First, you must select the proper beast. Evaluate the condition of its hooves for excessive cracking or signs of brittleness, and ensure the teeth and gums are firm and healthy. This is especially important with specimens extracted from wild or feral populations. If possible, change its diet to one high in masa (finely ground corn meal), cumin, brown sugar and fresh herbs daily as much as six weeks before slaughter.
After gently singing the hair off the carcass, remove sections of skin from above the haunches and along the spine approximately five inches square. Marinate these in olive oil with 1 part cinnamon, 2 parts peppercorns, 2 parts cayenne pepper flakes and 4 parts garlic over very low heat for at least 12 hours. While marinating, dress the rest of the carcass normally and hang to cure.
Gather dried evergreen branches and green alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana, also known as tascale or huata) from the northern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental, enough to supply fuel and smoke for 24 hours.
In cast-iron pots, begin soaking turtle beans in a 50 percent mixture of cider vinegar and water. Drain and refresh the mixture twice in 10 hours, then place over low heat to simmer for 10 further hours. Add an inch-long stem of fresh rosemary and three tablespoons of dried sage for every 2 pounds of beans. When half the liquid has evaporated during the simmer, add strips of fat carved from the beast's loins and belly, approximately 1 cup per 4 pounds of beans.
The cheese is best taken from a three-year-old ewe grazing on the pastures of Cuatro Ciénegas, especially Ejido La Vega in early April. For every gallon of milk, add 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Mix thoroughly, allow to coagulate for two hours, strain through cheesecloth, then press and refrigerate with salt to taste.
Cut long strips of flank and loin from the dressed carcass. Marinate with 1 part bitter (Seville) orange juice, 2 parts oil from the skin-sections, 4 parts Casa Madero Vino Tinto Cepa Shiraz. Slice long shards of 4 pounds of fresh yellow onions and place between layers of meat as if making a terrine. Allow to soak for more than 2 hours but less than 4.
Begin the salsa by dicing several pounds of fresh pink Zapotec tomatoes. In a hot skillet, burn the skins of an equal quantity of washed tomatilloes with the papery outer husks removed, and with a half a clove of garlic per tomatillo. Allow to cool, then dice and add to tomatoes. Mince a generous quantity of Mexican tarragon and stir gently into the mixture.
In a separate dish, dice several pounds white onions. Garnish liberally with chopped cilantro and a pinch of ground coriander seed per cup. Cover with fresh lime.
The arugula must be young and fine; dispose of the leaves at the smallest sign of yellowing, spotting or toughness. Rinse thoroughly three times in fresh snowmelt from the mountain streams of El Coahuilón, then chop coarsely.
Mash beans with wooden pestle, remove any large sections of fatty meat.
In iron skillets, heat 2 inches of oil until almost smoking. Rapidly deep fry the sections of skin until nearly crispy. In the center of each section, while still hot and pliable, place strips of marinated burro meat, chopped arugula, beans, cheese and a small portion of salsa, then fold into a pouch. If unaccustomed to the process, you may need to pre-form the skin into an envelope shape before frying.
Over a roaring, open fire of evergreen and smoking juniper, roast the burritos until cheese is melted and meat medium rare, usually no more than 20 minutes. Serve with additional fresh salsa and onions spooned over the top, on an open veranda overlooking a hacienda in the scrub outside Durango, or al fresco in a camp near the pyramids of the Yucatan. (If south of the equator, accompany with fresh avocado drizzled with lime.) |
