(Carne de Res y Cerdo)
When I was fifteen, I walked to the carniceria down the street from our Mexican market and bought some stew meat for dinner. The next day, I returned for carne asada, and pork the following day. My mom wondered why I had a sudden interest in beef stews and pork butts, but my dad was just happy that I was making him meat every night. That was the summer when I had a crush on the boy at the carniceria and perfected my carne asada recipe.
Although my schoolgirl’s crush didn’t last more than a season, my love for Mexican meat dishes grew over the years. I still swoon over spicy meats doused in lime, and shredded pork made red with mouth-watering seasoning.
So, when I first moved to Mexico, I was delighted to find out that Mexicans traditionally ate four to five times a day. What wonderful opportunities for a hungry girl to sample all the delicious flavors from many regions! Although most of the day was composed of small bites, the main meal was at midday.
Shops and stalls close around two o’clock in the afternoon. Casual tourists mistake the time for siesta and think that everyone is going home for their afternoon naps. In fact, the owners and workers have all gone home to enjoy the big meal of the day with their families.
Much like American dinner as the main meal, comida is eaten around two to three in the afternoon, as a relaxed affair consisting of several courses. The central course, guisado, is usually a meat or seafood dish.
Hunks of meat are rubbed in spices and roasted or boiled for hours to release the deep flavors. They are eaten with fresh tortillas, perhaps some beans and/or rice on the side, and plenty of salsa to go around.
In our daily lives, we don’t have the luxury of a slow afternoon meal, nor the time to cook meat for hours. But that doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice flavor. We can still enjoy the aromatic spices and gloriously rich complexities of the dishes.
I’ve filled the following pages with simplified recipes that don’t compromise flavor, but still help you get dinner on the table after a long workday. Recipes like Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce can even be doubled, so that you can freeze portions for later meals or to take to lunch.
Dishes like the Spicy Pork Rubbed with Achiote Paste or the Seasoned Skirt Steak show-case the seasonings and the flavors of the meat. And you can even have plenty of leftovers to be used as taco or burrito fillings for later meals.