Tacos Gobernador Estilo Mazatlán

Before you start

• Think modularly and build the component base in advance.

  You can make the shrimp and poblano filling an hour before your guests arrive and hold it warm. When the party starts, you simply transition to the screaming-hot comal and assemble the tacos to order.

Ingredients

• medium shrimp1 lb
• unsalted butter3 tbsp
• white onion1 med
• poblano pepper1 large
• celery1 med
• garlic cloves4 med
• Roma tomatoes2 med
• dried Mexican oregano1/2 tsp
• lime1/2 med
• corn tortillas10 small
• Queso Oaxaca3 cup
• tomatillos8 med
• jalapenos3 med
• fresh cilantro1/2 bunch
• coarse sea salt1 tsp
• kosher salt1 tsp
• black pepper1/2 tsp

Method

1. 01

   Fire and roast the poblano for the recado smoke.

   Place the whole poblano directly on the grates of a gas stove or in a dry, screaming-hot carbon-steel skillet until the skin is entirely blistered and black. Steam it in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, peel off the charred skin without rinsing, remove the seeds, and slice the flesh into thin 1-inch strips.

2. 02

   Build the authentic Mazatlán sofrito.

   Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Sweat the diced half of the onion and the minced celery for 4 minutes until softened, then add the minced garlic and poblano strips, tossing until violently fragrant before adding the diced tomatoes and oregano to form a chunky sauce.

3. 03

   Flash the shrimp to prevent rubbery texture.

   Add the chopped shrimp to the skillet, season aggressively with kosher salt and black pepper, and toss continuously for exactly 3 to 4 minutes until they just turn opaque and pink. Kill the heat immediately and stir in the fresh lime juice.

4. 04

   Execute the taquero double-warm on the comal.

   Heat your largest carbon-steel skillet or comal over medium heat with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Place a corn tortilla flat on the hot steel and immediately scatter a heavy handful of shredded cheese evenly across the entire surface.

5. 05

   Fold, press, and char the taco.

   As the bottom of the tortilla begins to char and the cheese melts, spoon the warm shrimp filling onto one half. Fold the cheesy half over, press firmly with a spatula to bind, and cook until the cheese leaking out the edges hits the steel and forms a caramelized, crispy lace.

6. 06

   Blister the salsa vegetables.

   For the essential Salsa Verde Asada, heat a dry carbon-steel skillet over high heat and drop in the tomatillos, jalapenos, onion block, and unpeeled garlic. Let them sit until heavily blackened and blistered, pulling the garlic after 5 minutes and the weeping tomatillos after 12.

7. 07

   Crush the salsa in a molcajete.

   Peel the roasted garlic and grind it into a paste with the coarse sea salt using the stone pestle. Add the stemmed jalapenos and grind until mashed, followed by the roasted onion, and finally the weeping tomatillos, gently crushing them before stirring in the chopped cilantro.

Notes

• Respect the coastal exception to fat.

  Throughout this book, we stress the supreme importance of lard (manteca) for refried beans and carnitas. The Taco Gobernador is the exception. Here, we use butter. The milk solids brown against the hot steel, wrapping the sweet shrimp in a rich, nutty embrace that manteca simply cannot replicate.

• Embrace friction over shearing blades.

  If you put your fresh salsa ingredients into a food processor, you are making a smoothie. Pressing and grinding charred ingredients through a traditional molcajete crushes the cell walls rather than slicing them. This expresses the essential oils and creates a dark, structurally sound salsa that cuts perfectly through the rich dairy of this taco.