The original cowboys came from Mexico, and the country still boasts abundant ranchlands across its northern states. The importance of these extensive cattle holdings is reflected in the region’s cuisine, with a love of beef and beef-based dishes from machaca con huevos and discada to carne asada being a prevalent feature of Northern cuisine.
Nowhere is this beefy goodness more evident than in Chihuahua, Mexico’s largest state by size. Chihuahua has a large cattle inventory and is the leading Mexican beef exporter to the U.S. Its livestock are also a major source of dairy, including two exquisitely melty Mexican cheeses: asadero and the eponymous Chihuahua cheese, a.k.a. queso menonita.
The iconic dish of Chihuahua
Chihuahua’s love of beef supports two different dried beef specialties: carne seca and machaca. The former is a variety of jerky made from salted beef dried in the sun as a preservative to keep the meat from spoiling, a technique also used in the state for items like fruits and grains due to Chihuahua’s short growing season. Machaca, meanwhile, is salted, marinated and cooked before being sundried and pounded flat.
The differences are subtle but bear noting when discussing the state’s signature dish, chile colorado con carne seca. Chile colorado is a kind of stew, although not necessarily served like one. In Chihuahua, the stew typically features guajillo chilis along with seasonings such as garlic, cumin and oregano, with the consistency thickened by wheat flour. The finished delicacy includes carne seca and potatoes and is often scooped into flour tortillas to make tacos.
Beef, beef and more beef
Given its abundant cattle, it should be no surprise that Chihuahua doesn’t make its barbacoa with lamb like they do, famously, in Hidalgo. They use beef. Nor do the state’s barbecue experts pit cook the meaty specialty, which like chile colorado con carne seca, is best served in taco form. Instead, they cook it in a pot.
If that sounds suspiciously like a stew, consider that the only thing residents seem to like more than eating beef is adding it to a stew… and then eating it. In addition to the iconic chile colorado, beef stew puchero is likewise a signature state plate. A year-round specialty, puchero utilizes a variety of beef cuts paired with veggies like cabbage, carrot, corn, potato and pumpkin.
The great burrito debate
According to legend and lore, the burrito was born against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, during the time of Pancho Villa and his famed División del Norte. Its progenitor is said to have been Juan Méndez, a vendor in Ciudad Juárez who wrapped meat, beans and other ingredients in oversized flour tortillas. This creation became known as the burro, or burrito, after the donkey Méndez rode on his daily route.
The legend appears to be just that. When Cuban exile author Félix Ramos y Duarte, living in Mexico, penned his “Diccionario de Mejicanismos” in 1895, the burrito was listed and accurately described. Its origin was given as Guanajuato, and while that may not be correct — Ramos y Duarte was not noted as an expert in Mexican culinary history and it has been theorized that he used burrito as a synonym for taco — it still seems the filling favorite was well-known long before Juan Méndez and his burro came upon the scene.
The wrap-style treats are indeed a specialty in Chihuahua — particularly in Villa Ahumada and Ciudad Juárez, Méndez’s old stomping ground — so the state remains one of the likelier birthplaces, even if its claims are never conclusively proven. Some reports have Méndez pioneering the dish in the late 19th century, which would better fit the known timeline.
The cheeses that pleases
Superb Chihuahua cheeses have been made since the Spanish introduced the cheesemaking process to Mexico in the 16th century. However, the most famous of the state’s pasteurized cow’s milk cheeses wasn’t invented for another four hundred years.
Most of the country knows it as queso Chihuahua, but it’s also called queso menonita, after the Dutch and German Mennonite immigrants who began relocating to Chihuahua during the 1920s. By the end of that decade, the Mennonite population in the state was nearly 10,000. The signature cheeses began appearing widely in the 1930s and have elevated scores of Mexican delicacies ever since.
Asadero is semi-soft rather than semi-hard like Chihuahua cheese. But it, too, is a cow’s milk cheese that melts beautifully and makes almost any meal better. Most commonly associated with Villa Ahumada due to the artistry brought to this specially stretched and kneaded cheese in that municipality, it reaches its most delicious heights when served in quesadillas. The aforementioned stretching process, known as pasta filata in Italian, is similar to the one used for mozzarella and provolone.
The sotol boom
Chihuahua’s sotol, with over 800 years of history — and maybe far more — is among Mexico’s most ancient spirits. Derived from the shrub known in English as desert spoon, the liquor is produced somewhat like mezcal. The plant’s “heart” is removed, roasted and pressed before fermentation, followed typically by two to three distillations.
Although legally banned between 1944 and 1994, commercial sotol production has returned with a vengeance since, and is one of the drinks touted as “the next mezcal.” That seems unlikely, but sales are on the upswing, increasing 17% in 2022.
Sotol is traditional to Chihuahua, but not exclusive. The government-granted appellation of origin status allows for the spirit to be distilled in Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango. Just like they share many beef dishes Mexico’s northern states share this liquor too.
What’s for dessert?
Apple pie, of course. Chihuahua grows more apples than any other state in the country, accounting for a staggering 85% of the nation’s production.
