Tacos de Cabeza Hermosillenses

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tall stockpot with a steamer rack or insert (at least 12 quarts)
• •Heavy lid or sheet of heavy-duty foil to seal the pot
• •Cast iron comal or large heavy skillet for charring chiles and cooking tortillas
• •High-powered blender
• •Heavy chef's knife and a sturdy cutting board
• •Thick cloth servilleta or kitchen towel for holding warm tortillas

Instructions

1. 1

   Set up the steamer

   Fit a wide stockpot with a tall steamer rack or insert. Pour in enough water to come just below the rack, about three inches. Add the halved onion, halved head of garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and the two tablespoons of salt to the water. This is what perfumes the meat from below. Bring to a hard simmer over medium-high heat while you arrange the meat.

   In Hermosillo they steam the head whole, wrapped in maguey leaves and lowered into a pit. You are doing the home version. The principle is the same: indirect, moist heat over hours.
2. 2

   Layer the meat

   Place the beef cheek, tongue, and any cabeza meat on the steamer rack. Stack heavier cuts on the bottom, lighter on top. Do not crowd. The meat needs the steam to circulate around every piece. Cover tightly. If the lid does not seal, lay a sheet of foil over the pot first and press the lid down on top.

3. 3

   Steam low and slow

   Reduce the heat to medium-low. The water should bubble steadily, not violently. Steam for three and a half to four hours. Check the water level every hour and add boiling water from a kettle as needed. Never add cold water to a hot pot. The cheek is ready when a fork slides in with no resistance and the tongue is ready when the rough outer skin pulls off easily. The meat should be fork-tender, not falling apart. There is a difference.

4. 4

   Make the salsa verde while the meat steams

   Place the tomatillos, serranos, jalapenos, and the four garlic cloves in a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Char them. Turn them as they blacken in patches, about eight to ten minutes total. The tomatillos should soften and split. Transfer everything to a blender with the cilantro, the half onion, the teaspoon of salt, and a splash of water. Blend to a slightly chunky sauce. Taste. The salsa should be tart, hot, and green-tasting. If it is shy, add salt. If it is flat, add another raw serrano. Asi se hace y punto.

5. 5

   Mix the tortilla dough

   While the meat finishes, make the flour tortillas. In a wide bowl, whisk the three cups of flour with the teaspoon of salt. Add the lard and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs and there are no visible clumps of fat. Pour in the warm water in a steady stream while you mix with your other hand. The dough should come together into a soft, slightly tacky ball. If it is dry, add water by the tablespoon. If it is sticky, add flour by the tablespoon.

   La manteca es el sabor. Do not use shortening, do not use butter, do not use oil. The Sonoran tortilla is built on lard. That is the flavor and that is the elasticity that lets you stretch it paper-thin without tearing.
6. 6

   Rest and divide the dough

   Knead the dough on the counter for two or three minutes until smooth and supple. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for thirty minutes. The gluten needs to relax or the tortillas will fight you when you stretch them. Divide the rested dough into twelve equal balls, each about the size of a small lime. Cover with the damp cloth again.

7. 7

   Stretch the tortillas thin

   Heat a large dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. On a lightly floured counter, roll each ball into a thin round, then pick it up and stretch it gently with your hands the rest of the way. You want them thin enough to read a market receipt through. They do not need to be perfectly round. The Sonorense flour tortilla is a Noroeste birthright, not a Tex-Mex shortcut, and the woman who makes them outside the Hermosillo airport does not use a tortilla press. Her hands are the press.

8. 8

   Cook the tortillas

   Lay one tortilla on the hot comal. After about thirty seconds, brown spots will form on the underside and small bubbles will rise across the surface. Flip. Cook the second side for another twenty to thirty seconds, until lightly speckled. Stack the cooked tortillas inside a thick cloth servilleta to keep them soft and warm. Do not stack them naked on a plate. They will dry out and turn into crackers.

9. 9

   Pull and chop the meat

   Lift the steamed meat onto a cutting board. Peel the rough outer skin off the tongue while it is still warm and discard it. Trim any heavy fat from the cheek. Chop everything finely with a heavy knife, mixing the cheek and tongue and any cabeza meat together as you go. Season with salt to taste. The mix should be rich, soft, and a little glossy from the natural fat. This is the cabeza filling and you do not need anything else in it.

10. 10

    Build the tacos at the table

    Pile the chopped meat on a warm platter. Set out the salsa verde, the diced raw onion, the chopped cilantro, the lime wedges, and the chiltepin salsa if you are using it. Each person takes a warm flour tortilla, fills it with a generous spoonful of meat, tops with onion, cilantro, salsa, and a hard squeeze of lime, and folds. Eat immediately. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Find a butcher who handles whole heads. In Hermosillo this is no problem. Outside Sonora, ask a Mexican carniceria for cachete and lengua and explain you are making cabeza. If they only sell you cheek and tongue, that is enough. Ground beef is not a substitute. Ground beef is a different dish.
• •The flour tortilla cannot be made with shortening or butter. Manteca de cerdo. If your store does not sell rendered lard, render it yourself from pork fatback in a low oven. The flavor and the elasticity depend on it.
• •Salsa de chiltepin on the table is the Sonoran touch. Chiltepin is the wild bird's-eye chile of the Sonoran Desert and it is the chile of the state. If you can find dried chiltepines, crush a few into vinegar and salt for a quick table salsa. If you cannot, the salsa verde does the work.

Advance Preparation

• •The cabeza meat can be steamed and chopped one day ahead. Refrigerate in a covered container with a few spoonfuls of the steaming liquid to keep it moist. Reheat gently in a covered pan with a splash of water before serving.
• •The salsa verde keeps refrigerated for three days but is brightest the day it is made. The cilantro will dull on day two.
• •The tortilla dough can be mixed and rested up to four hours ahead, kept covered with a damp cloth at room temperature. Cooked tortillas should be eaten the same day they are made. They do not reheat well from the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)