Destination
Cancun
The story
Carne en su jugo — literally "meat in its juice" — is the second iconic dish of Guadalajara, alongside torta ahogada. In a wide clay bowl arrives a green-hued broth built from tomatillos, coriander, garlic and chile, thick with thin slices of beef, crumbled bacon, black beans, and a generous sprinkle of raw white onion, coriander and diced radish on top. It's eaten with a spoon and a stack of warm corn tortillas, and it's the Tapatío's answer to a heavy comfort-food lunch: rich, warm, salty, tangy, spicy, and utterly Jaliscan.
Method
Cook the chopped bacon in a heavy dry pot over medium heat 8 minutes until crisp and the fat has rendered. Lift out with a slotted spoon and reserve; leave the fat in the pot.
In a separate dry pan, char the tomatillos, chillies, onion half and garlic 6 minutes until blackened in patches. Toast the cumin 30 seconds.
Combine charred vegetables, cumin, coriander (leaves and stems) and salt in a blender. Blend with 300ml of stock to a smooth green sauce.
Warm the bacon fat left in the pot over medium heat. Add the oil. Tip in the blended broth and cook 8 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened. Pour in the remaining stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust salt.
Tip in the black beans, epazote if using and salt. Simmer 8 minutes to warm through and marry with the broth.
Season the thinly sliced beef with salt and pepper. Slide the beef into the simmering broth. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes just until cooked through — do not overcook, the beef should stay tender.
Add the crisped bacon back to the pot. Stir. Taste one more time; adjust with lime juice or salt if needed.
Ladle into wide bowls or cazuelas. Top each with a heavy pile of raw onion, coriander, radish and diced avocado. Serve with lime wedges, hot sauce, warm tortillas and rice on the side. Eaters stir everything through and spoon it into tortillas as tacos.
Tips
- Slice the beef very thin. 3mm against the grain. Chill the beef in the freezer 20 minutes before slicing to make it easier. Thick slices need too long in the broth and turn tough.
- The bacon fat is the base. Do not throw it out. It's what gives the broth its specific smoky-savoury depth that separates carne en su jugo from a plain tomatillo soup.
- Don't overcook the beef. Three to four minutes in the hot broth is enough. Simmering longer than that toughens the meat.
- Raw garnishes are essential. Half the flavour comes from the pile of raw onion, coriander, radish and avocado on top. Don't skimp on the amount; a small pinch is not enough.
- Eat with tortillas, not bread. Warm tortillas fold around the meat and beans to make small hand tacos of the broth-soaked filling. This is the Tapatío way.
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