Machaca
{{Short description|Mexican dish}}
{{about|the Mexican dish}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Machaca
| image = Machaca (32157311937).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Machaca
| alternate_name =
| country = Mexico
| region = Northern Mexico
| course =
| type = Dried meat
| served =
| main_ingredient = Beef or pork
| minor_ingredient = Chilis and other spices
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
}}
Machaca {{IPA|es|maˈtʃaka|lang|Machaca.ogg}} is a traditionally dried meat, usually spiced beef or pork, that is rehydrated and then used in popular local cuisine in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. It is also readily available in many groceries and supermarkets in these areas.{{cite web |last=Adame |first=Homero |date=3 November 2013 |title=El origen del machacado con huevo |trans-title=The origin of machacado con huevo |url=https://adameleyendas.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/el-origen-del-machacado-con-huevo/ |work=Mitos y leyendas de Homero Adame |language=es}}{{cite news |last=Torres |first=Armando |date=22 March 2012 |title=Tía Lencha ampliará su mercado de exportación |trans-title=Tía Lencha expand its export market |url=https://eleconomista.com.mx/estados/2012/03/22/tia-lencha-ampliara-su-mercado-exportacion |newspaper=El Economista |language=es}}{{cite news |author= |date=30 July 2013 |title=Estados Unidos abre frontera a la machaca |url=https://elhorizonte.mx/a/noticia/411756 |newspaper=El Horizonte |language=es}}{{cite web |last=Chavez |first=Stephen |date=August 19, 2014 |title=A breakfast of machaca con huevos |url=https://www.alhambrasource.org/news/breakfast-machaca-con-huevos |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205739/http://www.alhambrasource.org/news/breakfast-machaca-con-huevos |archive-date=December 24, 2014 |website=Alhambra Source}} In areas where the dried meat product is not easy to obtain, slow-cooked roast beef (brisket)McKenna, John. Gran, gran fiesta Mexican food Irish Times 2 January 1999{{cite news |last1=Chavez |first1=Stephen |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Art |name-list-style=amp |date=December 26, 2013 |title=Latino Recipes For The Holidays: Machaca Con Huevos |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/machaca-con-huevos-recipe_n_4506332.html |website=Huffington Post}} or skirt steak shredded and then fried is sometimes substituted.
The dish is known primarily in the north of Mexico, and the southern regions of the U.S. states of Arizona, California, and New Mexico, and in Texas where it is known as machacado. In central and southern Mexico, it is not well known by lower socioeconomic classes.{{cite web |last=Mitofsky |first=Consulta |date=October 2006 |title=Consumo de Platillos Tipicos: Encuesta Nacional de Viviendas |url=https://www.consulta.com.mx/interiores/99_pdfs/12_mexicanos_pdf/mxc_NA20061005_PlatillosTipicos.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227032521/http://www.consulta.com.mx/interiores/99_pdfs/12_mexicanos_pdf/mxc_NA20061005_PlatillosTipicos.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 |language=es |quote=Donde si se nota una diferencia importante es en la proporción de consumo en niveles socioeconómicos; los niveles bajos han consumido en menores ocasiones alimentos como chilorio, machaca y cochinita pibil, lo que elimina la creencia que son alimentos populares, sobre todo fuera de sus regiones de origen.}}
History
Machaca was originally prepared most commonly from dried, spiced beef or pork, and then rehydrated and pounded to make it tender. The reconstituted meat would then be used to prepare any number of dishes.{{cite book |last1=Jamison |first1=C.A |url=https://www.archive.org/details/bordercookbookau00jami |title=The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico |last2=Jamison |first2=B. |publisher=The Harvard Common Press |year=1995 |isbn=9781558321038 |location=Boston |quote=machaca. |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}} While drying meat is one of the oldest forms of preservation, the drying of beef with chilis and other native spices was developed by the ranchers and cowboys of northern Mexico.{{cite web |last1=Ibarra-Armenta |first1=A.S. |last2=Valdez-Urías |first2=D.B. |last3=Zamorano-García |first3=L. |last4=Cumplido-Barbeitia |first4=L.G. |last5=González-Ríos |first5=H. |last6=González-Méndez |first6=N.F. |name-list-style=amp |date= |title=Estudio y Mejora del Proceso de Secado de Carne de Bovino para Carne Seca y Machaca. |url=https://www.ciad.mx/boletin/enefeb02/Investigacion3.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210133044/http://www.ciad.mx/boletin/enefeb02/Investigacion3.PDF |archive-date=2012-02-10 }}
After the arrival of refrigeration, dehydration was no longer needed for preservation. Most dried beef is sold in the United States as jerky. In Mexico, it is still sold for cooking and snacking; this is done primarily in the north and in small-scale operations. Most machaca dishes now are made from beef that has been well-cooked, shredded, and then cooked in its juices until the desired consistency is achieved, which can be soupy, dry, or medio. In Tucson, Arizona and southward, the preparation is almost always dry, and approximates more closely the taste and texture of the original dish prepared from dried meat. Carne seca is an alternative name for machaca in parts of the Southwest and Sonora, Mexico.
Serving
File:Machaca at La Imperial (455833992).jpg, served with beans and rice]]
Prepared machaca can be served any number of ways, such as tightly rolled flautas, tacos, or burritos,{{cite news |last=Newburn |first=Paisley |date=February 20, 2014 |title=Delicious discoveries in Mexican cuisine |url=https://www.thephoenixnews.com/2014/02/delicious-discoveries-in-mexican-cuisine/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101003025/http://www.thephoenixnews.com/2014/02/delicious-discoveries-in-mexican-cuisine/ |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |newspaper=Phoenix (UBC Okanagan student paper)}} or on a plate with eggs, onions and peppers (chiles verdes or chiles poblanos). Machaca is almost always served with flour tortillas that tend to be large, up to 20 inches in diameter.{{cite web |last=Griffith |first=J.F. |date=April 1997 |title=La Comida Mexicana en Tucson |url=https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/tucfood_es.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423235429/https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/tucfood_es.html |archive-date=2014-04-23 |access-date=2007-07-30 |publisher=El Folklórico del Sur de Arizona |language=es}} A very popular breakfast or brunch dish is machaca with eggs, associated with miners in the state of Chihuahua.{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Machaca con Huevo |url=https://www.chi.itesm.mx/chihuahua/arte_cultura/cocina/c_llevar/machaca.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927042858/https://www.chi.itesm.mx/chihuahua/arte_cultura/cocina/c_llevar/machaca.html |archive-date=2007-09-27 |access-date=2007-07-30 |publisher=Instituto Tecnologico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) |language=es}}
See also
- List of dried foods
- List of Mexican dishes
- Rousong
- {{portal-inline|Food}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
{{Mexican cuisine}}