By Pati Jinich, The New York Times
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — One bite of a chile verde con papas burrito at Burritos Sarita in Ciudad Juárez has the power to shatter whatever preconceived notions you have about burritos. In it, a pillowy-soft flour tortilla, with hints of smoke from the griddle, swaddles a fragrant mix of tender potatoes, caramelized onions and fire-roasted chile verde that is coated in a salty and tangy thick crema.
From start to finish, the tin-foiled treasure is delicate and neat. Burrito renditions far from this border city tend to be overstuffed, oversized, overdressed and overblown. But here, a purist burrito, as locals call it, has only what it needs: one tortilla, one filling.
“It is our hallmark,” said Paty Covarrubias, the food truck’s general manager, of burritos’ importance to the city. She has been working for her aunt Sarita Alfaro’s business since she was 14.
“My tía taught me you have to know how to make every part of the burrito yourself,” she said. Covarrubias had been up since 3:50 a.m. preparing daily guisados, or stews, and kneading flour tortillas before opening at 8:30 a.m.
Just across the Rio Grande, this quintessential comida fronteriza — border food — is just as integral to the cultural identity of El Paso, Texas, Juárez’s sister city in the United States.
“You can count on someone eating a burrito every second of every hour of every day here,” said Steve Vasquez, the owner and burrito maker at La Colonial Tortilla Factory in El Paso. The tortillería sells as many as 800 burritos on any given morning.
No one questions that Juárez is the birthplace of burritos, though there are competing origin stories. Some attribute their creation to Juan Mendez, who sold guisados wrapped in flour tortillas from a donkey-pulled buggy — a burrito — during the Mexican Revolution. Others say they were born of the workers who took these wraps on the go and then called them burritos because they resembled the rolled blankets that sat atop donkeys in the fields. Some say they were named after children who helped women carry their shopping — endearingly nicknamed burritos — and paid with these wraps.
Both cities strive to maintain and preserve a purist burrito tradition while defining a fine burrito experience. Yet it is hard to deny that there is a friendly but deep rivalry.
Vasquez said La Colonial has throngs of customers from Juárez who cross the border primarily for his burrito de chile relleno with chile con queso. And Covarrubias said she has regulars from El Paso who seek out her burrito de chile verde con papas.
“I have always been scared to try the burritos from somewhere else because it is just not the same,” Vasquez said. “People brought us some from Juárez, and they are OK, but nothing like ours.”
Covarrubias once caught her daughters bringing home some burritos from El Paso. “You can imagine the scolding I gave them!” she said, laughing.
Despite that competitiveness, both cities can agree that the same essential elements produce a burrito worth bragging about: It must be made with a flour tortilla and an emphasis on one filling, with no gratuitous toppings, and eaten on the go.
Here’s more on the three essentials:
A Freshly Made Flour Tortilla
It is no coincidence that one of the most popular burrerías in El Paso is also a tortilla factory. At La Colonial, burritos are rolled to order with hot tortillas straight from the pressing machine. “My grandparents started making tortillas by hand,” Vasquez said, “but they couldn’t keep up with the demand, so they installed a machine a few years later.”
At Burritos Sarita, they refuse to change their artisanal process. Each morning, fresh masa, or dough, is kneaded and rolled by hand with a palote, a heavy rolling pin, and cooked in a hot griddle in the back of the open truck.
The dough ingredients are the same on both sides of the border: flour, salt, water, baking powder and fat. The water should be “as hot as your body can tolerate, so the masa won’t harden,” Covarrubias said. The baking powder ensures that the tortillas puff with a smooth texture. Without it, the tortillas can have a crinkly texture; but too much, and they become as stiff as crackers, she said.
Finally, you need some fat. In the region, the most popular options are lard, vegetable shortening and butter. Covarrubias and Vasquez opt for lard, though vegetable shortening produces great results for truly meatless burritos.
Customers know good flour tortillas, Covarrubias said. “They can taste the difference so well that even other Juárez burrería owners come to ours. I won’t out them, but they don’t mind standing in line for a burrito that is en su punto,” she said. That is, on point.
Filling That Stands on Its Own
Purist burritos tend to have a single extraordinary filling, with maybe an addition of cheese or avocado at most. A key difference between El Paso and Juárez is that north of the border you’ll find evidence of American influence with ingredients like chile con queso sauce, brisket or sausage scrambled with eggs instead of machaca or chorizo.
Still, those elements are transformed into home-style fillings that are strong in their own right. Brisket at La Colonial is cooked from scratch in an almost guisado-like fashion. Their chile con queso is spooned over a traditionally made chile relleno or onto boldly seasoned refried beans. Chicharrón en salsa, picadillo, frijoles con queso, chile relleno, chile verde con papas, chile verde and chile Colorado are all classics on both sides of the border.
Put your thumb and your middle finger together in a circle — that’s how slim purist burritos should be. If there is salsa, it is incorporated into a guisado or filling, not served over the top.
Packed and Eaten on the Go
Simplicity is crucial: no mess, no dress, no fuss and no platter. Purist burritos are light and neat and convenient to the extreme.
“I have offered electricians and plumbers, if I can make a platter for them and add more things,” Vasquez said. “But they say they love eating them on the way to work and how easy and convenient they are.” Oscar Herrera, a chef who splits time between the two cities, said the region is a key market for aluminum-foil companies thanks to the popularity of burritos on the go.
Covarrubias worries about the future of the kind of burrito she wakes up so early to make. Her adult children have said they’d consider working in a burrito truck, “but they are unwilling to dedicate the time to learn guisados right or make flour tortillas, as they can now be found in stores,” she said.
Maybe she can find some hope across the river. Vasquez’s 11-year-old daughter, Mia, has said she wants to continue her father’s work. “We’ll see,” he said with a sigh.
On both sides of the Rio Grande, the love for and dedication to the craft of making what they consider true burritos are perhaps what define the style most. Making them, Vasquez said, “has to come from the heart.”
Covarrubias echoed that sentiment. “The main ingredient is mucho amor.”
Recipe: Burritos de Chile Verde con Papas (Chile Verde Burritos With Potatoes)
By Pati Jinich
One of the most popular and traditional burritos of the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez borderlands, this chile verde burrito is referred to as a purist burrito: It has no toppings, no garnishes and no salsas or crema to drizzle on top. It is neat, clean, slim and tightly packed; its filling is intensely flavorful, but delicate in its texture and bite. Everything in it is cooked al punto, on point: The Anaheim chiles are fire-roasted to bring out their exuberance, tenderly cooked over soft heat with almost-caramelized onions and soft-to-the-bite potatoes, and then coated in creamy crema. The fact that the best renditions of this burrito are made with freshly made flour tortillas makes the experience sublime.
Yield: 8 burritos
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (about 4 to 6 large) fresh Anaheim chiles (also known as California chiles), or chilaca or New Mexico chiles
- Kosher or sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 pound Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-by-1/4-inch matchsticks
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium white onion, halved and slivered
- 1 cup Mexican crema or crème fraîche (or even heavy cream, in a pinch)
- 8 large store-bought or homemade flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded asadero, quesadilla or Monterey Jack cheese
Preparation
1. Place the chiles on a baking sheet under the broiler, or directly on the grill, or right on the burner of a gas stove over medium-high heat, or on a preheated comal over medium heat. Turn them every couple minutes, for a total of about 10 minutes, until they are completely charred and blistered all over.
2. Place the roasted chiles in a lidded container, close it tightly and let them sweat for at least 10 minutes. Set them under a thin stream of cold water (or in a bowl filled with water) and peel the charred skin, which should come right off. Make a slit down one side and discard the cluster of seeds and veins. Remove the stems and cut the chiles into 1-by-1/4-inch matchsticks (about the same size as the potatoes). Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until very soft, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, translucent and barely starting to lightly brown around the edges, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the roasted chile strips and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the chile strips have softened even more. Incorporate the cooked potatoes, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are coated with the same cooked glimmer.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the crema and simmer until it thickens and slightly darkens, about 4 minutes. Set aside.
6. Heat a comal, griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Once it’s hot, reduce the heat to low and place a tortilla on it. Once it lightly browns on one side, about 30 seconds, flip it and top with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Once the cheese starts melting, 30 to 45 seconds later, remove the tortilla.
7. Add a scant 1/2 cup of the chile verde and potato filling in a thick strip to one side of the tortilla. Tuck in the top and bottom, fold and roll it into a burrito. (You can also leave it untucked and just roll it.) If you’d like the tortilla to brown a bit, you can place the filled burrito on the comal for another minute or two. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese and filling. Serve hot. (Though best eaten right away, you can prepare the filling ahead of time and refrigerate it in a sealed container for up to 5 days.)
Recipe: Flour Tortillas
By Pati Jinich
Homemade flour tortillas give every single store-bought one a run for its money and will elevate any burrito or quesadilla you make. The process is somewhat laborious, and it can be challenging to get them to be perfectly round, but perfection is not necessary, as you are going to roll or fold them anyway and your shapes will improve as you practice. This recipe uses vegetable shortening, which makes the tortillas accessible to vegetarians and non vegetarians alike. Taking a cue from the El Paso and Ciudad Juárez region, these tortillas de harina fronterizas are made with hot water and baking powder and the dough rests twice, the second time with the portioned dough nicely rubbed in fat. Follow these simple steps, give the dough a chance to rest and make sure the tortilla is fully cooked: When done on the outside, brown freckles appear on both sides, and it’ll be cooked through on the inside when it puffs. The results will be worth your while, as the tortillas will be soft and pillowy. Tuck any leftovers into a sealed container and enjoy the fruits of your labor for days.
Yield: 12 (9-inch) tortillas
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 455 grams (about 3 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2/3 cup/115 grams vegetable shortening (may substitute for unsalted butter or lard), plus more for coating
- 1 1/4 cups/300 milliliters hot water
Preparation
1. Using your hands (or a whisk), combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat the vegetable shortening with your hand in circular motions to warm it up and spread it in the bottom of the bowl, until it is creamed and there are no lumps, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and mix it with the shortening, in circular motions, wiping the bowl as you mix, until the fat is evenly distributed through the flour, for about 1 or 2 minutes.
3. Distribute the water over the mixture and mix it into the flour in a circular motion, scraping from the bottom and folding and kneading the dough, pressing it from the center out to the edges of the bowl. At first it will be very sticky and lumpy, but as you continue to knead, it will become more elastic, soft and homogenous, more light, less dense and springy to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
4. Using your fingers, pinch off a heaping 1 1/2-inch ball of the dough. (You should have about 12 pieces, each about 70 grams.) Roll each piece into a ball and place on a baking sheet or board. Rub a bit of vegetable shortening in the palm of your hands and roll each ball of dough between your palms to coat it with the shortening. You may need to repeat adding vegetable shortening to your hands about 4 to 5 times to go over the 12 balls. Cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
5. Heat your comal, griddle, or cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat for at least 5 minutes.
6. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin. Roll one ball into a 9-inch tortilla. You will need to rotate the tortilla on your work surface about 5 or 6 times as you roll it out, flip and add more flour as needed. Do not get discouraged if the tortilla doesn’t make a perfect round; it takes lots of practice!
7. As soon as you are done rolling out a tortilla, using both hands, lay it on the hot comal, in a swift and determined way so it doesn’t break. After 40 to 50 seconds there should be brown freckles on the bottom side and air bubbles on top. Using a spatula and your hand, flip the tortilla over and cook for another 40 to 50 seconds, until the other side is freckled and the tortilla puffs up even more. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and keep covered.
8. Repeat with the remaining dough and as you cook the tortillas. If you don’t eat all of them at once, let them cool then place them in a plastic bag and seal the bag. They will keep fresh, out of the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 days. You can also store them in your refrigerator for up to a week. When ready to eat, take them out and reheat on a preheated comal, griddle or skillet over medium low heat, for a minute or so per side. (It is very important that you preheat the comal or skillet before adding the tortillas so that they don’t stick or burn.)
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
