Torta de Tasajo Oaxaqueña con Asiento y Quesillo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy griddle
• •Heavy skillet for the beans
• •Molcajete or blender for the salsa
• •Bean masher or sturdy wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the pasilla oaxaqueño

   Heat a dry comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Lay the stemmed pasilla oaxaqueño chiles flat on the surface and press gently with a spatula for about 15 seconds per side. They are already smoked, so you are not toasting them raw. You are waking up the oils. The skin will puff slightly and the kitchen will fill with a smoky, fruity scent that smells nothing like a regular pasilla. That distinction matters. This chile is grown and smoked in the Sierra Mixe and the Cañada region of Oaxaca and it has no substitute. Set the chiles aside.

   Chile pasilla oaxaqueño is smoked, not sun-dried. It is a different chile entirely from the pasilla negro (dried chilaca) used in central Mexico. If your vendor does not know the difference, find a vendor who does.
2. 2

   Roast the garlic

   On the same hot comal, place the two unpeeled garlic cloves. Let them sit for about five minutes, turning occasionally, until the skin is spotted dark and the flesh inside is soft when you press it. Peel them and set aside.

3. 3

   Make the salsa

   Tear the toasted pasilla oaxaqueño into rough pieces and place in a blender with the peeled roasted garlic, the water, and the salt. Blend until you have a thick, rustic salsa with visible flecks of chile skin. It should not be perfectly smooth. Taste it. The flavor should be smoky and direct with a slow, moderate heat that builds. If you have a molcajete, use it instead of the blender. The texture from the stone changes the salsa, rougher, more broken, the way the market women in the Central de Abastos make it. Set aside.

   This salsa keeps in the refrigerator for up to five days. The smoky flavor deepens as it sits. Make a double batch if you want it on eggs, beans, or quesadillas through the week.
4. 4

   Fry the black beans

   Heat the tablespoon of asiento or lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the cooked black beans and their broth. Mash with a bean masher or the back of a wooden spoon, pressing and folding until you have a thick, spreadable paste. The consistency should hold its shape on a spoon without running. If it is too thick, add a splash of bean broth. Season with salt. The asiento gives the beans a roasted pork flavor that oil cannot replicate. La manteca es el sabor. Keep warm.

   In Oaxaca, the black beans for tortas are always fried in asiento, never in vegetable oil. The flavor of asiento-fried beans is half the reason this torta tastes the way it does. If you cannot find asiento, use good pork lard as a second choice.
5. 5

   Grill the tasajo

   Get the comal or grill screaming hot over high heat. Lay the tasajo sheets flat on the surface. They are thin, often no thicker than a few millimeters, so they cook fast. One to two minutes per side. Watch for the edges to darken and curl and the salt to bloom white on the surface. The meat should char in spots but stay pliable, not stiff. Pull each sheet off as it finishes and stack them on a cutting board. Cut or tear the grilled tasajo into pieces that will fit inside the bolillo. Do not cut them too small. The meat should hang out of the bread a little. That is the Oaxacan way.

   If your tasajo is very salty, run it under cold water for ten seconds per side and pat dry before grilling. Do not soak it. You want the salt, just not so much that it overpowers the asiento and the beans. A quick rinse takes the edge off without washing out the flavor.
6. 6

   Toast and spread the bolillos

   Split each bolillo lengthwise. Place them cut side down on the hot comal for about one minute, until the surface turns golden and slightly crisp. Pull them off and immediately spread about two teaspoons of asiento on each cut side while the bread is hot. The heat melts the asiento into the crumb. You will see the dark fat soak in and the bread turn a shade darker. This is correct. The asiento is not a garnish. It is the foundation. Spread the refried black beans generously on the bottom half of each bolillo.

7. 7

   Build the torta

   On top of the bean layer, pile the hot grilled tasajo. Drape the hand-pulled quesillo strips over the meat immediately so the residual heat softens the cheese without fully melting it. You want it to stretch when you bite, not pool into a puddle. Layer the avocado slices and tomato rounds next. Spoon a generous line of the salsa de pasilla oaxaqueño over the tomato. Add a few thin rings of raw white onion if you like them. Close the torta and press down gently with your palm. The bread should compress just enough to hold everything together. Wrap the bottom half in paper if you are eating it standing up, the way it is eaten at the mercado. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Tasajo is sold at Oaxacan markets and some Mexican carnicerías outside of Mexico that carry regional specialty meats. It is not the same as carne seca or beef jerky. Tasajo is salt-cured and partially dried but remains pliable, more like a very thin, salty steak than a dried snack. If you cannot find it, ask your butcher to slice beef top round as thin as possible, salt it generously on both sides, and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. It is a compromise, not the real thing, but it gets you close.
• •Asiento is the secret of this torta and the hardest ingredient to source outside Oaxaca. Look for it at Mexican markets that make their own chicharrón on site. The dark residue at the bottom of their frying cazo is asiento. If you render your own lard at home from pork back fat, the browned solids that settle to the bottom of the pot are a reasonable approximation. Strain and save them. Do not substitute butter or vegetable oil. The flavor will be completely different and you will have made a different sandwich.
• •Quesillo must be at room temperature when you build the torta. Cold quesillo straight from the refrigerator will not soften over the hot meat. Pull it into strips with your hands, not a knife. The strands should be long and uneven. That texture, elastic, stringy, slightly squeaky, is the point. Mozzarella fresca is the closest substitute, but it melts too fast and does not have the same pull.
• •In Oaxaca, some market tortas include a handful of chapulines (toasted grasshoppers with chile, lime, and salt) scattered over the quesillo. If you can find them, add a small handful. They are traditional and the crunch against the soft cheese and rich meat is worth the experiment.

Advance Preparation

• •The black beans can be cooked from dried up to three days ahead and refrigerated in their broth. Fry them in asiento on the day you make the tortas. Good frijoles de olla are the backbone of this sandwich.
• •The salsa de pasilla oaxaqueño keeps refrigerated for up to five days. Make it ahead and use it on everything: eggs, enfrijoladas, quesadillas, grilled meats.
• •Tasajo keeps well in the refrigerator for up to a week due to its salt content. Grill it only at the moment of assembly. Reheated tasajo toughens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)