TYPICAL FOOD OF MONTERREY (MEXICO): 7 COMMON DISHES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The most representative typical food of Monterrey is made up of dishes such as roast kid or shepherd kid, crushed or crushed, flank steak, capirotada, barbecue, beans with poison and cuajitos. The gastronomy of Monterrey is influenced by Sephardic Jews, but also by their indigenous ancestors.

Therefore, there is a great variety of meats available in the gastronomy of Monterrey such as kid, pork, beef and chicken, without forgetting its traditional tortillas and corn typical of Mexican cuisine in general.

The gastronomy of the state of Monterrey includes salty main dishes and sweet dishes that usually go later as a dessert. The usual thing is to accompany meals with horchata or beer, rice-based drinks and barley, respectively.

List of typical dishes of Monterrey food

1- roast kid or shepherd kid

It is the quintessential dish of Monterrey for being the favorite in national and foreign palates. It is meat from young goats 40 or 45 days old that is cooked on the grill bathed in a seasoning sauce that enriches the flavor of the meat.

The juice or sauce that is added to the meat has different varieties, but the most traditional version is made with onion, minced garlic, lemon juice, pepper, salt and sugar.

The accompaniments to the meat are usually beans and tortillas.

It is the most important legacy of the Sephardic Jews in the gastronomy of Monterrey, since the goat is a sacred animal for them and was the offering for Yahweh.

2- Crushed or crushed

There is no absolute certainty about the origin of this dish, but the researchers point to the pre-Hispanic stage, that is, of endemic natives of the region because they did not know a system for preserving the meat in addition to salting it and letting it dry in the sun.

This is shredded dried beef (the other variation is with venison) with scrambled egg. It is served with wheat flour tortillas (typical of the North of Mexico) and some hot sauce. It is usually eaten in the morning for breakfast or lunch.

3- Arrachera

Another dish that confirms beef as one of the most used products in Mexican gastronomy. In this case, the dish owes its name to the type of cut of beef that comes from the cow's diaphragm.

The cooking is done on the grill and has two processes to tenderize this section of meat that is tough when raw.

The first is to cut the ligaments and nerves before cooking to make it more tender; the second is marinating the meat with vinegar-based dressings that soften its texture.

Once again, the tortillas and the hot sauce chosen by the diner are the accompaniments for this dish, although there are variations that feature beans, vegetables or potatoes (potatoes).

4- Barbecue

It is not exclusive to Monterrey, unlike the cabrito al pastor, but it is still a representative dish of this state.

The barbecue is not a type or cut of meat but a way of preparing it of pre-Columbian origin. It is suitable for cooking beef, pork, goat, sheep, venison and even chicken or fish.

In the particular case of Monterrey, they prefer beef and cook it bathed in its juice along with salt, garlic and onion (as basic natural seasonings).

Some juice alternatives add chili to give it the spicy touch that Mexicans like so much.

As it is a cooking method, it can be eaten alone, with tortillas (to make taquitos) and beans or with the desired garnish. Likewise, it is suitable at any time of the day.

5- Beans with poison

The name may sound daunting to consume, but it is because it includes two varieties of chili that in large quantities make the dish quite spicy and can be "poisonous" for languages ​​inexperienced in tolerance to spice.

It is made with pork, preferably a boneless part and little fat and the marinade is made with garlic, apple cider vinegar, onion, ancho peppers, guajillo peppers, salt, cumin and spices (oregano, bay leaf, pepper and thyme). The beans are berries with a presentation of refried beans, that is, dried and pureed.

It can be served with rice although the content per se of the dish does not require any garnish. It is consumed as an aperitif or as a soup.

6- Cuajitos

It is a dish made of tender and juicy beef or goat. Nowadays, thanks to slow cookers or some softening substances, its cooking time has been reduced to an hour.

However, in the traditional way, water was simmered with onion, garlic, tomato (or tomato, as they call it in Mexico), cumin, oregano, pepper, salt and fatty pieces of beef or goat for six hours.

They can be accompanied with tortillas to taste them as taquitos, with beans or with rice.

7- Capirotada

It is one of the dessert options after the main dishes mentioned above. The capirotada is a traditional dessert consumed mostly during Lent and Holy Week.

It consists of toasted bread cut into slices covered with piloncillo honey that is baked and later raisins, cheese, grated coconut, sliced ​​banana or plantain, peanuts, cinnamon and walnuts are added.

The addition or extraction of an ingredient from the toast topping varies according to the taste of each family.

The capirotada is not exclusive to Monterrey, but the preparation with the aforementioned ingredients does make it their own.

References

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