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Hidalgo's Sierra Gorda chinicuiles, red maguey worms cleaned, toasted on the comal, then fried in manteca de cerdo with epazote and served with salsa de chile de árbol.
Hidalgo, from the Sierra Gorda Hidalguense down into the maguey country of the Valle del Mezquital, is where these chinicuiles make sense. They are not the fat white gusanos from the penca. Chinicuiles are red, small, earthy larvae from the root of the maguey, gathered when the rains soften the ground. The Hñähñu women who sell them know the season before any calendar tells them.
The technique is plain because the ingredient is not. Sort them, rinse them fast, dry them well, toast them on the comal, then fry them in manteca de cerdo with epazote. That first toast matters. It drives off water so the lard can crisp the skin instead of boiling it. No me vengas con atajos. Wet chinicuiles in a pan are a waste of expensive food.
I learned this from a señora near Zimapán who kept a clay bowl of salsa de chile de árbol beside her comal and corrected my hand every time I tried to stir too much. Let them touch the heat, she said. She was right. Serve them in a small cazuelita with warm corn tortillas and a sharp salsa, not as a dare, not as a novelty, but as rainy-season food from Hidalgo. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
The chinicuil is the larva of Comadia redtenbacheri, a moth tied to maguey roots in the central Mexican altiplano, and its harvest is concentrated in the rainy months when the soil loosens around the plant. Edible insects appear throughout pre-Hispanic central Mexican foodways, and 16th-century chroniclers including Bernardino de Sahagún documented the place of insects in Nahua diets. In Hidalgo, especially in Hñähñu communities of the Mezquital and Sierra Gorda, chinicuiles remained part of the maguey economy that also gave pulque, pencas for barbacoa, fiber, medicine, and fuel.
Quantity
8 ounces
picked over and rinsed briefly
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
12
stemmed
Quantity
3 medium
husked and rinsed
Quantity
1
peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
Quantity
2
unpeeled
Quantity
1/4 small
Quantity
2 tablespoons
as needed for the salsa
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
1
lightly crushed
Quantity
3
Quantity
12
warmed on the comal
Quantity
2
halved
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh chinicuiles (red maguey worms)picked over and rinsed briefly | 8 ounces |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| dried chile de árbolstemmed | 12 |
| tomatilloshusked and rinsed | 3 medium |
| xoconostlepeeled, seeds removed, and chopped | 1 |
| garlic clovesunpeeled | 2 |
| white onion | 1/4 small |
| hot wateras needed for the salsa | 2 tablespoons |
| manteca de cerdo | 3 tablespoons |
| small garlic clovelightly crushed | 1 |
| fresh epazote sprigs | 3 |
| small corn tortillas (optional)warmed on the comal | 12 |
| limes (optional)halved | 2 |
Place the chinicuiles in a shallow bowl of cold water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Swirl once with your fingers, then lift them out so any grit stays behind. Do not soak them. Repeat only if they are sandy. Spread them on a clean cotton towel and pat them dry until no surface moisture remains. Pick out any maguey fibers. If they were frozen, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator first.
Heat a dry comal over medium. Roast the tomatillos, xoconostle, onion, and unpeeled garlic, turning until the tomatillos slump and the garlic softens, about 8 to 10 minutes. Move them to a bowl. Toast the chile de árbol separately, 5 to 10 seconds per side, just until fragrant and a shade darker. Watch them. Chile de árbol burns fast and turns bitter faster.
Peel the roasted garlic. In a molcajete, grind the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. Add the toasted chile de árbol and grind to a rough red paste. Work in the onion, xoconostle, and tomatillos until the salsa is coarse and spoonable. Add hot water a tablespoon at a time only if the salsa is too thick. Taste for salt. It should be sharp from the xoconostle and direct from the chile, not thin and timid.
Wipe the comal clean and raise the heat to medium-high. Spread the dried chinicuiles in one layer and let them touch the hot surface before you start moving them. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they curl, darken to brick red, and smell nutty. This step dries them so the manteca can crisp them properly. Do not salt them yet. Salt pulls moisture.
Melt the manteca de cerdo in a small clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the crushed garlic clove and epazote sprigs. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds, just until the epazote darkens and perfumes the fat. Add the toasted chinicuiles and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring enough to coat them but not so much that they never brown. They are ready when the bodies look lightly blistered and firm at the edges. Season with a pinch of salt.
Transfer the chinicuiles and fried epazote to a warm small cazuelita, leaving just enough manteca clinging to make them shine. Set the salsa de chile de árbol, warm corn tortillas, and lime halves on the table. Each person makes small tacos. Eat them immediately, while the edges are still crisp. Así se hace y punto.
1 serving (about 200g)
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