Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition

577 Pages·2014·249.71 MB·English

by  David Sterling

Y U C A T Á N
Y U C A T Á N
RECIPES
Y U C A T Á N
from a
CULINARY
EXPEDITION
David Sterling
university of texas press, austin
The publication of this book
was made possible by the
generous support of Ellen
and Ed Randall in honor of
Laura and Tom Bacon.
Copyright © 2014 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in Singapore
First edition, 2014
Requests for permission to reproduce material
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∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum photo and drawing credits
requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997)
(Permanence of Paper). Cover photo by Eduardo Cervantes
library of congress The initials following photo and drawing
cataloging-in-publication data captions represent the following individuals:
Sterling, David, 1951– AC = Andrés Martínez Canul
Yucatán : recipes from a culinary expedition / AH = Aurea Hernández
by David Sterling. — First edition. DK = David Katzenstein
pages cm — (The William and Bettye Nowlin DS = David Sterling
series in art, history, and culture of the Western EC = Eduardo Cervantes
Hemisphere) F&KS = Forest and Kim Starr
Includes bibliographical references and index. FPG = Fototeca Pedro Guerra
isbn 978-0-292-73581-1 (hardbound : alk. paper) JC = Julien Capmeil
1. Cooking—Yucatán Peninsula. 2. Maya cooking. JFMT = Jorge Francisco Maury Tello
3. Yucatán Peninsula—Description and travel. KO = Kevin Oke
4. Yucatán Peninsula—Social life and customs. MC = Mario Canul
5. Mayas—Social life and customs. MG = Marie Z. Gardner
I. Title. MIPA = Manuel Isaias Pérez Alamilla
tx716.y83s74 2014 MM = Miguel A. Martínez de la Fuente
641.59'7265—dc23 2013021911 MR = Mark Randall
OM = Otto Monge
doi:10.7560/735811 RW = Richard Westell
To the
proud
and
smiling
people of
Yucatán
1
THE YUCATECAN MARKET
11

Overview ............................ 12
Index to Ingredients ................... 18
C O N T E N T S
2
THE MAYA HEARTLAND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 77
ix
The Monte ............................ 83
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The Milpa ............................ 99
xi The Solar ............................ 119
INTRODUCTION
3
¡Explora Yucatán!
1
FERTILE SHORES
143
Celestún ............................ 147
Sisal ................................ 152
Progreso ............................ 158
San Crisanto ......................... 162
San Felipe ........................... 168
Tulum .............................. 176
Punta Allen ......................... 180
4
THE PEOPLE’S FOOD
187
PANTRY STAPLES
494
La Panadería .......................... 190
La Chicharronería ...................... 209
Recados / Xa’ak’ / Seasoning Blends ....... 495
Comida Callejera ....................... 219
Frijoles / Bu’ul / Beans .................. 504
La Cocina Económica .................... 252
Salsas / Sauces ....................... 507
La Cantina and el Restaurante Familiar ...... 271
Other Staples ........................ 513
5 BASIC TECHNIQUES
516
THE URBAN MATRIX About Maize and Masa ................. 517
293 Arroz / Rice .......................... 527
Basic Preparation Techniques ........... 532
Empire Building ...................... 297 Working with Chiles .................. 534
Campeche ........................... 298 Preparing Meats for Cooking ........... 536
Mérida ............................. 330 The Ethereal Essence of Smoke .......... 537
Valladolid ........................... 372
RESOURCES
539
6
BIBLIOGRAPHY
542
THE PUEBLOS
407 INDEX TO RECIPES
BY CATEGORY
Felipe Carrillo Puerto: Nectar of the Gods ... 410 547
Hunucmá: Buried Foods ................. 417
Kanasín: Nexus of Yucatecan Tacos ......... 433 GENERAL INDEX
Lerma: A Feast for Kings ................. 439 555
Maní: Inquisition to Transformation ........ 445
Motul: Garnishing History ............... 452 See page iv for photo and drawing credits.
Oxcutzcab: Land of Oranges and Chocolate ... 456
Pomuch: Villa of Bakeries ................ 470
Temozón: The Ethereal Essence of Smoke ..... 475
Tetiz: The Sweetest of Pueblos ............. 484
Tizimín: Cowboy Country ............... 488
vii

AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
at christmastime of 2009, Diana Kennedy joined me to sell a book on what might be considered an obscure
for a special class at my Yucatecan cooking school, Los Dos. regional cuisine.
During her stay, we had the great pleasure of “pueblear-ing,” Casey is every writer’s dream of an editor: patient,
as she called it—driving together from one pueblo to the encouraging, responsive, sharp as a tack, and responsi-
next, sampling food along the way and talking endlessly ble for shaping my original manuscript from an orgiastic
about cuisine. Roman banquet into what I hope is a more digestible buf-
On one of our many jaunts, she pronounced, “David, fet. I was also delighted to learn that he is quite a seasoned
you absolutely must do a cookbook on Yucatán! You really gastronome himself, which reassured me that the latest
know the material!” Coming from Diana, it was quite a culinary trends would not be overlooked in the editing pro-
compliment indeed. I told her that I had approached a cess. Thanks, too, to the University of Texas Press for taking
few agents with my outline, but all had rejected me, and on such an ambitious project from an untested author.
all for the same reason: they opined that without a TV The research for the book was accomplished over the
program or some other media vehicle, my book would be course of ten years. Three scholars affiliated with the
impossible to sell. Autonomous University of Yucatán were invaluable in the
When I related this to Diana, she stomped her foot and process: Jorge Francisco “Paco” Maury Tello—an archaeol-
uttered an expletive. “That’s ****! I’m going to put you in ogy postgrad specializing in Maya ceramics—led me to rare
contact with my publisher and encourage them to take on documents, faculty, and other scholarly resources to which
your project.” The University of Texas Press was just put- I would never have had access otherwise. Carmen Salazar,
ting the finishing touches on the English-language version MSc., from the Botany Department at the same university,
of her magnum opus, Oaxaca al Gusto, and I was soon intro- helped me conduct the extensive research on Yucatecan
duced to her editor, Casey Kittrell. ingredients that you will find in Part One, “The Yucatecan
My first thanks, then, must go to Diana, without whom Market.” I am also thankful for the assistance of linguist
I would still be hoping to have a TV show and then a cook- Asunción Quintal Pérez in providing me with the correct
book. Furthermore, without Diana’s pioneering expedi- Mayan names of many dishes in this book.
tions into the previously uncharted territory of Mexican Special recognition must be granted to my faithful
cuisine, I would have needed much more than a TV show assistant and “Guy Friday,” Mario Canul, who performed
(opposite page) David Sterling in his kitchen at Los Dos, Mérida, Yucatán. [ec] ix