Uncovering the Culinary Heritage of Durango, Mexico
Discover the rich culinary history of Durango, Mexico, where Spanish and indigenous influences merged to create a unique cuisine. Learn about the many cultural and economic factors that have shaped the food of Durango, from farming and livestock to making cheese and making traditional dishes.
The city of Durango was established as the capital of Nueva Vizcaya in the central valleys of northern Mexico due to its strategic location near a permanent water source and several springs. The nearby stream provided water to the Spanish settlers and separated the indigenous mission known as Analco.
To sustain its inhabitants, the city relied on both local and imported food sources, resulting in a mix of Spanish, indigenous, and African-influenced cuisine. The fertile land allowed for agriculture, including the cultivation of corn, beans, squash, and spices from Europe. Livestock was also raised in the pastures.
The combination of various cooking techniques and ingredients gave rise to a unique cuisine characterized by preservation methods such as salting and vinegar, the transformation of meats, and the use of dairy products like cheese and jocoque.
The region's geography and subsistence techniques have had a significant impact on the local cuisine, as have contributions from indigenous groups and influences from other countries, including American and German dishes brought by settlers and the dairy production of the Mennonite community.
Caldillo Durangueño (Durango Stew)
The caldillo durangueño is the flagship dish of the local cuisine, made with beef and seasoned with either green ancho chili or paste, depending on the region of Durango where it's prepared. This delicious combination of flavors showcases the sophisticated taste of Durango's cooking style.
The dish has a rich history that dates back to the previous century, starting as a simple potato soup. As the settlers in Durango adapted to the region's needs and tastes, the dish evolved and became a staple for special occasions like weddings and baptisms.
The original recipe used deer meat, but it was later replaced with beef, which was easier to acquire. Initially, the arid climate of Durango made it necessary to use dried meat in the dish, but with the advent of new cooking techniques and appliances, it's now common to use fresh meat.
The main ingredients of the caldillo durangueño are dehydrated poblano chili (chile pasado), cumin, and meat, making it a staple in many homes and restaurants in the capital city of Durango. It's usually served with homemade corn tortillas.
Ingredients:
1 kg of clean dried meat
100 g of lard
15 chiles pasados
6 red tomatoes
2 medium onions
6 garlic cloves
Instructions
Finely chop the onion, tomato, and garlic and season in the lard. Add the shredded beef jerky and fry for 10 minutes stirring constantly to avoid burning. Add the chiles that have been previously washed and hydrated in very hot water for 10 minutes. Devein and cut into strips. Add salt and water to cover the meat, and let the stew boil for 10 minutes. Serve hot with corn tortillas.
Lonche De Barbacoa (Barbecue Slice Recipe)
The barbacoa is a traditional Mesoamerican cooking technique where food is cooked indirectly by steam, wrapped in maguey leaves or stalks, and buried underground. As the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road to Inland)traveled from the center to the north of New Spain, it passed through various communities populated by Spaniards, Creoles, Tarascans, Tlaxcaltecs, Mexicans, and Michoacans. Because these communities were near important metal and mineral deposits, food knowledge from the past spread throughout the area.
During the end of the agricultural cycle, many indigenous people in the fertile center of New Spain dedicated to this task chose to participate in the "arriería" (the movement of goods and livestock) between the capital and New Biscay. They utilized the technology of ox-drawn carts brought from the old continent and took advantage of the opportunity to spread their knowledge of earth oven techniques.
As the indigenous muleteers traveled the extensive Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, they transhumed small livestock, making sheep or ram barbecue a popular dish whenever hunger and scarcity arose. Even now, this traditional way of making food is a much-loved staple along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
Ingredients:
4 kg of lamb meat
1 pinch of oregano
salt to taste
3 small onions
3 cups of vinegar
1 head of garlic
1 stalk of maguey
red chile (optional)
8 buns of bread (bolillo) or teleras (teleras) - similar to baguette but shorter.
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients with the vinegar. Chop the meat into medium-large pieces and place them in a steamer. Pour the mixture of ingredients into the meat and cover with maguey stalks. Cook on high heat for at least 50 minutes. Reserve the broth. Crumble the meat and fill the buns, these can be browned a little on the grill and served with chopped cabbage and cilantro.
Gorditas
The gordita is a staple food in the regions crossed by the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, and it's considered a representation of the gastronomic culture of Durango. According to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, the pre-Columbian diet included a variety of corn, as well as tortillas of different colors and sizes that were used as accompaniments to dishes or filled with chili or meat.
The tortilla not only served as a dish or utensil but also as a wrapper for stews. When Spanish explorers colonized northern New Spain, they brought friendly natives, mostly from Michoacán and Tlaxcala, to populate their settlements along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
It's believed that these Mesoamerican Indians brought the tradition of tortillas and comales with them, which were not used by the native ethnic groups of the Novovizcaino lands. As a result, the gordita was adapted from a foreign indigenous culture and made with products from "the other side" of the sea.
This recipe is an example because it is one of the most popular in the city of Durango, but there are also bean gorditas with cheese, picadillo, rajas, ricotta cheese, roasted, shredded meat, chicharrón and lately discadas.
Ingredients:
1 kg corn dough
½ kg egg
4 green chiles (poblanos)
salt needed
¼ of pork lard
Instructions
Nixtamalize the corn a day before with the lime, wash it very well and grind it in a mill until you have a dough. Pour the dough into a bowl and cover it with a cloth so that the surface does not dry out. Take a piece of the dough to make a gordita of 10 cm in diameter in a tortilla pan. Place on the skillet and when the base is cooked, turn it over and press to inflate and separate the top layer. The gordita is removed from the pan and a knife is plunged through the edge to make a hole.
To make the filling:
Roast the blackened poblano peppers in a skillet, keep them in a bag for 10 minutes and then clean them from the scorched cuticle. Once cleaned, chop them into small strips. In a frying pan, re-burn the butter, meanwhile, break all the eggs and beat them with a spoonful of salt.
Lower the heat to the frying pan with the lard once it is already burned, add the eggs, and let them cook until they are slightly soft. Then add the poblano chile. The humidity of the ingredients will make it a slightly watery preparation. Bring to a boil and taste for salt. Stuff the gorditas with this stew immediately after opening.
Sweet Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Fresh chili peppers have been a staple ingredient in both cooking and seasoning in temperate and tropical climates since pre-Columbian times. Despite its cultivation being adaptable to various climates and soils, it was mainly consumed as a ripe and dehydrated chili in the native communities of arid America. The production of "chile colorado" was recorded in various parts of Nueva Vizcaya by colonial documents, with haciendas dedicating fields for its growth.
In the 19th century, the exportation of chili to the capital city was documented by customs and tax offices, including crates from the Poanas Valley and northern Durango, such as the municipalities of Canatlán and San Juan del Rio. The chili plantations thrived in the fertile valleys located in the center of the state and extended to the mountainous corners.
Chile colorado has added a bright red hue to numerous dishes in Durango's cuisine, including asados, moles, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tamales, pozole, menudo, sausages, pipianes, venorios, oven-baked gorditas, and gordita fillings such as picadillos or huevos perdidos. One thing that makes Durango's food culture stand out is the preference for sweetened red sauce, which gives the first four dishes their color and sweetness.
Ingredients:
4 ancho chiles, deveined and washed
1 chocolate slat
6 crackers browned in oil
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 clove
50 g sesame seeds
1 cinnamon stick
Piloncillo to taste
1 pinch of cumin
½ teaspoon salt
water quantity needed
Instructions
Soak the chiles for one hour in warm water, then reserve the liquid. Grind in a blender or metate chocolate, cookies, sugar, cloves, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and piloncillo. Add the water from soaking the chiles, salt, and spices. It should be thick and manageable. In a frying pan with oil, cook the sauce and leave it on the fire for 5 minutes. This sauce is used to make enchiladas, which are traditionally stuffed or sprinkled with aged cheese.
Ginger Tonic with Mezcal from Durango
Mezcal is a Mexican alcoholic beverage made from the maguey Agave durangensis, a plant that thrives in semi-arid regions. Its production has a long history in Mexico, starting with its use in ceremonial rites by the indigenous people. The arrival of the Spanish and their distillation technology led to a significant increase in mezcal production, which is still renowned today for its high quality and rich flavor.
The production process consists of four stages: cooking the maguey, grinding, fermenting, and distillation. Durango is one of the first Mexican states to receive the Denomination of Origin for Mezcal, thanks to its long tradition of mezcal production. The mezcal produced in Durango is unique, as it is made from the endemic agave species agave duranguensis or agave cenizo, which gives it a distinct flavor compared to other mezcal-producing regions like Durango, Nombre de Dios, Tamazula, El Mezquital, and Topia.
The popularity of Durango mezcal is growing rapidly, with exports to 68 countries, including the major consumers: the United States, France, England, and Spain. The demand for Mexican mezcal in South America has increased as a result of cultural ties with nations like Colombia, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz of a young mezcal
½ oz orange liqueur
1 piece of fresh ginger
1 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz cucumber juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
tonic water
large ice cube
cucumber for garnish
lime for garnish
whole pepper
herb shavings
wood shavings
Instructions
In a clean cocktail shaker add a piece of peeled fresh ginger, with the measure of young mezcal and a tablespoon of sugar. With a muslin stick mix the three ingredients. In a decanter, previously filled with herb, wood, and pepper smoke, add the mixed mezcal.
In a Boston shaker with large chunks of ice, add the lemon juice, and cucumber, the measure of triple sec. Cover the shaker with a Boston glass and shake everything perfectly for 10 seconds, double strain, and transfer to the Old Fashion glass with ice cubes, garnish with a cucumber garnish and lemon zest. Top up with a splash of tonic water.
Durango Restaurants Guide
El Zocabón
Av. 5 de Febrero 513 Pte, Zona Centro.
Gorditas Gabino
Constitución 100, Zona Centro.
La Fonda de la Tia Chona (Las Chonas)
Nogal 110, Barrio del Calvario.
Los Portales (Best Western Plus Hotel)
Gines Vázquez de Mercado 806, Col. Nueva Vizcaya.
Restaurant Típico el Kilo
Durango-Torreón Highway Km. 10, Industrial City.
Antigua Usanza
Florida 1127, Barrio del Calvario.
Gorditas la Monarca
Coronado 935, Zona Centro.
La Hacienda (Hotel Gobernador)
Av. 20 de Noviembre 257 Ote, Zona Centro.
La Victoria
Victoria 161 South, Zona Centro.
El Asador de la Toscana
Carretera a La Ferrería Km 3.5, Hacienda Campestre.
Mendoza Restaurante Antiguo
Hidalgo 317, Zona Centro.
Gomez Palacio Market Canteen
Av. 20 de Noviembre s/n, Zona Centro
La Galería (Hotel Casablanca)
Av. 20 De Noviembre 811, Zona Centro.
La Chamana
Río Yaqui 401, Col. Valle Del Sur.
Bistro Garden
Francisco Villa Blvd. 2019, Predio Tayafe.
Durango Festivals
Ricardo Castro Cultural Festival
Easter holiday season
Muuki Day of the Dead Festival
October and November
Durango Tamales and Atoles Festival
December
Sources:
INAH, Guía Gastronómica de las Ciudades Mexicanas Patrimonio Mundial, pp.36-49.
