Chef Lupita
Caldo de Mariscos Campechano
Campeche's chunky seafood chowder from the Gulf coast, built on toasted shrimp shells, charred tomato, recado rojo, and epazote, served family-style from a clay cazuela with lima agria and warm tortillas.
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Salpimentado de Res Yucateco
Created by
Yucatán's Sunday beef stew, built on toasted pimienta gorda, charred tomatoes, naranja agria, and a slow-simmered pot of beef chuck and shank. The kind of olla that perfumes a Mérida courtyard all morning.
Soups & Stews
Mexican
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
Weeknight
30 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•3 hr total
Yield6 to 8 servings
Salpimentado is from Yucatán. Not the Peninsula in general, the state. The name comes from sal y pimienta, salt and pepper, but the pepper in question is pimienta gorda, the allspice berry that grows wild across the southern jungles and that Yucatecan cooks have used for centuries before anyone in Europe had a name for it. This is not a Mexican stew that happens to be from Yucatán. This is a Yucatecan dish, and the rest of Mexico cooks beef differently.
The recado here is simple by Yucatecan standards. There is no achiote in salpimentado, that belongs to the red recado used for cochinita pibil. There is no burned chile in salpimentado, that belongs to the black recado for relleno negro. This is recado blanco territory: pimienta gorda, clove, black pepper, canela, garlic, oregano, all bound with naranja agria. White recado, sometimes called recado de toda clase, is the workhorse of Yucatecan home cooking, and it is what gives this stew its perfume. A recado is not just spice paste. It is the architecture of the dish.
I learned this version from a señora named Doña Marta in Valladolid, in a kitchen with a wood-fired stove and a clay olla the size of a child. She showed me how to char the tomatoes directly on the embers, how to grind the pimienta gorda fresh in a stone molcajete, how to wait, how to stir, how to listen for the moment the recado stops smelling raw and starts smelling like Sunday. She used naranja agria she grew in the courtyard. If you have access to a tree, use that fruit. If you do not, the substitution in the ingredients works. It is a compromise, not an upgrade.
This is comfort food in Yucatán, the pot a family makes on a slow Sunday and eats from for two days. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Pimienta gorda (Pimenta dioica), known in English as allspice, is native to southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Central America, and was used by the Maya for centuries before European contact in food, medicine, and embalming practices. The Yucatecan recado system, white, red, and black spice pastes ground and stored as the foundation of regional cooking, predates the Spanish conquest in form and was adapted after 1521 to incorporate introduced ingredients like black pepper, cinnamon, and clove brought through the Manila Galleon trade that connected Veracruz to Asia via Acapulco. Salpimentado itself emerged in the colonial era as a beef preparation that married Maya spice grinding traditions with the European cattle introduced by the Spanish, and remained a Sunday and feast-day dish in Mérida and Valladolid households well into the 20th century, traditionally cooked outdoors over wood fire in clay ollas.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef chuck
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into 2-inch chunks, with some fat left on
beef shank with bone
Quantity
1 pound
cut crosswise into thick rounds
large white onion
Quantity
1
halved (one half left whole, one half finely chopped)
head of garlic
Quantity
1
halved crosswise, plus 6 cloves
bay leaves
Quantity
2
fresh hierbabuena (Yucatecan spearmint)
Quantity
1 small bunch
fresh epazote
Quantity
1 small bunch
kosher salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more to taste
pimienta gorda (whole allspice berries)
Quantity
20
whole black peppercorns
Quantity
8
whole cloves
Quantity
6
canela (Mexican cinnamon stick)
Quantity
1 stick, about 2 inches
dried Yucatecan oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
naranja agria juice (sour orange)
Quantity
1/2 cup
or 1/3 cup fresh orange juice mixed with 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon white vinegar
manteca de cerdo (pork lard)
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Roma tomatoes
Quantity
4 medium
charred on a comal until blackened
chile xkatik (or fresh chile guero)
Quantity
2
charred whole on the comal
medium potatoes
Quantity
2
peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
chayotes
Quantity
2 medium
peeled and cut into thick wedges
carrots
Quantity
2
peeled and cut into thick coins
hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
warmed
chile habanero (optional)
Quantity
for serving
finely chopped
naranja agria halves (optional)
Quantity
for serving
chopped cilantro (optional)
Quantity
for serving
diced red onion (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef chuckcut into 2-inch chunks, with some fat left on | 3 pounds |
| beef shank with bonecut crosswise into thick rounds | 1 pound |
| large white onionhalved (one half left whole, one half finely chopped) | 1 |
| head of garlichalved crosswise, plus 6 cloves | 1 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| fresh hierbabuena (Yucatecan spearmint) | 1 small bunch |
| fresh epazote | 1 small bunch |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon, plus more to taste |
| pimienta gorda (whole allspice berries) | 20 |
| whole black peppercorns | 8 |
| whole cloves | 6 |
| canela (Mexican cinnamon stick) | 1 stick, about 2 inches |
| dried Yucatecan oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| naranja agria juice (sour orange)or 1/3 cup fresh orange juice mixed with 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon white vinegar | 1/2 cup |
| manteca de cerdo (pork lard) | 3 tablespoons |
| Roma tomatoescharred on a comal until blackened | 4 medium |
| chile xkatik (or fresh chile guero)charred whole on the comal | 2 |
| medium potatoespeeled and cut into 2-inch chunks | 2 |
| chayotespeeled and cut into thick wedges | 2 medium |
| carrotspeeled and cut into thick coins | 2 |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
| chile habanero (optional)finely chopped | for serving |
| naranja agria halves (optional) | for serving |
| chopped cilantro (optional) | for serving |
| diced red onion (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 8-quart stockpot or large clay cazuela
- •Cast iron comal for toasting spices and charring vegetables
- •Volcanic stone molcajete or spice grinder
- •High-powered blender
- •Slotted spoon
Instructions
- 1
Start the broth
Place the beef chuck and the beef shank in a heavy 8-quart stockpot or clay cazuela. Cover with cold water by two inches. Add the whole onion half, the halved head of garlic, the bay leaves, half the hierbabuena, half the epazote, and the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Skim the gray foam that rises in the first fifteen minutes. The shank bone is what gives this stew its body. Do not skip it.
- 2
Toast the spices
While the meat starts to simmer, heat a dry comal over medium. Add the pimienta gorda, the black peppercorns, the cloves, and the canela stick. Toast for one to two minutes, shaking the pan, until the kitchen smells like a Yucatecan spice market. The pimienta gorda is the soul of this dish. It is not allspice as a substitute for something else. It is the dominant note. Twenty berries is not a typo.
Pimienta gorda is native to southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. Buy whole berries, not ground. Ground allspice loses its essential oils within months and your salpimentado will taste flat. - 3
Char the tomatoes and chiles
On the same comal, char the Roma tomatoes and the chile xkatik whole. Turn them every minute or so. You want the skins blackened in patches and the flesh softened, about eight minutes for the tomatoes and four minutes for the chiles. Do not peel them. The charred skin is the flavor.
- 4
Build the recado
Transfer the toasted spices to a molcajete or spice grinder. Grind to a fine powder. Add the six garlic cloves and the dried oregano and grind into a rough paste. Loosen the paste with the naranja agria juice. This is your recado, the spice paste that defines Yucatecan cooking. A recado is not just spice paste, it is the architecture of the dish. Every Yucatecan kitchen builds its own.
- 5
Simmer the meat
Reduce the heat under the pot to low. Cover partially and cook for one hour and thirty minutes, until the beef chuck is tender enough to pierce easily with a fork but still holds its shape. The shank meat will be falling off the bone. Lift out the spent onion, garlic head, bay leaves, and the wilted hierbabuena and epazote. Discard them. Their job is done.
- 6
Fry the recado
In a separate skillet, melt the manteca de cerdo over medium heat. Add the chopped onion half and cook for three minutes, until translucent. Stir in the recado paste. It will sizzle and smell sharp. Cook for four to five minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens and the lard separates around the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This step takes a raw spice paste and turns it into the backbone of the stew.
- 7
Blend and add the tomatoes
Place the charred tomatoes and chile xkatik in a blender with one cup of the beef broth. Blend until smooth. Pour the puree directly into the skillet with the fried recado. Cook for five minutes, stirring, until the mixture deepens in color and the fat rises to the surface.
- 8
Combine and add the vegetables
Pour the recado-tomato mixture into the pot of simmering beef. Stir to combine. Add the potatoes, chayotes, and carrots. Tuck in the remaining hierbabuena and epazote. Bring back to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has reduced and concentrated. Taste for salt. The broth should taste of warm spice, citrus, and beef. Each note distinct.
- 9
Serve at the table
Ladle the stew into deep bowls, making sure each serving gets a piece of shank, a chunk of chuck, and a share of vegetables. Set the chopped habanero, naranja agria halves, cilantro, red onion, and warm tortillas in small dishes around the table. Each person finishes their own bowl. This is how it is served in Mérida courtyards. Así se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •Naranja agria is the sour orange of the Yucatan Peninsula, and there is no perfect substitute. If you cannot find it at a Latin market, the mix of regular orange juice, fresh lime juice, and a little white vinegar will get you close. Do not use only lime. Lime is too sharp and one-note. Naranja agria has perfume as well as acid.
- •Pimienta gorda is the soul of this dish. Buy whole berries from a reputable Mexican grocery or order them online. Ground allspice from a supermarket spice rack is stale by the time you open the jar and your salpimentado will taste like nothing.
- •Chile xkatik is the long yellow chile of the Yucatan Peninsula, mild and floral with a slow build of heat. If you cannot find it, a fresh chile guero works. Do not substitute jalapeño or serrano. Wrong chile, wrong dish.
- •The chayote is non-negotiable in a Yucatecan vegetable pot. If your market does not carry it, find a Mexican market that does. A potato-only salpimentado is a sadder dish.
Advance Preparation
- •Salpimentado is better the second day. The recado, the pimienta gorda, and the naranja agria marry overnight and the broth deepens. Make it Saturday, eat it Sunday and again Monday.
- •The recado paste can be ground two days ahead and held in the refrigerator with a film of lard on top. This is how Yucatecan kitchens have always done it.
- •The whole stew refrigerates for four days. Reheat gently on the stove. Do not boil hard or the meat will tighten.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 500g)
Calories
560 calories
Total Fat
32 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
18 g
Cholesterol
160 mg
Sodium
790 mg
Total Carbohydrates
21 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
47 g
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