Relleno Navideño de Pavo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting the chile ancho
• •Wide clay cazuela or heavy 12-inch skillet
• •Blender for the chile ancho puree
• •2-quart talavera or clay baking dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the bolillo

   Spread the bolillo cubes on a sheet pan and let them sit uncovered for at least 2 hours, or toast them in a 300F oven for 15 minutes until dry but not browned. The bread has to drink the broth without collapsing into paste. Fresh soft bread gives you mush. No me vengas con atajos.

2. 2

   Toast the ancho

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the chile ancho for about 20 seconds per side, just until the skin softens, darkens slightly, and smells sweet like raisins and tobacco. Do not blacken it. Place it in hot water for 15 minutes, then blend with 1/4 cup of its soaking liquid until smooth.

   Chile ancho is not here to make the relleno hot. It gives depth and color. Not all Mexican food is about heat. That lazy idea belongs in the trash.
3. 3

   Render the chorizo

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a wide clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fat turns brick red and the meat begins to crisp at the edges. La manteca es el sabor, and the chorizo fat is what seasons the whole pan.

4. 4

   Cook the aromatics

   Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the cazuela. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the blended chile ancho, Mexican oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Let the chile fry in the fat for 3 minutes, until it darkens and smells rounded instead of raw.

5. 5

   Add fruit and corn

   Stir in the corn, apples, raisins, almonds, and olives. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the apple edges soften but still hold their shape and the raisins plump in the chorizo fat. This is the central Mexican holiday balance: pork, fruit, nut, bread. Sweet and savory in the same spoonful.

6. 6

   Bind the relleno

   Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the dried bolillo cubes and parsley. Toss gently until the bread is stained red-orange from the chorizo and ancho. Pour in 1 cup of warm broth and fold again. Wait 2 minutes. If the bread still looks dry in the center, add the remaining 1/4 cup broth. The relleno should be moist and spoonable, not wet.

7. 7

   Bake until set

   Transfer the relleno to a greased clay baking dish or leave it in the cazuela if it is oven-safe. Dot the top with the butter. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is crisp in spots and the center is hot and tender. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving so the bread finishes absorbing the fat and broth.

8. 8

   Serve beside turkey

   Spoon the relleno into a shallow talavera serving dish and set it beside the pavo, not hidden inside the bird. Stuffing a turkey cavity sounds romantic until the bread turns greasy and the bird overcooks. Central Mexican home cooks know better: cook the relleno separately, bring it to the table generous, and let the turkey gravy touch it there.

Chef Tips

• •Use Mexican chorizo, the fresh uncooked kind that stains the fat red. Spanish cured chorizo is a different ingredient. Good, yes. Wrong here.
• •Bolillo matters because it has a tight crumb and a proper crust. Soft sandwich bread turns sweet and pasty. If you cannot find bolillo, use telera or a sturdy Mexican-style roll. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Do not over-soak the bread. Add broth slowly and wait before adding more. The relleno should hold on a spoon with loose edges, not pour like soup.
• •Some Mexico City families add acitron, candied biznaga cactus. I do not recommend it unless you already have legal, responsibly sourced acitron, because wild biznaga has been overharvested and protected. Use apple and raisins. The dish survives.
• •Bake the relleno outside the turkey. The bird cooks more evenly, and the bread keeps its texture. The old kitchen rule is simple: dry bread, good fat, careful broth.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut the bolillos one day ahead and leave them uncovered on a tray so they dry properly.
• •The chorizo, chile ancho, fruit, corn, almond, and raisin mixture can be cooked one day ahead. Refrigerate it, then rewarm before folding with the bread and broth.
• •The assembled relleno can rest covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours before baking. Add 10 minutes to the baking time if it goes into the oven cold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)