Zacahuil de Cerdo (Huasteca Hidalguense)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Very large mixing bowl or clean work surface for kneading masa
• •Heavy sheet pan or large roasting pan
• •Heavy cotton kitchen twine
• •Sharp kitchen scissors for trimming banana leaves

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the masa martajada

   If starting with whole nixtamalized corn, drain and rinse it well, then take it to your local molino and ask for masa martajada, coarse, with visible bits of grain, not the smooth masa fina used for tortillas. The texture is the dish. If your molino does not exist, pulse the wet nixtamal in a heavy-duty food processor in batches until it looks like wet, broken cornmeal, never a smooth paste. The zacahuil's character lives in that rough grain. A smooth masa makes a tamal, not a zacahuil.

   If you cannot find nixtamal, buy the best fresh masa martajada from a tortilleria and tell them what you are making. Maseca will not work here. The dehydrated flour is too fine and turns gummy in this format.
2. 2

   Toast and soak the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the guajillo, ancho, chino, and cascabel chiles separately, pressing them flat for about 20 to 30 seconds per side, until the skins puff and the kitchen smells like a chile vendor's stall in the Pachuca market. Do not let any of them blacken. Burned chile turns the adobo bitter and there is no recovering from it later. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water, not boiling. Let them soften for 25 minutes.

3. 3

   Build the adobo

   While the chiles soak, toast the cumin, peppercorns, cloves, and canela on the same comal for about a minute, until fragrant. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid. Transfer the chiles to a blender along with the toasted spices, garlic, onion, oregano, bay leaves, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of salt. Add 1 cup of the chile soaking liquid. Blend on high for a full three minutes until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on the solids. You should have a deep red, slightly thick adobo with the body of heavy cream. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo. This adobo is the recipe.

4. 4

   Marinate the meat

   Place the pork shoulder, ribs, and chicken in a large non-reactive container. Pour half the adobo over the meat and turn every piece so it is fully coated. Reserve the other half for the masa. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. The Huasteca cooks do this the night before, never the morning of. The adobo needs time to find its way into the meat.

5. 5

   Mix the masa

   In a very large bowl or directly on a clean work surface in the old Huasteca style, combine the martajada masa with the lard and the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt. Work it with your hands until the lard is fully incorporated and the masa feels supple. Now add the reserved half of the adobo and continue mixing until the masa is a uniform brick red and holds together when squeezed. If it feels dry, add chile soaking liquid by the half cup until it has the texture of thick, spreadable cookie dough. It should not be loose. A loose masa collapses inside the leaves.

   Test the masa the way the señoras of Huejutla do: drop a small piece into a glass of cold water. If it floats, the lard is well incorporated and the zacahuil will bake light. If it sinks, work in a little more lard and try again.
6. 6

   Prepare the leaves

   Pass each banana leaf over an open gas flame for a few seconds per section, until it turns from matte to glossy and pliable. This softens the leaf and releases the aromatic oil that perfumes the zacahuil from the inside. Wipe each leaf clean with a damp cloth. Do the same with the papatla leaves if using. The papatla is the traditional outer layer in the Huasteca Hidalguense, but it is hard to find outside the region. Extra banana leaves will work as a compromise.

7. 7

   Build the zacahuil

   On a large clean table, lay down a generous double layer of papatla leaves to form a rectangle about 30 inches long and 20 inches wide. Overlap 4 to 5 banana leaves on top, vein side down, creating a continuous surface with no gaps. The leaves will be your bake vessel. Spread about two-thirds of the masa down the center in a thick rectangular slab about 18 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 2 inches deep. This is the cradle that holds the meat.

8. 8

   Layer the meat

   Arrange the marinated pork shoulder, ribs, and chicken pieces along the length of the masa slab, pressing them gently into the surface so they sit half embedded. Spoon any adobo that pooled in the marinating container over the meat. Cover the meat with the remaining masa, working it across the top and down the sides to fully enclose the meat. This is one giant tamal. The whole pig wrapped in corn. Así se hace y punto.

9. 9

   Wrap the bundle

   Fold the banana leaves up and over the masa, starting with the long sides, then the short ends, sealing the package completely. Then fold the outer papatla leaves over the top in the same way. Tie the bundle securely with heavy kitchen twine, crisscrossing in both directions like you are wrapping a parcel for a long journey, because that is what you are doing. The twine should be tight but not so tight that it cuts the leaves. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado de Huejutla, they tie zacahuiles that weigh fifty pounds and the bundles never break open.

10. 10

    Bake the zacahuil

    Traditionally the zacahuil bakes in an horno de tierra, an earth oven heated with wood until the walls glow. Few cooks have one. A home oven works if you respect the time. Preheat to 300°F. Place the wrapped zacahuil on a heavy sheet pan or directly in a large roasting pan. Bake for 5 to 6 hours, checking once an hour to make sure the leaves are not scorching. If the outer leaves darken too fast, drape a layer of foil loosely on top. You are not roasting. You are slow-baking until the masa is set and the meat falls off the bone.

11. 11

    Rest and unwrap at the table

    Pull the zacahuil from the oven and let it rest, still wrapped, for at least 30 minutes. The masa needs that time to firm up. Carry the whole bundle to the table on a wooden board. Cut the twine and fold back the leaves in front of your family. The aroma that rises is the reward for eight hours of work. Serve the masa and the meat directly from the leaves, with extra adobo on the side and a stack of warm corn tortillas. This is Sunday food in the Huasteca. It feeds the whole table and the neighbors who hear about it. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •Find a molino. The masa is the dish, and Maseca cannot make martajada. Call ahead to a Mexican tortilleria and ask if they grind masa coarse for tamales. If they look confused, find a different molino. The good ones know exactly what you mean.
• •The hoja de papatla is the signature wrapper of the Hidalguense version. If you can find it at a specialty Mexican market in late spring or early summer, use it. If you cannot, doubling up the banana leaves is a compromise, not an upgrade. The papatla gives the zacahuil a green, herbaceous perfume that banana leaves alone cannot reproduce.
• •Do not skimp on the lard. One pound for eight cups of masa sounds like a lot until you remember this tamal weighs more than ten pounds when it goes in the oven. Less lard gives you a dry, heavy zacahuil. La manteca es el sabor, especially in a baked tamal where there is no steam to keep the masa tender.
• •If you have a wood-fired oven or a horno de tierra, use it. The smoke flavor is part of the Huasteca tradition and a home gas oven cannot replicate it. No me vengas con atajos, but if a home oven is what you have, the time and temperature in this recipe will get you close.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated. The flavor only deepens as it sits.
• •The meat must marinate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Do not skip this step.
• •The masa is best mixed the morning of the bake. If you mix it the night before, the lard will firm in the refrigerator and the masa loses some of its workability.
• •The fully baked zacahuil keeps refrigerated for four days. Reheat individual portions wrapped in banana leaf in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)