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Guadalajara's thin masa boats, pinched by hand, fried in manteca de cerdo, and dressed like a proper cenaduria plate with beans, meat, cabbage, Cotija, and salsa roja.
Jalisco, specifically Guadalajara, owns these sopes. Tapatio means from Guadalajara, and these belong to the cenadurias, the evening food stalls where the comal is black, the lard is ready, and nobody is pretending a sope should be a thick little brick.
The masa is pressed small and thin, cooked first on the comal, then pinched while still hot so it forms a low rim. That rim matters. It holds the beans and salsa without making the sope heavy. Then it goes into manteca de cerdo until the edges are crisp and the center stays tender. La manteca es el sabor. Use oil if you want, but don't ask why it tastes flat.
The salsa is jitomate with chile de arbol, preferably from Yahualica if your market has it, because Jalisco knows that chile. The toppings are practical: refried beans, shredded beef or pork, cabbage, queso Cotija or queso anejo, a little onion. Not cheddar. Not sour cream. No me vengas con atajos.
My mother made them smaller than most people do now, almost two bites each, because she said a botana should invite another plate, not defeat the eater. She was right. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
Sopes belong to the broad family of masa antojitos that developed from Indigenous corn cookery and were adapted regionally after the Spanish introduced pork and lard in the 16th century. In Guadalajara, the tapatio style became associated with cenadurias, evening eateries that served smaller fried masa dishes with beans, meat, cabbage, and tomato-based salsas rather than the thicker central Mexican sopes. Chile de arbol from Yahualica, protected by a Mexican denomination of origin in 2018, is one of Jalisco's defining chiles and gives this salsa its regional spine.
Quantity
2 cups fresh masa or 2 cups masa harina plus 1 1/2 cups warm water
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 to 2 tablespoons
as needed for masa texture
Quantity
1 cup
for frying the sopes
Quantity
2 cups
with a little cooking broth
Quantity
3 tablespoons
for refrying beans
Quantity
1/4 small
finely chopped
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
warm and lightly salted
Quantity
3
Quantity
4
stemmed
Quantity
1
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
1 small
unpeeled
Quantity
1/4 small
for salsa
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for frying salsa
Quantity
2 cups
finely shredded
Quantity
1/3 cup
finely chopped, for serving
Quantity
1/2 cup
crumbled
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh masa for tortillas or masa harina mixed with warm water | 2 cups fresh masa or 2 cups masa harina plus 1 1/2 cups warm water |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| warm wateras needed for masa texture | 1 to 2 tablespoons |
| manteca de cerdofor frying the sopes | 1 cup |
| cooked pinto beans or bayo beanswith a little cooking broth | 2 cups |
| manteca de cerdofor refrying beans | 3 tablespoons |
| white onionfinely chopped | 1/4 small |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| cooked shredded beef, pork, or chickenwarm and lightly salted | 1 1/2 cups |
| ripe Roma tomatoes | 3 |
| dried chile de arbol, preferably from Yahualicastemmed | 4 |
| dried chile guajillostemmed and seeded | 1 |
| garlic cloveunpeeled | 1 small |
| white onionfor salsa | 1/4 small |
| dried Mexican oregano | 1/4 teaspoon |
| manteca de cerdofor frying salsa | 1 tablespoon |
| green cabbagefinely shredded | 2 cups |
| white onionfinely chopped, for serving | 1/3 cup |
| queso Cotija or queso anejocrumbled | 1/2 cup |
| lime wedges (optional) | for serving |
Mix the masa with the salt. If using masa harina, let the mixed dough rest for 15 minutes so the corn fully hydrates. The masa should feel soft and alive, like a warm earlobe, not cracked and not sticky. If it cracks at the edge when pressed, knead in warm water a teaspoon at a time.
Set the tomatoes, garlic, and onion on a hot comal. Turn them until the tomato skins blister, the onion browns at the edges, and the garlic softens inside its skin. Toast the chile de arbol for a few seconds per side and the guajillo for about 20 seconds per side. Watch them. Burned chile tastes bitter, and no blender can save it.
Peel the garlic. Blend the tomatoes, garlic, onion, toasted chiles, oregano, and salt until smooth. Melt 1 tablespoon manteca de cerdo in a small cazuela or skillet over medium heat. Pour in the salsa and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it darkens slightly and the fat shines at the edges. This is salsa de jitomate with backbone, not raw tomato water.
Melt 3 tablespoons manteca de cerdo in a skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add the beans with a splash of their broth and mash them with a bean masher or the back of a spoon. Cook until thick enough to spread without running over the sope. Taste for salt. Beans are not filler. They carry the whole bite.
Divide the masa into 16 balls, each about the size of a large walnut. Press each one between plastic in a tortilla press to about 3 inches wide and a little thicker than a tortilla. These are tapatios, small and delicate. If you make them thick, you've moved north or east. Guadalajara will notice.
Cook the pressed rounds on a hot dry comal for about 45 seconds per side, just until the surface turns opaque and light brown freckles appear. They should be cooked enough to handle but still flexible. Do not crisp them yet. The lard will do that later.
While each round is still hot, pinch around the edge with your thumb and forefinger to make a low raised border. Work fast and use a folded towel if your fingers complain. The women at the cenadurias do this without looking because they have made thousands. You will look. That's fine. Get the rim even.
Heat 1 cup manteca de cerdo in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the sopes in batches, flat side down first, then turn briefly, until the edges are crisp and the center is still tender. Drain on a rack, not paper towels if you have the rack. The sound should be a steady sizzle, not a violent splatter. Así se hace y punto.
Spread each hot sope with refried beans. Add a little shredded meat, spoon over the salsa de jitomate, then top with shredded cabbage, chopped white onion, and crumbled queso Cotija or queso anejo. Serve immediately with lime wedges. A sope waits badly. Eat it while the edge still answers under your teeth.
1 serving (about 265g)
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