Tacos de Relleno Negro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron comal for charring the chiles
• •Large heavy stockpot or cazuela
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Kitchen string for tying the banana leaf bundles
• •Sharp knife for slicing the but

Instructions

1. 1

   Char the chiles for the recado negro

   If you have a prepared cake of recado negro from a Yucatecan vendor, use it and skip to step 3. If you are making the recado from scratch, you need to burn the chiles. Not toast, burn. In a heavy comal over high heat, lay down the stemmed and seeded chile chilmole, ancho, and guajillo in batches. Let them blacken almost completely, turning once. They should smoke. Take them outside or open every window in the kitchen. The carbon is the recado. This is the only dish in Mexican cooking where you intentionally burn the chiles, and it is what gives relleno negro its name and its color.

   The smoke is intense and acrid. Yucatecan cooks traditionally do this step outdoors over a wood fire or on the patio. If you do it inside, your house will smell for two days. No me vengas con atajos.
2. 2

   Build the recado negro

   Soak the charred chiles in hot water for 20 minutes. Hot water, not boiling. Drain and transfer to a blender with the peppercorns, allspice, cloves, cumin, oregano, half the head of garlic (peeled), and 1/2 cup of fresh water. Blend until you have a thick, near-black paste. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. This is your recado negro. The Maya cooks of Yucatán have made this paste for centuries, and every family in Mérida has a slightly different balance of spices.

3. 3

   Simmer the turkey

   Place the turkey leg in a heavy pot. Cover with cold water by two inches. Add the halved white onion, the remaining half head of garlic, a tablespoon of salt, and a bay leaf if you have one. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 90 minutes, until the turkey pulls cleanly from the bone. Skim the gray foam in the first 20 minutes. Reserve the broth. This is the canvas. The broth carries the recado later, so keep it clean.

4. 4

   Make the but (egg-stuffed meatball)

   While the turkey simmers, mix the ground pork and ground turkey in a bowl with a teaspoon of salt, the achiote paste, and a pinch of allspice. Work it with your hands until it is uniform. Take one peeled hard-boiled egg and wrap it in a generous layer of the meat mixture, sealing the seams so no egg shows. Repeat with three more eggs. You should have four large meatballs, each hiding an egg at the center. The but is the architecture of relleno negro. Without it, you have stewed turkey. With it, you have the dish.

   Wet your hands with cold water before forming the meatballs. The meat will not stick and the surface will be smooth. A cracked but leaks egg into the broth and the dish suffers.
5. 5

   Wrap and poach the but

   Pass the banana leaf over an open flame for a few seconds on each side until it turns deep green and supple. Cut it into squares large enough to wrap each meatball. Wrap each but tightly in banana leaf and tie with kitchen string. Lower the wrapped meatballs gently into the simmering turkey broth (after you have removed the turkey to a plate). Poach for 30 minutes at a low simmer. The banana leaf perfumes the meat with that green, herbal note that nothing else can replicate. The Peninsula's grammar.

6. 6

   Build the black sauce

   In a wide cazuela or heavy pot, melt the lard over medium heat. Pour in the recado negro paste (or crumble in the prepared cake) and fry it for about five minutes, stirring constantly. It will deepen and the kitchen will smell of smoke and clove. La manteca es el sabor. Ladle in 4 cups of the reserved turkey broth, the naranja agria juice, and the masa-water slurry. Whisk smooth. Simmer for 15 minutes. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and read deep black-brown, almost like burnt coffee. Taste for salt now.

7. 7

   Shred the turkey and combine

   Pull the cooled turkey meat from the bones in generous shreds. Discard skin and bones, or save the bones for next time. Add the shredded turkey to the simmering recado negro and let it warm through for 10 minutes. The meat should drink the sauce. If the pot looks dry, ladle in more broth. The consistency is a thick stew, not a soup.

8. 8

   Pickle the red onion

   While the relleno finishes, slice the red onion into thin half-moons. Place in a glass jar or bowl, pour over the naranja agria juice and the salt, and toss. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. The onions will turn bright pink. Every Yucatecan table has a bowl of these onions. Cebolla morada en escabeche. No taco from the Peninsula is complete without them.

9. 9

   Unwrap the but and slice

   Lift the wrapped meatballs from the broth and let them rest for five minutes before unwrapping. Cut the strings, peel back the banana leaves, and slice each meatball crosswise into thick rounds. The egg should appear at the center of each slice like a pale moon in a dark field. Así se hace. The but is the visual signature of relleno negro and the reason this dish is served on holidays and at weddings.

10. 10

    Build the tacos

    Warm the corn tortillas on a comal until they puff slightly and char in spots. Lay each tortilla on a plate. Spoon a generous portion of the black turkey onto the center. Top with a slice of but so the egg shows. Finish with a heap of pickled red onion. Pass habanero slices and lime wedges at the table for those who want them. Eat with your hands. This is the way the señoras in Valladolid and the cocineras at the Mercado Lucas de Galvez serve it. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •If you can find a prepared cake of recado negro from a Yucatecan vendor (La Anita and El Yucateco both make commercial versions, and online specialty shops carry artisanal cakes from Mérida), use it. Making the recado from scratch means burning chiles in your kitchen and your house will smell of smoke for two days. The prepared cake is not a compromise, it is what most home cooks in Mérida use too. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
• •Naranja agria is the sour orange of the Peninsula and there is no perfect substitute. If you live near a Latin American or Caribbean market, look for it fresh or bottled. If not, the mix of orange juice, lime, and white vinegar will get you close. Do not use lime alone. Naranja agria has a floral quality that pure lime lacks.
• •The banana leaf is not optional. It perfumes the but and ties the dish to its Peninsula roots. Find it frozen in any Latin or Asian grocery. Pass it over an open flame to soften before wrapping. The leaf goes from stiff matte green to glossy supple green in seconds.
• •Relleno negro is better the second day. Make the stew on a Saturday, eat the tacos on a Sunday. The recado deepens overnight and the turkey absorbs the sauce more completely.

Advance Preparation

• •The recado negro paste, made from scratch or from a prepared cake, keeps refrigerated for two weeks and frozen for three months. Many Yucatecan cooks make a large batch and freeze it in portions.
• •The full stew can be made up to two days ahead. Reheat gently and slice the but just before serving.
• •The pickled red onions can be made up to three days ahead and only improve. Keep them in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)