Panuchos!!

One of my favorite meals as a child was when my mom would throw corn tortillas on a baking pan, schmear em all with refried beans, sprinkle grated cheese on top and throw em all in the oven to get all crispy. Then we'd throw various condiments/sauces on top and scarf em down. Very tasty and very simple.

Well, panuchos are a very similar idea and, admittedly, far less simple. But I love making Mexican food they way I saw it being made in Mexico. So I went all out and had a lot of fun making these. Panuchos are a regional snack of the Yucatan peninsula. That's not where I was, but we had a lady who cooked for us who was from the Yucatan and she made these for us a couple times. They are basically tostadas made with homemade tortillas that have refried beans stuffed inside. They then get topped with shredded chicken and whatever various toppings you choose. But one condiment in particular is not optional: pickled red onions. So good.

I started by making a hot sauce. It's sort of a homemade Tabasco sauce, but so much more flavorful. It's made with one of my very favorite chiles: chile de arbol. Fiery hot, but so full of flavor at the same time.


I forgot to take in-progress pics but here are some of the ingredients next to the finished product: Vinegar, sesame seeds and pepitas (pumpkin seeds).


I heart this sauce... and it will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator. Peace out Tabasco.

Next came the beans... Now I have no problem with a can of Rosarita... but honestly, making the refried beans yourself is so much more tasty. And its really easy. Just chop up some onion, fry it in some oil, add the rinsed beans in batches, mash the heck out of em, season to taste, and let them cook down to the consistency you want.


So tortillas are awesome. But homemade tortillas are much more awesomer. I went and bought some masa (tortilla dough) from a tortilleria.


Combine that with a tortilla press...


and a hot skillet...


and boo-yeah... corn cake heaven.

The main thing with panuchos is that the tortillas are stuffed with beans. Does this taste any better than just spreading beans on top? No, not really. Is it a lot more difficult and time-consuming than just spreading beans on top? Yes, absolutely. So why do it? Well, because that's the way they do it in Yucatan, and by-Jorge that's good enough for me.

So basically, when you cook the tortillas on the hot skillet, they should puff up a bit. This separates the two sides of the tortilla. When you take the tortilla off the skillet, take a sharp knife and cut a slit between the two sides and extend it a third of the way around the circumference of the tortilla. Then use the knife or your fingers to gently pry the two sides apart all the way to the edges. Then you want to drop about a a tablespoon of those delicious beans into the pocket you just formed. Then gently flatten the two sides back together, spreading the beans all through the interior of the tortilla.


That's basically it for the panuchos. All that is left to do is fry them crisp in a bit of oil and then drain them on paper towels.


Then all that's left is the toppings. Remember that one condiment that wasn't optional?


Pickled red onions. Tasty stuff. I made these last week. Your pretty much just slice up a red onion and boil it in a mixture of vinegar, water, garlic and a bunch of spices, and then put it in the fridge.

Combine a few of these onions along with some of the juice with some shredded, cooked chicken (I just used the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken).


Isn't that color great? Love it.

So just top the fried panuchos with the chicken and whatever else you fancy. We topped ours with lettuce, tomato, queso fresco, cream, jalapenos, extra pickled onions, and the chile de arbol hot sauce.


The dinner was great.


And so was the company.