Chef Lupita
Adobo de Carnitas estilo Apaseo el Grande
Guanajuato's Bajío adobo for carnitas, built with guajillo, ancho, naranja agria, laurel, and garlic before the pork goes into manteca de cerdo.
Culinary Explorer
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Salsa de Chilcuague de la Sierra Gorda
Created by
Guanajuato's Sierra Gorda salsa uses the golden Otomi root, roasted chile serrano, tomatillo, and sal de grano, ground in a molcajete until the heat tingles before it burns.
Sauces & Condiments
Mexican
Special Occasion
Comfort Food
Celebration
15 min
Active Time
12 min cook•27 min total
Yieldabout 2 cups, enough for 8 to 10 servings as table salsa
Guanajuato, Sierra Gorda guanajuatense, especially Xichu, Atarjea, and Victoria. That is where this salsa lives. Querétaro has its own claim across the mountains, and the root travels through Otomi kitchens on both sides, but this version comes from the Guanajuato side, where chilcuague is sold in little bundles that look like thin golden fingers.
I first bought it from a señora in Xichu who measured with her eyes, not a spoon. She told me, "poquito, hija, porque la lengua se acuerda." A little, because the tongue remembers. She was right. Chilcuague does not taste like ordinary chile. It tingles. It wakes the mouth. It makes barbacoa taste deeper and makes a pot of beans feel like food made on purpose.
The tomatillo gives body and acid. The chile serrano gives clean green heat. The chile piquin gives the mountain bite. But the root is the authority. You grind it with sal de grano first, because the salt tears the fibers and pulls the flavor into the salsa. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.
Do not drown this with cilantro, onion, or lime because you saw a generic salsa recipe somewhere. This is a Sierra Gorda salsa. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
Chilcuague, Heliopsis longipes, is an edible root endemic to the Sierra Gorda and adjoining semidesert of Guanajuato, Querétaro, and San Luis Potosí, where Otomi, Pame, and Chichimeca Jonaz communities used it as both seasoning and household remedy. Its tingling comes from affinin, an alkamide concentrated in the root; 20th-century ethnobotanical studies recorded the same kitchen use still seen in Xichu and Atarjea: a little root ground with chile and sal de grano. State borders later divided the region, which is why the same root appears in market baskets from both the Sierra Gorda guanajuatense and queretana.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
tomate de cascara (tomatillos)
Quantity
1 pound
husked and rinsed
fresh chile serrano
Quantity
5
stems removed
dried chile piquin
Quantity
6
stems removed
small garlic clove
Quantity
1
unpeeled
culinary-grade chilcuague root (Heliopsis longipes)
Quantity
1 to 2 teaspoons
freshly grated, start with 1 teaspoon
sal de grano
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon, plus more to taste
water (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
only if needed to loosen the salsa
barbacoa de hoyo, frijoles de la olla, carne asada, or warm corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| tomate de cascara (tomatillos)husked and rinsed | 1 pound |
| fresh chile serranostems removed | 5 |
| dried chile piquinstems removed | 6 |
| small garlic cloveunpeeled | 1 |
| culinary-grade chilcuague root (Heliopsis longipes)freshly grated, start with 1 teaspoon | 1 to 2 teaspoons |
| sal de grano | 3/4 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| water (optional)only if needed to loosen the salsa | 2 tablespoons |
| barbacoa de hoyo, frijoles de la olla, carne asada, or warm corn tortillas (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Volcanic stone molcajete and tejolote
- •Cast iron comal or heavy dry skillet
- •Fine grater for the chilcuague root
- •Small hand-thrown barro rojo cazuelita for serving
Instructions
- 1
Check the root
Look at the chilcuague before you cook anything. It should be tan-gold, dry, clean-smelling, and firm if fresh, never damp or moldy. Grate 1 teaspoon finely and keep the rest aside. This root is powerful. More is not more correct. Too much will numb the mouth until you cannot taste the tomatillo, the chile, or the salt.
If you bought dried ground chilcuague, start with 1/2 teaspoon instead of 1 teaspoon. Let the finished salsa rest before adding more. The tingle grows. - 2
Roast the vegetables
Heat a dry comal over medium heat. Roast the tomatillos, chile serrano, and unpeeled garlic, turning them with tongs. The tomatillos should blister, soften, and turn olive green with black freckles. The serranos should char in patches and smell sharp. The garlic is ready when the skin browns and the clove inside feels soft. Do not boil the tomatillos. Water gives you a flat salsa.
- 3
Toast the piquin
Swipe the dried chile piquin across the hot comal for 5 to 8 seconds, just until it smells nutty and wakes up. Pull it off immediately. Chile piquin is small and proud, but it burns fast. Burned chile turns bitter and then you have to start again. No me vengas con atajos.
- 4
Grind chile and salt
In a volcanic stone molcajete, grind the sal de grano with the toasted chile piquin until the salt turns reddish and coarse. Add the grated chilcuague and grind again until the root disappears into the salt and chile. This is the center of the salsa: root, chile, sal. The salt breaks down the fibers and pulls the flavor out. A blender cannot do that the same way.
If you have no molcajete, pulse the roasted tomatillos and serranos in a blender, then stir in the grated chilcuague and salt by hand. It works. It is a compromise, not an upgrade. - 5
Finish the salsa
Peel the roasted garlic and grind it into the chilcuague paste. Add the roasted serranos and crush them until their skins break into dark green flecks. Add the tomatillos one at a time, grinding after each addition so the salsa stays coarse and alive, not watery. If it is too thick to spoon, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Taste for salt.
- 6
Rest and serve
Let the salsa sit for 10 minutes before serving. The chilcuague opens slowly. First it tastes grassy and sharp, then the tongue begins to tingle, then the serrano heat comes behind it. Spoon it over barbacoa de hoyo, frijoles de la olla, carne asada, or a warm corn tortilla straight from the comal. Asi se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •Buy chilcuague from a Mexican herb vendor who can name the plant, Heliopsis longipes. Do not use ornamental roots or anything sold only as a novelty. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
- •There is no real substitute for chilcuague. Sichuan pepper tingles, yes, but the flavor is wrong. If you use it, say you made another salsa. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
- •Chile piquin belongs here because it tastes like the monte: small, dry, sharp, and direct. If you cannot find it, use 1 dried chile de arbol, toasted for only a few seconds.
- •The finished salsa should make your tongue buzz, not go numb. If your mouth stops tasting the tomatillo, you used too much root.
- •Serve this with barbacoa, frijoles de la olla, carne asada, nopales asados, or a plain tortilla with salt. It does not need cheese, cream, or decoration.
Advance Preparation
- •The tomatillos, serranos, and garlic can be roasted up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Grind the chilcuague into the salsa the day you serve it.
- •Finished salsa keeps refrigerated for 2 days, but the cleanest tingling flavor is on the first day.
- •Store dried chilcuague root airtight, away from light and moisture. If it loses its aroma, it has lost its strength.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 55g)
Calories
25 calories
Total Fat
0.5 g
Saturated Fat
0.1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0.4 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
190 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
1 g
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