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Veracruz's Huasteca bocoles are thick corn masa cakes enriched with manteca, cooked on a dark comal, then split and filled with black beans, queso fresco, or chicharron prensado.
Veracruz, in the Huasteca Alta, is where these bocoles belong in this version. The Huasteca is not one neat state on a map. It crosses Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, Queretaro, and Puebla, but the Veracruz hand shows itself here in the black beans, the epazote, the chile serrano, and the humid Gulf way of feeding people something warm from the comal without making a ceremony out of it.
A bocole is not a gordita with another name. Listen carefully. The masa is enriched with manteca de cerdo before it touches the comal, so the fat seasons the corn from inside. Then the cake is griddled thick, split open, and filled. Beans, queso fresco, chicharron prensado. That is supper for a tired household, breakfast for a market worker, food that can sit wrapped in a servilleta and still do its job.
I learned this version near Tantoyuca from a woman who pressed each cake by hand while correcting my masa. Too dry, it cracks. Too wet, it sticks and sulks. Enough lard, enough salt, enough patience. No me vengas con atajos. This is a 32-state cuisine, and even the small snacks carry geography in them.
Bocoles are part of the Huasteca's corn-based cooking, tied to the region's Nahua, Teenek, and mestizo households where thick masa cakes could be cooked quickly on a comal and filled with whatever the day's market allowed. The word is commonly associated with the Huasteca rather than one state, which is why cooks in Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, and Hidalgo all claim their own versions with different fillings and salsas. In the Veracruz Huasteca, black beans and epazote mark the Gulf influence, while chicharron prensado reflects the market economy of using every part of the pig.
Quantity
3 cups fresh masa or 2 1/2 cups masa harina mixed with 1 3/4 cups warm water
Quantity
1/2 cup
softened
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 cup
only if the masa feels dry
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
2 cups
with some cooking liquid
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
Quantity
1
finely chopped
Quantity
1 sprig
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
6 ounces
crumbled
Quantity
8 ounces
finely chopped
Quantity
2
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
1
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
1 small
roasted
Quantity
1
roasted
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh corn masa or masa harina dough | 3 cups fresh masa or 2 1/2 cups masa harina mixed with 1 3/4 cups warm water |
| pork lard (manteca de cerdo)softened | 1/2 cup |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon |
| warm water (optional)only if the masa feels dry | 1/4 cup |
| pork lard for the comal | 1 tablespoon |
| cooked black beanswith some cooking liquid | 2 cups |
| pork lard for the beans | 1 tablespoon |
| white onionfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh chile serranofinely chopped | 1 |
| fresh epazote | 1 sprig |
| kosher salt for fillings | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| queso frescocrumbled | 6 ounces |
| chicharron prensadofinely chopped | 8 ounces |
| dried chile guajillostemmed and seeded | 2 |
| dried chile anchostemmed and seeded | 1 |
| Roma tomatoroasted | 1 small |
| garlic cloveroasted | 1 |
| water or bean broth | 1/4 cup |
| salsa verde cruda with tomatillo and chile serrano (optional) | for serving |
| crumbled queso fresco (optional) | for serving |
| thinly sliced white onion (optional) | for serving |
Put the fresh masa in a wide bowl. Add the softened manteca de cerdo and salt, then knead with your hand until the fat disappears into the masa and the dough feels soft, heavy, and smooth. If you are using masa harina, let the mixed dough rest 20 minutes before adding the lard. The masa should not crack at the edges when pressed. If it does, add warm water one tablespoon at a time.
Melt one tablespoon of lard in a skillet over medium heat. Add the white onion and chile serrano and cook until the onion smells sweet, about three minutes. Add the black beans, epazote, and salt. Mash until thick but not dry, leaving some texture. Veracruz cooks know black beans. Do not turn them into paste from a can and call it done.
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles on a dry comal for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until fragrant and flexible. Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes. Blend the drained chiles with the roasted tomato, roasted garlic, and water or bean broth until smooth. Cook the chopped chicharron prensado in a skillet over medium heat until it releases its fat, then stir in the chile sauce and simmer until thick. It should be rich, red, and spoonable, not soupy.
Divide the masa into 12 balls, each about the size of a small lime. Pat each one between your palms into a thick cake about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. These are not tortillas. They need thickness so they can split open after griddling. Thin bocoles are somebody being impatient.
Heat a comal or heavy cast iron skillet over medium. Rub it lightly with lard. Cook the bocoles in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once or twice, until they have browned spots and feel set at the center. The edges should look cooked through, with a faint sheen from the manteca. La manteca es el sabor. Without it, you have dry masa.
While the bocoles are still warm, split each one through the side with a small knife, like opening a pocket. Fill some with the mashed black beans, some with queso fresco, and some with the chicharron prensado. Do not overfill them until they tear. A bocole should close around the filling and still be eaten with the hands.
Set the filled bocoles on a clay platter with salsa verde cruda, extra queso fresco, and thin white onion at the table. Eat them warm, when the masa is still tender and the lard has not tightened. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
1 serving (about 160g)
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