The best Mexican recipes : kitchen-tested recipes put the real flavors of Mexico within reach

1093 Pages·2015·23.44 MB·English

by  America’s Test Kitchen

THE BEST
Mexican
RECIPES
KITCHEN-TESTED RECIPES PUT THE
Real Flavors of Mexico WITHIN REACH
BY THE EDITORS AT
America’s Test Kitchen
Copyright © 2015 by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN 17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The best Mexican recipes: kitchen-tested recipes put
the real flavors of Mexico within reach / by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-936493-97-5 (alk. paper)
Kindle 978-1-940352-24-4
1. Cooking, Mexican. I. America’s Test Kitchen (Firm)
TX716.M4.B4265 2015
641.5972-dc23
2014046398
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback: $26.95 US
Distributed by America’s Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jack Bishop EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, BOOKS: Elizabeth Carduff
EXECUTIVE FOOD EDITOR: Julia Collin Davison SENIOR EDITOR: Dan Zuccarello
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Danielle DeSiato ASSISTANT EDITOR: Melissa Herrick EDITORIAL
ASSISTANTS: Kate Ander and Samantha Ronan TEST COOKS: Lawman Johnson, Sebastian Nava, and
Russell Selander DESIGN DIRECTOR: Amy Klee
ART DIRECTOR: Greg Galvan
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Taylor Argenzio DESIGNER: Jen Kanavos Hoffman
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR: Julie Cote ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHY: Steve
Klise STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Daniel J. van Ackere ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Keller +
Keller and Carl Tremblay FOOD STYLING: Catrine Kelty and Marie Piraino PHOTOSHOOT
KITCHEN TEAM:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Chris O’Connor TEST COOK: Daniel Cellucci ASSISTANT TEST COOK:
Matthew Fairman PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Guy Rochford SENIOR PRODUCTION
MANAGER: Jessica Quirk PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST: Christine Walsh
PRODUCTION AND IMAGING SPECIALISTS: Heather Dube, Dennis Noble, Lauren Robbins,
and Jessica Voas PROJECT MANAGER: Britt Dresser
COPY EDITOR: Cheryl Redmond
PROOFREADER: Elizabeth Emery
INDEXER: Elizabeth Parson
PICTURED ON COVER: Shredded Beef Tacos with Cabbage-Carrot Slaw
Contents
NAVIGATING THIS E-BOOK
WELCOME TO AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN
Preface by Christopher Kimball
Getting Started
Appetizers and Drinks
Soups, Stews, and Chilis
Tacos, Tostadas, Tamales, and More
Burritos, Chimichangas, and Quesadillas
Enchiladas and Casseroles
Poultry
Beef and Pork
Seafood
Vegetarian Mains
Eggs
Sides
Conversions and Equivalents
Master Recipe Listing
Index
Navigating this E-Book
This eBook includes a Table of Contents that allows you to jump to any chapter.
And each chapter has its own table of contents with links to every recipe in the
chapter.
We have also created a Recipe Index that lists all the recipes in the book,
divided by chapter, in one place. You can access the Recipe Index from the Table
of Contents. (It also appears at the end of the book.) Each title in the Recipe
Index is a link that will take you directly to that recipe.
This cookbook is filled with sidebars; throughout the book there are links to
this material where appropriate.
Most eBook reading devices also offer a search function that allows you to
type in exactly what you are looking for. Please read the documentation for your
particular eBook reader for more information on its search function and any
other navigational features it may offer.
Welcome to America’s Test Kitchen
This book has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at America’s Test
Kitchen, a very real 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It
is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is
the Monday-through-Friday destination for more than four dozen test cooks,
editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test
recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and
until we arrive at the “best” version.
We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of conviction,
which means that we accept no claim, no theory, no technique, and no recipe at
face value. We simply assemble as many variations as possible, test a half-dozen
of the most promising, and taste the results blind. We then construct our own
hybrid recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and
cooking times until we reach a consensus. The result, we hope, is the best
version of a particular recipe, but we realize that only you can be the final judge
of our success (or failure). As we like to say in the test kitchen, “We make the
mistakes, so you don’t have to.”
All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much
like good music, is indeed based on a foundation of objective technique. Some
people like spicy foods and others don’t, but there is a right way to sauté, there is
a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are measurable scientific principles
involved in producing perfectly beaten, stable egg whites. This is our ultimate
goal: to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking so that you become a
better cook. It is as simple as that.
If you’re curious to see what goes on behind the scenes at America’s Test
Kitchen, check out our daily blog, AmericasTestKitchenFeed.com, which
features kitchen snapshots, exclusive recipes, video tips, and much more. You
can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to America’s Test
Kitchen (AmericasTestKitchen.com) or Cook’s Country from America’s Test
Kitchen (CooksCountryTV.com) on public television. Tune in to America’s Test
Kitchen Radio (AmericasTestKitchen.com) on public radio to listen to insights,
tips, and techniques that illuminate the truth about real home cooking. And find
information about subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated magazine at
CooksIllustrated.com or Cook’s Country magazine at CooksCountry.com. Both
magazines are published every other month. However you choose to visit us, we
welcome you into our kitchen, where you can stand by our side as we test our
way to the best recipes in America.

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Preface
In 1963, we took a family vacation to Mexico and I still remember lunch at an
outdoor restaurant, one with strutting peacocks and an excess of waiters. Most of
the guests were tourists, I suppose, but what I remember most is the taste of
cilantro. It was a clear sign that I was somewhere foreign, a new place, and,
more than an afternoon bullfight or the choked streets of Mexico City, cilantro
was my gateway to this new world.
Since then, I have cooked out of Diana Kennedy’s marvelous books, I have
eaten at Rick Bayless’s magnificent Chicago restaurants including Frontera Grill
and Xoco, the best lunch spot in the world, and I’ve traveled to the Yucatán
(Mérida, Cancún, Cozumel) as well as the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I have also
had mediocre Mexican American food at countless restaurants, from suburban
eateries to a few decent spots in Texas.
This preface is one way of saying that I have experienced the highs and lows
of Mexican cooking, from the complex authenticity of Kennedy and Bayless to
the forgettable “cheese and chiles” approach of lesser establishments.
What I really need is for someone to go through the entire Mexican repertoire
—the usual suspects (tacos, fajitas, and burritos), street foods (sopes and
gorditas), and authentic regional dishes, as well as Mexican-inspired foods—and
pull out what makes sense for the American home cook, then test it endlessly so
I know it is going to work. That, in a sentence, is why we have published The
Best Mexican Recipes.
Of course, we start with great test kitchen recipes such as Ancho-Orange Pork
Burritos, Soup of the Seven Seas, Shredded Beef Tacos with Cabbage-Carrot
Slaw, Mexican Beef Stew, Yucatán-Style Barbecued Pork, and Sinaloa-Style
Grill-Roasted Chickens. We’ve also included some slightly different offerings
such as Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce, comfort food in the form of Spicy
Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs, and an array of street foods made with a simple
masa-based shell with a variety of fillings.
But The Best Mexican Recipes isn’t just about the recipes, it’s also about the
techniques—understanding the essence of Mexican cuisine so you can become a