Recado Negro Yucateco (Chilmole)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron comal or thick steel skillet
• •Volcanic stone molcajete or sturdy mortar and pestle
• •Spice grinder or high-powered blender
• •Glass jar with tight-fitting lid for storage
• •Kitchen gloves for handling the burnt chiles

Instructions

1. 1

   Open the windows

   Before you light the comal, open every window in the kitchen and close the door to the rest of the house. Burning chiles release a vapor that will set off coughing in anyone within range. In the Yucatan they often do this step outdoors over a wood fire. There is a reason. The women of Mani and Oxkutzcab learned long ago that this is not indoor work. Do not skip the ventilation. No me vengas con atajos.

   If you have an outdoor grill or a side burner, use it. The smoke is intense and lingers in fabric and walls for days.
2. 2

   Burn the chiles to ash

   Heat a heavy cast iron comal over medium-high until it smokes. Lay the chile chilmole and chile ancho directly on the dry surface in a single layer. You are not toasting them. You are burning them. They must turn fully black and brittle, until they crumble between your fingers like burnt paper. This is the technique that names the recado: chilmole means burnt chile sauce. A gently toasted chile will give you mole. A chile burnt to carbon gives you the deep, smoky, almost bitter base that defines Yucatecan black cooking.

   Some senoras in Mani wrap the chiles in foil first and char them on hot coals until the package is completely black inside. The result is the same: chiles reduced to carbon.
3. 3

   Burn the tortillas with them

   Lay the day-old tortillas on the comal alongside the chiles. Let them blacken completely on both sides until they are stiff and dark. The burnt tortilla deepens the color and gives the recado the carbon-black tone it is named for. Do not stop at golden. Black is the goal.

4. 4

   Roast the aromatics

   While the chiles burn, place the unpeeled garlic head and the quartered onion (skin on) directly on the comal in any open space. Turn them every few minutes until they are deeply blackened on the outside and soft within, about 15 minutes for the onion and 20 minutes for the garlic. The charred papery skins carry flavor. Do not peel before roasting. The Yucatecan technique uses fire to build the recado from the outside in.

5. 5

   Toast the spices

   Move the burnt chiles and tortillas off the comal. Lower the heat to medium. Add the achiote, peppercorns, allspice, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon stick to the dry comal. Toast for about a minute, shaking the pan constantly, until the cumin smells nutty and the spices start to release their oils. The achiote will not change color much. It is hard as a pebble and needs the grinding to come, not the toasting. Add the dried oregano at the end for ten seconds and pull the pan off the heat.

6. 6

   Grind to a fine powder

   Once the burnt chiles and tortillas have cooled enough to handle, break them into pieces and grind them in a spice grinder or a powerful blender, in batches if needed, with the toasted spices. You want a fine black powder, not a paste. This is why the chiles must be burnt all the way through. A half-burnt chile is leathery and will not grind clean. The recado is ground, not blended into a smoothie. Pulse, scrape, pulse again. Take your time.

7. 7

   Add the roasted aromatics and acid

   Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their papery skins and peel the burnt outer layer off the onion. Transfer both to a molcajete or a sturdy mortar with the salt. Pound to a rough paste. Add the ground chile and spice powder a few spoonfuls at a time, working it in until you have a stiff dark paste. Drizzle in the naranja agria gradually and finish with the lard. The fat binds the paste and carries the flavor into whatever you cook with it. La manteca es el sabor.

8. 8

   Rest and store

   Pack the finished recado into a clean glass jar and press a piece of parchment directly against the surface before sealing. Refrigerate at least 24 hours before using. The flavor needs the rest. The first day it tastes raw and aggressive. By the third day the spices have married with the burnt chile and the achiote and the naranja agria, and the paste tastes like what it is supposed to taste like. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The chile chilmole, also sold as chile seco yucateco, is the correct chile for this recado. If you cannot find it, chile ancho alone will work but the flavor will be flatter. A small amount of chile morita can add the smoky note that the chilmole carries naturally. This is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Naranja agria is the bitter Seville orange of the Peninsula and there is no real substitute. If your mercado does not carry it, mix two parts orange juice, two parts lime juice, one part grapefruit juice, and a small splash of white vinegar. You will get the acid. You will not get the perfume. Know what you are missing.
• •Yucatecan oregano is not Mediterranean oregano. It is a different plant entirely, brighter and more citrusy. If you cannot find it labeled as oregano yucateco or Mexican oregano, use regular Mexican oregano and add a small pinch of dried lemon verbena if you have it. Italian oregano will taste wrong in this recado.
• •Burn the chiles outside if you possibly can. The smoke is no joke. The women of Mani do this work in courtyards and on rooftops for a reason. A poorly ventilated kitchen will fill with capsaicin smoke and clear the room.
• •Wear gloves when handling the burnt chiles. The carbon is messier than you think and the residue stains everything it touches, including your fingertips for a few days.

Advance Preparation

• •Recado negro must rest at least 24 hours before using, and is at its best after three to four days in the refrigerator. The flavors need time to settle.
• •Stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator, the paste keeps for three months. The lard on the surface acts as a partial seal.
• •The paste also freezes well. Roll into 2-tablespoon balls, freeze on a sheet pan, then bag. Pull out what you need for a single pot of relleno negro or pollo en chilmole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 15g, ~1 tablespoon paste)