Mexican- Gorditas with Shredded Beef
List of Ingredients
Makes 10 filled pockets, serving 4 to 5 as a casual main dish
1 1/4 pounds boneless beef chuck steak, cut into 4 pieces
3 small white onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus oil to a depth of 1/2 inch for frying
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped OR
2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 to 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapeños), stemmed, seeded (if you want a more refined looking dish) and finely chopped
Salt
1 pound (2 cups) fresh smooth-ground corn masa for tortillas OR
1 3/4 cups powdered masa harina mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup finely grated Mexican queso añejo or other dry grating cheese, such as Romano or Parmesan
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Recipe
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the meat with 2 quarts salted water, about 1/3 of the onions and ½ of the garlic, and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1½ hours. Strain, reserving the broth for another use. When the meat is cooled, shred it into coarse strands with your fingers or two forks.
Wash and dry the saucepan, set it over medium heat and add the 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add half of the remaining onions and cook until golden, about 6 minutes, then stir in the remaining garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and chiles and cook until most of the juice has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the shredded meat and simmer for a few more minutes, then taste and season with about ½ teaspoon salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat a nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over medium. Knead the masa (fresh or reconstituted) to make it pliable, adding a little water if necessary to achieve a soft cookie-dough consistency. Knead in the flour, baking powder and ¾ teaspoon salt. Divide the dough into 10 portions and roll into balls; cover with plastic to keep from drying out.
Line a tortilla press with two pieces of plastic cut to fit the plates (to be on the safe side, cut them from a food storage bag; the thicker plastic usually works better for beginners). Gently press out a ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 4 inches in diameter (it'll be about ¼ inch thick). You've now made a gordita, which is what you call a fat tortilla. Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the gordita -- uncovered side down -- onto the fingers of one hand and gently peel off the second piece of plastic. In one flowing movement, roll the gordita off your hand and onto the heated griddle or skillet. Bake for about 1½ minutes, then flip and bake for another 1½ minutes on the other side. The gordita will be lightly browned and crusty on top and bottom, but still a little uncooked on the sides. Remove to a plate. Continue pressing and griddle-baking the remaining gorditas in the same manner.
When you're ready to serve, warm the shredded beef. Rinse the remaining onions in a small strainer under cold water and shake to remove the excess moisture. Have the cheese and cilantro ready.
In a deep heavy medium skillet or saucepan, heat the ½ inch of oil over medium until the oil is hot enough to make the edge of a gordita sizzle sharply (about 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer). One by one, fry the gorditas, turning them after they've been in the oil for about 15 seconds, until they're nicely crisp but not hard, about 45 seconds total. When ready, most will have puffed up a bit, like pita bread. Drain on paper towels.
Once they all are fried, use a small knife to cut a slit in the thin edge of each one about halfway around its circumference, opening a pocket. As you cut them, fill each gordita with about ¼ cup shredded meat and a sprinkling of the onion, crumbled cheese and cilantro.
Published on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000
© 2000 The Press Democrat
These recipes are from "Rick Bayless Mexico: One Plate at a Time," (Scribner, 2000)
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