I must confess that the first time that my Mexican friend Cristian invited me to his house to eat barbecue, I was a bit disappointed when I did not see a grill full of charcoal and meat. However, when I tasted the delight that he had made I fell in love with this dish that today I try to replicate in my style.
Hello everyone, today we will prepare a fantastic Mexican barbecue in my style and I apologize in advance if any Mexican feels offended that I have made it from this beautiful recipe.
Ingredients
Barbecue
1 kilo of "hard" beef (we use brisket)
1 kilo of pork belly
4 or 5 banana leaves
Salt
Pepper
1/2 liter of chicken or meat broth
1 cinnamon stick
5 bay leaves
2 oranges
10 to 15 cloves of garlic
Tatemada Sauce
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1 red onion
Apple cider vinegar
Tortillas
2 cups nixtamalized corn flour
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lard (optional)
Preparation
Start by mashing the garlic with a little coarse salt to help us in the process. You can do this in a mortar or food processor.
Next, line the bottom of a pot or deep mold with banana leaves, leaving half of the leaves hanging down the sides of the mold. This will help us close it later.
Seal the meat on a griddle or skillet over high heat (if you have a grill it will be great), what we want is to create a crust that provides more texture to the barbecue. Now put the meat into the pot or mold and smear the meat well with the garlic paste, add the juice of an orange, the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste in equal parts, mix everything and add the broth beef or chicken. Close the meat on top with the banana leaves and cover with a little aluminum foil or with the lid of the pot you are using.
It's time to put it in the oven for around 7 hours at 125ºC.
Meanwhile prepare the tatemada sauce, roast the vegetables in a pan or directly over the fire. One trick to easily peel the pepper is to burn it over direct heat and then place it in a ziploc bag for 3 minutes. Scrape the skin with a knife and it will come off easily. However, you DO NOT have to remove everything burned, since this is what provides the characteristic flavor of the sauce. Blend everything and reserve. In my case I used a little hot sauce in my portion of the sauce, but you can add chili peppers before blending it.
In Mexico it is very common to accompany the tacos with a little onion and coriander, so chop them very small and reserve for the moment of serving.
Seven hours later, take the barbecue out of the oven and let it rest for half an hour.
Meanwhile we are going to prepare homemade tortillas (you don't have to do this, you can buy them ready in Mexican stores, but we wanted to try making them at home). I recommend that you follow the instructions on the corn flour package. However we add a little salt and you could also put a tablespoon of lard to provide a little more elasticity.
Once the dough is made, let it rest for 3 minutes and form balls of 80 grams. With the help of a plastic bag and a tortillera, pataconera or simply a kitchen board, flatten the balls into fine circles. Gently and carefully remove the tortilla from the bag so that they come out whole and put them in a very very hot pan for approximately 30 seconds on each side and turn them 2 times.
When the resting time is over, open the precious gift, remove the meat, strain the liquid or broth and chop all the meat very small.
Now you just have to enjoy, take a tortilla and fill it with meat, add a little Tatemada sauce and don't forget the onion and coriander .. It's SPECTACULAR!
As we always say:
If your plate doesn't look like our image, don't worry! We spent over 40 minutes trying to find the perfect angle for the photo.
If you don't have one of the ingredients on the list or you don't like something, feel free to use another ingredient. This recipe is only a guide, and you can adapt it to your tastes. So don't stop making it, you will be surprised how fast and delicious it is!
If you are a lover of spiciness, add as much chili sauce as you dare.
Remember: "Practice makes perfect"
You can see how we did it in this video and don't forget to subscribe to our Arditos Kitchen YouTube channel:
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