Papas Asadas con Chiltepín Sonorenses

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Charcoal grill or wood-fired parrilla, with mesquite
• •Volcanic stone molcajete and tejolote
• •Heavy 6-quart pot for parboiling
• •Cast iron comal for toasting the chiltepín
• •Sturdy spatula or tongs for turning the potatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Build a mesquite fire

   Light a chimney of mesquite charcoal or build a wood fire with mesquite logs. You want hot coals with no flame, raked into a single even bed. Mesquite is the wood of Sonora. It burns hot and clean and leaves a smoke that smells like the desert after rain. Propane will cook the potato. Mesquite will season it. The two are not the same.

   If you cannot find mesquite, use oak or pecan. Do not use mesquite-flavored briquettes. That is a chemical, not a wood.
2. 2

   Parboil the potatoes

   While the fire builds, place the scrubbed potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by two inches, and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides into the largest potato with just a little resistance. They should be cooked through but firm. Drain and let them steam-dry in the colander for five minutes. A wet potato will not char on the grill.

3. 3

   Smash and dress for the grill

   Lay the potatoes on a sheet pan and press each one gently with the bottom of a glass or a small skillet. You want them flattened but not broken apart. Brush both sides with melted manteca de cerdo and season generously with the remaining salt and the dried oregano. La manteca es el sabor and the oregano sonorense gives this dish a perfume you cannot get from supermarket oregano. Crush the oregano between your palms before you sprinkle it. The heat of your hands wakes it up.

4. 4

   Make the chiltepín salsa

   While the potatoes drain, toast the chiltepín on a dry comal over medium heat for about 30 seconds, shaking the pan constantly. They are tiny and they burn in seconds. The kitchen will sting your nose. That sting is the point. Transfer to a molcajete with the garlic and a pinch of salt. Crush to a coarse paste. Add the lime juice, olive oil or manteca, diced white onion, and cilantro. Stir with the tejolote. Taste. The salsa should be sour, hot, and assertive. Chiltepín heat hits hard and clears fast. That is its character. No me vengas con atajos: a blender will not give you the same texture.

   Chiltepín is the wild chile of the Sonoran desert, harvested by hand from thorny shrubs in the sierra. It is the only chile native to northwestern Mexico that is still gathered wild. If yours came in a small jar from a serrana vendor, treat it like gold. There is no substitute that tastes the same.
5. 5

   Char on the parrilla

   Place the smashed potatoes directly on the hot mesquite grate. Grill for 4 to 6 minutes per side without moving them. You want dark char marks and a crackling crust on the cut surface. The mesquite smoke will work into the potato while it cooks. Brush with a little more manteca when you flip them. The fat carries the smoke into the flesh. When the edges are deep brown and the cut surface is crisp, they are ready.

6. 6

   Dress and serve at the table

   Pile the charred potatoes on a wide platter or directly on a wooden tabla. Spoon the chiltepín salsa over the top while the potatoes are still hot from the grill. The lime sauce will sizzle when it hits the char. Set out warm flour tortillas sonorenses and lime wedges. In a Sonoran ranch kitchen, this side travels with carne asada off the same parrilla. Eat them with your hands, wrapped in flour tortilla if you want. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chiltepín from a Sonoran source if you can. Look for small, round, brick-red dried chiles, not bright red and not powdered. Powdered chiltepín loses its character within weeks of grinding. Buy whole and crush as you need.
• •If you cannot grill over mesquite, use a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove cranked to high. You will lose the smoke but you will get the char. A regular gas grill is the worst of both worlds. Pick one or the other.
• •Flour tortillas in Sonora are not the small flour tortillas sold in most stores. They are large, thin, and pulled by hand to the size of a dinner plate. If you can find tortillas sonorenses or tortillas de agua, use them. They are the right vehicle for this dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The potatoes can be parboiled and smashed up to one day ahead. Hold them on a sheet pan in the refrigerator, covered, and bring to room temperature before grilling.
• •The chiltepín salsa is best the moment it is made. The lime juice and the raw onion start to dull after a few hours. Crush the chiltepín and garlic ahead, hold them in the molcajete, and add the lime, onion, and cilantro right before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)