepita mixture carefully. It will sputter. Stir with a wooden spoon for 8 to 10 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners, until the color deepens to brick orange and tiny beads of orange fat appear at the edge. La manteca es el sabor. This frying step wakes up the achiote and gives the pepita body.

9. 9

   Simmer with tasajo

   Add the cooked tasajo strips to the cazuela and stir until every piece is coated. Add 1 to 2 more cups reserved broth, enough for a thick sauce that moves slowly around the spoon. Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often because pepita and rice like to catch on the bottom. Taste for salt only at the end. The tasajo has already spoken.

10. 10

    Rest and serve

    Take the cazuela off the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes. The sauce will settle, thicken, and cling to the beef the way it should. Serve from the cazuela with warm corn tortillas. No crema, no cheese, no lettuce. If someone asks for flour tortillas, remind them that those belong to the north, not this table. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •If you have a Mexican butcher who sells tasajo de res, start there. Ask whether it is heavily salted. If it is, soak it before cooking. Oaxacan tasajo is thinner and not the same as the Chiapa de Corzo festival meat, but it can work. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Buy raw hulled pepitas, not roasted salted snack pepitas. The snack bag is already oily and salty, and it will give you a tired sauce. Toast the seeds yourself on the comal. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •Achiote paste varies. Some Yucatecan recado rojo has vinegar and extra spices. It will still color the sauce, but the flavor shifts. If you find plain achiote molido or achiote seeds, grind them with a little hot broth and use that.
• •Keep the heat low once the pepita is in the cazuela. Pumpkin seed sauce is proud and delicate at the same time. It thickens while your back is turned and scorches if you act careless. No me vengas con atajos.
• •This dish is served for ceremony, not decoration. It does not need cilantro confetti, crema, shredded cheese, or a pile of lettuce. The sauce and the tasajo are the point. Así se hace y punto.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the beef 12 to 18 hours ahead. If you buy prepared tasajo, soak it only as needed and start with the simmering step.
• •The pepitas, rice, chiles, and spices can be toasted one day ahead and stored separately at room temperature. Grind and blend the sauce the day you cook so the pepita stays fresh.
• •The finished dish can be made one day ahead. Reheat gently with a splash of reserved broth, stirring often. Do not boil it hard or the pepita sauce can turn grainy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)