(upbeat salsa music)
(upbeat salsa music continues)
- Salute, thank you much so much for sharing.
- Thank you so much.
- Do you wanna talk about the show now?
- Let's talk about the show.
- Okay. - Let's have another sip
and talk about the show, shall we?
- We need to loosen up a little bit.
- Yeah.
We were so tight before.
(gents laughing)
- So Rick.
- Yes.
- Season two of Pruébalo. - Yes.
- What made you decide on Mexico City?
- I adore this city.
Part of what Pruébalo is to me is
about experiencing new things and then sharing it
with people that I care about.
I love this food, I love this city, I love this culture,
and I want people to come here and meet the people
that I meet, eat the food that I eat, drink the Mezcals
that I drink, and then, you know, go home.
And I'm gonna give you some recipes
so that you can try it at home
because it's a connection to Mexico City.
It's a point in time.
And when you're able to go home
and recreate that, you're pulling your back self
back into Mexico City.
- Not only are you going to share these dishes
and take home equivalents, you're also going
to create what seems like a practical travel
food travel guide to Mexico City.
- [Rick] It's food that maybe the locals are eating.
Maybe it's a joint that's been there for 25 years.
Or maybe it's the place that just opened up
and they're doing some crazy new things,
but it's all delicious.
- Well, I'm so excited to be able to share this with you.
Thank you so much for having me.
- Thank you for coming.
- Thank you guys for watching Pruébalo season two.
- Yeah.
(upbeat salsa music ends)
(Spanish guitar music)
- In this season, we are going
to spend the entire time in Mexico City.
I am going to show you my favorite places to eat.
And today, we're starting with some of the most beautiful
and innovative tacos I have ever seen.
Back in 2019, I met Linares and Jorge, the owners
of Tizne Tacomotora.
They have some incredible tacos.
And so when I was planning all the different places
that I wanted to show you in this season, I checked
out their Instagram feed and I saw a lot
of new tacos on the menu.
So that's why we're here today.
I need to try those tacos.
(Spanish instrumental music)
- [Issac] Rick!
- Hi!
- [Isaac] How are you doing?
- I'm good, how are you?
- I'm great!
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
I am so excited about this.
Okay, I love these tacos.
I've pretty much eaten everything on this menu.
But two things that I have not tried before are
the Gringas de Barbacoa and the grilled Chizadilla,
which also comes with a sort
of tomato soup kind of dipping vibe.
I think it's kind of a play off of a grilled cheese.
Anyway, we're about to find out
and I'm gonna place my order.
(soft Spanish instrumental music)
Wow.
Whoa.
Okay, this is the one that I've never tried before
that I'm super excited about.
I have really fond memories of like, my padrinos,
My godparents and my parents on Sunday morning going
to the Mercado in San Antonio
and buying like, pounds and pounds of barbacoa.
And my mom and my aunt making fresh flour tortillas.
And it was just so incredibly delicious.
(patrons talking, laughing)
Mm.
Wow.
It's a lot different than what I had expected.
The barbacoa is just like, so tender, it's falling apart.
It's a little bit juicy.
It's very smokey.
I wasn't expecting that part of it
but also the cheese is super, super creamy.
It's Gouda, but it almost reads like a mozzarella.
This is really good.
I think this may be the taco that I have to make.
(soft Spanish instrumental music ends)
(sea gulls crying)
(upbeat Latin jazzy music)
My friends and owners of Tizne, Linares and Jorge
weren't in Mexico City when I was,
so I gave them a call when I got home
to learn more about the delicious barbacoa.
One of the things that I loved
on this visit was the barbacoa.
So I wanted to ask you what inspired your barbacoa
and what did the idea to make the barbacoa come from?
- Well, we wanted to make like a very basic barbacoa.
We use short rib
and we rub it with our homemade rub
with the spices and chiles and dried chiles.
And we smoked it for about 12, 14 hours.
- [Rick] Wow, oh, okay.
- [Jorge] And then we put on the griddle
and we put a lot of broth.
And it's like, I don't know, a glaze.
- Si, si, si.
I'm always blown away by the creativity
and the passion, and the love that you put into your tacos.
They're always so beautiful.
They always taste so good.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, appreciate it.
- I think what inspired me the most
from the gringa at Tizne was the play of the cheese
and the barbacoa, and the tortilla.
It was really rich, it was beefy, it was smokey.
There was a lot of spices.
I really wanted more of that flavor
and that was really what inspired me
to create barbacoa.
When I think of barbacoa, I want a consome.
I want something that's really rich, delicious.
This is obviously not a Tuesday night meal.
This is something that you're gonna make with a lot of love
for the people that you love the most.
So let's get started.
There are two do-aheads for this recipe.
The first thing that we're gonna do is marinade the meat.
The second thing we're gonna do is we're going
to soak the garbanzos.
Both of those are gonna go overnight.
We're gonna ensure that there's a lot of flavor in the meat
and that the garbanzos are gonna be completely cooked.
(soft Jamaican music)
To make the adobo bring (Rick speaking a foreign language)
three quarters of a cup of water to a boil
in a medium sauce pan over high heat.
Cover, remove from heat, and let sit
until the chiles are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Transfer everything to the jar of a blender.
Add onion, garlic, peppercorn
all spice, thyme, oregano, cumin, cloves, bay leaves
avocado leaves, canela, vinegar, oil, pulque, and salt.
The secret ingredient, I think,
in this barbacoa is the pulque.
It's a fermented drink and so it's got
like, a little kombucha-like edge to it,
which I really, really like.
In the marinating process, it really changes
that flavor and it's really beautiful.
Transfer to a large bowl and toss beef
in adobo until completely coated.
So now, this is going to marinate
for at least 12 hours and up to 36.
That'll give the meat time
to soak up all those incredible flavors.
Now it's time to prep the garbanzos.
(beans tapping)
To make sure that the garbanzos are completely soft
and tender, I am going to soak them
in one and a half teaspoons baking soda
and then this is a teaspoon of salt.
And now we're just gonna cover them with water.
I'm gonna mix it up just to dissolve
and let these sit overnight.
And they're gonna be totally delicious in the morning.
After the meat is marinated
prep the veggies for the consome.
(lively Spanish music)
Now we are almost ready to assemble.
We just need to roast the banana leaves.
Unfold a banana leaf.
It should be about two to three feet long.
If you have gas burners, heat one gas burner on high.
Hold the leaf at each end and very slowly move the leaf
over the flame, leaving it in one place
until you see a light discoloration coming through the top
or until the entire leaf is very slightly charred.
Repeat with the remaining banana leaves.
Let's put it all together.
So this is really my excuse
to pull out my beautiful (Rick speaking a foreign language).
You don't have to have one of these
in order to make this dish.
You can totally do it in a dutch oven.
What you need is something that's really, really big
that has a tight fitting lid.
All we're gonna do is throw everything in, so all
of our chopped peppers, carrots, garlic, avocado leaf.
We'll just tuck that in right there.
I have these beautiful cebollas onions,
or you can use spring onions, or you can use scallions,
my soaked garbanzos, you can see how nice
and plump they are now, and remaining two teaspoons of salt.
Cover with five cups of water.
The high pour, ah.
(water splashing)
Place roasted banana leaves over the top of the water
and the vegetables, folding or cutting
and trimming as necessary.
You want about three layers of leaves
to cover the cosome.
Now, we're just going to dump our meat
our beautiful marinated beef
into the banana leaf.
I'm just gonna cover the top of it.
I want the meat to steam.
And so this is gonna act as a little barrier.
So now that's done, I'm taking my clay lid,
which are, honestly, is just like a clay plate
that fits over the top of this particular Cazuela.
Now what we're gonna do is we're gonna take this
and bring it to a boil over the stove.
Roll about two tablespoons of masa
into a half-inch thick rope.
Press the masa into the gap between the lid
and the pot to seal the barbacoa.
Continue with masa until the pot is completely sealed.
On my trip, I got to cook with Jesus at Expendio de Maiz.
He repaired one of his Cazuela with a bit of masa
which I thought was so cool.
This technique is also really similar
to when we made (Rick speaking a foreign language)
in the first episode of Pruébalo
and used mud to seal the orno.
It's going to make everything really delicious
and seal in all that flavor.
I can hear the sound of the boiling water
inside the Cazuela.
That means it's done.
So I've set the oven for 250 degrees.
I lowered the rack so that Cazuela fits
in the very center and now it's time to put it in.
So now this is going to slowly cook
for the next nine to 12 hours
until the meat is just falling off the bone
and the garbanzos are creamy on the inside.
I think I'm gonna go take a nap.
(relaxing Spanish guitar music)
The barbacoa is almost finished
so I'm gonna get the cheese and the salsa ready.
At Tizne, they had a full selection
of salsas to choose from.
So I decided I want to make
a punchy green salsa with tomatoes.
Now that the salsa is done, I'm gonna work on the cheese.
So for the gringa, you obviously need queso.
I'm using Queso Oaxaca.
At Tizne, they used Gouda, which I really, really like a lot
but I also just really love Queso Oaxaca.
It's so good.
It's so creamy.
It's got a little pop of salt in it.
The fun way to shred it up is just to pull it apart.
Now that the cheese is shredded,
it's time to check on the barbacoa.
All right, it's been a little over nine hours
and I think it's time to reveal the barbacoa.
All right, so I'm going to take this off.
I was just gonna say carefully, but whatever.
It's kind of already coming off for me.
Voila.
Oh my god.
And here's how to make the gringas.
Toast one side of the tortilla in a medium skillet,
preferably cast iron, over medium high heat
until golden brown in spots, about two minutes.
Flip and top with about two tablespoons of queso,
one quarter cup of barbacoa.
Fold the tortilla in half and continue to cook,
flipping once until both sides are deep golden brown
and the cheese is melted, about three minutes.
This is the consome.
And here is our Gringa de Barbacoa with a rich consome.
Serve with tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime wedges,
and salsa to make tacos.
This is gonna be like undressed, no salsa, no, no, nothing.
I just wanna see what it tastes like.
(gentle Spanish music)
Mm.
Ah, it's so good.
Oh my god.
And this flower tortilla is just like sopping
up all of those extra juices.
That was a really good bite.
I'm gonna taste it now with some salsa
to help cut through all that richness.
All right.
(gentle Spanish music continues)
Mm.
It's just perfect, I don't,
it's like I don't know what else to say.
Okay, the consome.
(gentle Spanish music continues)
(Rick chuckles)
This is incredible.
I loved the gringa from Tizne.
I loved the barbacoa.
It gave me the opportunity to create my own barbacoa.
This is the first barbacoa that I've ever made.
I am really excited to share this recipe
both with you and now I get to share this amazing food
with my crew that I absolutely adore and love.
Thank you so much.
I hope you enjoy this recipe.
(gentle Spanish music fades)
- Hey, Rick.
- [Rick] Isaac!
(Spanish music)
(Spanish music ends)