Food from Chihuahua

August 9, 2007 9:53 AM

MexicanFoodFilter: I spent some time in Mexico, Chihuahua specifically, and I'd like to find authentic, tried and true recipes from that region. Any recommendations or resources?

Of course I can Google recipes and try them out, but I'm sure there are people here who have personal experience that can point me in the right direction. Some of my favorite dishes were posole, sopa de albondigas, burros de carne y papas (rojo or verde), chiles rellenos, even a really good flour tortilla recipe would be good.

I've tried some generic mexican food websites, but nothing gets it quite right. Maybe it's not the recipes, maybe I need to refine my techniques or find the perfect ingredients. Any suggestions?

posted by Zimm to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

Chihuahua? You mean like Taco Bell? Heh.

Seriously, though, I'd recommend picking up some books by Rick Bayless. Perhaps start with Authentic Mexican.
posted by atomly at 10:28 AM on August 9, 2007

I was going to recommend Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico, but I see she's updated and revised it as part of The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. Kennedy has spent decades lovingly documenting the regional cuisines of Mexico, and you can't really go wrong with her. (But yeah, you're going to need the right ingredients. Your userpage doesn't give a location; unless you're in an urban area with lots of Mexicans, like NYC or LA, you may have to mail-order them.)
posted by languagehat at 10:29 AM on August 9, 2007

I don't have direct experience with the cookbooks mentioned above but as you may know, Mexican food is highly regional. So a generic Mexican recipe may not give you what you are craving.

Here's a chowhound topic discussing some of these differences. The restaurant they mention in San Diego, La Especial Norte, is owned by friends of my parents. If you're ever there, I can vouch for the authenticity of the soups (including posole and albondigas) which Angel, the owner, is most passionate about (he's made some Americanized compromises on many of the taco/burrito dishes)

He's from Michoacan in Central Mexico. I know my Michoacan-born mother has a distaste for what she calls Sinoalan food although she loves Oaxacan food.

So my suggestion, depending on where you live, is to try to find a divey Mexican place that serves it how you like it. I know for one that the posole stock is much thicker in Mexico than anything I've tried in the US and it is also much spicier. The flour tortillas you had down there are also a result of the particular flour mix they used down there. Your best bet is to visit a Mexican grocery store and get flour from them.
posted by vacapinta at 10:52 AM on August 9, 2007

I'm in Kokomo, Indiana. I'm not too far from Indianapolis, which is probably my best bet in terms of finding a good grocery store. (anyone know of one?) That's a great idea. I never thought about the flour being different.

I'll have to check out the books, too...this is great.

I was amazed at how regional the food is. There were big differences between Juarez and Hidalgo de Parral, a city probably 4 hrs south of Juarez. Food is SO much more regional in other countries...
posted by Zimm at 12:03 PM on August 9, 2007