Between immense deserts and mountains and in the midst of an extreme climate of high temperatures on summer days and frost on winter nights, Chihuahua has developed a fabulous gastronomy, underpinned by its strong livestock production, its artisan cheeses and some agricultural items ( like apples and walnuts) in which it has the national leadership.
This selection with the best of the typical food of Chihuahua will leave you wanting to leave for the north of Mexico to enjoy such appetizing Mexican dishes.
1. Chihuahuan burritos
When talking about the typical dishes of Chihuahua and its history, that of burritos and their origin is controversial. A widespread version indicates that the name originated during the Mexican Revolution, when a man from Ciudad Juárez, named Juan Méndez, used his donkey to sell rolled tacos with a filling inside.
However, this story does not hold, since the Dictionary of Mexicanisms, a work of 1895 by Félix Ramos y Duarte, accurately describes the burrito as a rolled tortilla with a filling. In any case, the burrito is one of the iconic dishes of Chihuahua and wherever a colony of Chihuahuas or Mexicans is installed, there are burrito stalls.
One of its variants is the percheron donkey, invented in the state of Sonora and prepared with a large tortilla and a filling of charcoal-grilled or grilled meat, avocado, mayonnaise and cheese, generally Chihuahua or Manchego.
The large tortillas of the percherón donkey are called “sobaqueras”. Despite being relatively recent, these great burritos have spread quickly and there are franchises that offer them.
2. Chihuahua-style disc tacos
The information on the typical food of Chihuahua indicates that the discada owes its name to the fact that it is traditionally prepared in the field, over a wood fire, in disused plow discs, which are recovered as large metal comales.
The main ingredients of the discada are minced beef and bacon, chorizo, jalapeño peppers, tomato, onion, garlic, pepper and salt. Its flavor improves if dark beer and / or white tequila are added to the cooking, allowing the alcohol to evaporate.
As getting a plow disc to make the typical disc is not easy, this can be replaced by a comal or a large frying pan. Once the stew is done, you just have to put it on hot corn tortillas to have some delicious tacos de discada.
The discada is also prepared in Nuevo León and Durango and the recipe dates from the times of the colony and the viceroyalty, when the main activity in northern Mexico was agriculture. In the past, venison was widely used.
3. Machaca with egg
Among the 10 most popular recipes for Chihuahua we must note the crushed egg. Machaca is a dried meat, tenderized and shredded with stones, very popular in northern Mexico. It is also called aporreadillo and machacado and the usual meats are beef and venison dehydrated with salt, sun and wind.
The way the meat is prepared gives it a peculiar flavor and in times past, people who made long journeys through the vast territories of northern Mexico brought their provisions of machaca with them to eat along the way with wild quail eggs.
The recipe is prepared by making a sauce of onion, tomatoes and jalapeño peppers, then adding the dried and shredded meat. Finally, the slightly beaten eggs are incorporated and cooked until tender, seasoning to taste.
4. Ham
Among all the typical food of Chihuahua, the jamoncillo stands out as one of the most popular sweets. This light brown sugar and milk candy is common in Chihuahua and other northern states of Mexico. It is usually decorated with walnuts.
The most famous are those of Hidalgo del Parral, a historic Chihuahuan city where several important episodes of the Mexican Revolution took place, including the assassination of Pancho Villa. This town is known for its fantastic candy store.
Making ham is very easy. You just have to put whole cow's milk, sugar, honey, vanilla extract and a pinch of baking soda in a pot.
The mixture is cooked over medium heat and when cool enough to handle, sticks or small cones of candy form. The typical hams have grooves that are made with a toothpick.
5. Red chili tacos with dried meat
The red pepper from Chihuahua is called chilacate in Jalisco and Colima and long red in Sonora. It is also known as Anaheim chili when it is fresh (it owes its name to the fact that it grows very well in that Californian city), Chile de sarta and Chile Magdalena.
In Chihuahua, Sonora and other northern Mexican states, the red pepper is used to make a sauce. This is combined with dried beef to make the filling of tasty tacos, very easy to prepare, which contain all the flavor of the Chihuahuan land.
The filling of the tacos is made by cooking the dried and shredded meat with potato cubes, salt and pepper. The sauce is made with red chili peppers softened in boiling water and then crushed with garlic, pepper, salt and other seasonings to taste.
6. Middlings
Middlings are pinole corn cookies that they prepare in Chihuahua, especially during Lent and Easter. Pinole is roasted and ground fat corn and the food of the same name, sweetened with piloncillo, was an important component of the indigenous diet in pre-Hispanic Mexico.
The typical middlings are made with a mixture of pinole and wheat flour and are shaped like round and flat cookies, although there are those who make them square, rhomboid and other shapes. The sweetness of the middlings is provided by the piloncillo and its tasty aroma is contributed by cloves and cinnamon.
Traditionally they are cooked in earth ovens in the patios of the houses. When there are just a few days until the beginning of Lent, it is possible to see many Chihuahuas repairing and preparing their earth ovens to prepare middlings and other typical dishes of the Lenten season and the Greater Week.
7. Roast beef
Chihuahua is the largest federal entity in Mexico and also the first in export of cattle. The particularities of the regional territory, with many rough lands and mountains, make agricultural activities difficult but allow extensive cattle ranching which is one of its economic mainstays.
Meat has traditionally been an essential component in the Chihuahua diet and its climate of extreme variations between hot and cold led its first settlers to devise conservation methods such as dehydration through drying in the sun.
In the typical food of Chihuahua, asado is a classic of the state. It is prepared with any cut, lean or bone-in, such as flank steak, T-bone, Top Sirloin, rib, needle, picaña and ribeye, and the traditional method of grilling on a mesquite wood embers.
The fattiest meat is grilled with the first fire and when this is reduced in intensity, the leanest cuts are cooked. The usual side dishes are potatoes, onions, roasted chilaca pepper, pico de gallo sauce, and guacamole.
8. Jackals
Jackals are predatory mammals that live on several continents but not in America and their equivalents in Chihuahua would be coyotes. However, Chihuahuas have their particular jackals, which are broken corn kernels.
Many young people in the state grew up without knowing them, but older people have not forgotten how to prepare jackals in the traditional Chihuahua style.
The work is laborious and begins months before, when the corn is harvested and roasted, to later shelling and breaking the corn. The broken beans are dried in the sun for at least 2 months and are ready to prepare in various ways.
To make the jackals Chihuahuan style, the corn is broken a little more in the grinder (without grinding it too much) and softened on the fire in a pot of water. The jackals are then finished cooking in a fried sauce of red chili peppers, garlic, salt and water. They are served hot with grated Chihuahua cheese on top.
9. Bear broth
With almost 248 thousand km2Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico, but it does not have a sea coast. However, Chihuahuas do not deprive themselves of eating fresh fish, which they catch in dams such as La Boquilla, Luis L. León, Madero, San Gabriel and Chihuahua.
Chihuahuan bear broth is not plantigrade but fish, specifically catfish. When the La Boquilla dam was being built, the workers ate catfish until they were full. They called the soup with the fish "odious broth" and then the name changed to "bear broth."
The catfish is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt and pepper and browned in butter in the same pot used to make the broth. The fish is removed from the pot to make a tomato sauce, onion, garlic and scallion and add potato and carrot in pieces.
Next, add water with salt and herbs to taste (celery, marjoram, coriander, bay leaf) and when it is boiling add the fish and finish cooking.
10. Chihuahua cheese
The cheese that bears the name of the state is another emblem of Chihuahuan cuisine. Its origin is linked to the arrival of a Mennonite colony in Chihuahua in the early 1920s. These peaceful Anabaptist Christians brought their agricultural and livestock traditions to Mexico and began the production of the cheese that was eventually called Chihuahua.
Chihuahuas call it Mennonite cheese, although Mennonites themselves prefer to call it Cheddar cheese and Chester cheese.
The name of Chihuahua cheese is common outside the state. It is in the shape of a flattened cylinder or a rectangular bar. It is a soft, golden yellow cheese, easy to slice, with a creamy taste and dairy aroma.
There are two types, the one made with minimally skimmed raw milk and the one with pasteurized milk. It is widely used to make quesadillas and for sandwiches, cheesecakes, and as an ingredient in refried beans.
11. Capirotada
Capirotada is a traditional dessert from Chihuahua and other Mexican states, made with bread, nuts, fruits, brown sugar and cheese, although the recipe varies from one place to another. It is a sweet prepared particularly in Lent and Easter.
A typical Chihuahuan capirotada is made with hard rolls that are sliced and browned in butter. Then a syrup is prepared with piloncillo, cinnamon and dry sherry wine.
A baking dish is greased and layers of bread, Chihuahua cheese, raisins and dried fruits (walnuts, almonds, peanuts) are alternated. Finally it is covered with the syrup and baked.
The capirotada is also typical of many other Mexican states (Durango, Nayarit, Sonora, Zacatecas, Nuevo León, among others) and of the North American state of New Mexico.
Each federal entity has its own particular recipe, which includes ingredients such as banana, guava, biznaga, coconut, tomato, onion, meringue, and assorted cheeses.
12. Fried mojarra
The Chihuahua dam was built in the 1960s in the course of the Chuviscar River, to supply water to the capital. Traditionally, Chihuahuan fishing enthusiasts meet once a year to stock fish in the dam.
One of the species sown is the mojarra, which is then caught by sport fishermen and for food purposes. Fried mojarra is a simple and tasty dish and one of the favorites of fish-loving Chihuahuas.
The specimens to be fried are made transverse cuts on both sides so that the seasoning to be added to penetrate them. Then they are fried on both sides in very hot oil and seasoned with a mortar dressing made from onion, garlic, salt, peppercorns and lemon juice.
13. Chihuahua-style apple pie
The expression that "Chihuahua smells like apple" is fully justified. The great northern state is the fundamental producer of apples in Mexico, accumulating 85% of the total. In the municipalities of Cuauhtémoc, Guerrero, Carichí and others of the state there are more than 33 thousand apple orchards that harvest the symbolic Chihuahuan fruit.
These municipalities meet ideal climate, latitude and altitude conditions to produce sweet and juicy apples to eat fresh and make juices and various recipes, among which the pie stands out. This is prepared with sliced apples that are put in a pie mold along with sugar, a little flour and cinnamon.
The mold is previously covered with a crust made with a dough of flour, baking powder, butter, beaten egg, a touch of vinegar and cold water. Finally, the apple pie is baked.
14. Grilled cheese
Asadero cheese is one of the most representative of the typical food of Chihuahua. It is a fresh spun cheese (thermally and mechanically processed to align its fibers) of artisan production in the state, particularly in the municipality of Villa Ahumada.
The municipal seat, named Villa Ahumada, is the main cheese-making center. This town is located on Federal Highway 45 that connects Ciudad Juárez with the city of Chihuahua, 124 south of the first and 238 km north of the state capital.
There are two types of artisanal asadero cheese, the one made with commercial rennet and the one made with trompillo, a regional wild plant that provides a coagulating enzyme. There are no significant differences in flavor between the two types of cheeses, although the one made with trompillo is a bit softer.
Its usual presentations are in balls to unravel and in the form of thin cakes. Chihuahuas use asadero cheese abundantly to make burritos, mounted tacos, quesadillas and stuffed peppers. It is also good for snacking, melted and spread on chips or cookies.
15. Chihuahuan beef broth
This dish is traditionally prepared in Chihuahua with the chamorro de res (also known as osobuco, chambarete, hock, lizard with bone, quill and blood sausage), part that is found on the legs between the calf and the hamstring, including the bone with marrow and the meat around.
The special touch to the Chihuahuan recipe is given by the chile de arbol. It also has onion, skinless and crushed tomato, bay leaf, carrot, potato, cabbage, parsley and dill. It is convenient to previously soften the chamorro in a pressure cooker so that the preparation becomes shorter.
This beef broth seems to miraculously recover many Chihuahuas who have a drink during the Santa Rita fairs, the Matachic festival, Santa Bárbara day and other festive events and state celebrations.
16. Empanadas de Santa Rita
These delicious empanadas are named after Santa Rita de Casia, patron saint of the city of Chihuahua, whose day is celebrated on May 22. It is a delicious game of flavors to accompany with a fresh water or a beer.
The dough for the empanadas is prepared with flour, milk, anise and butter and the unique touch is given by tequesquite, the Mexican mineral salt that has been used since pre-Hispanic times.
The typical filling of the Santa Rita empanadas is made with ground pork loin, butter, onion, raisins, almonds, sugar, cinnamon powder, ground cloves and salt and pepper to taste.
The Santa Rita fairs are the most important festivals in Chihuahua and usually run from mid-May to early June. It is an excellent occasion to enjoy impressive agricultural exhibitions, music, rides and a gastronomic corridor to eat all the traditional dishes and snacks of the state.
17. Tejuino
Tejuino or tesguino is a kind of corn beer drunk by various Mexican ethnic groups. It is the most important ceremonial and social drink for the indigenous Tarahumara or Rarámuris who live in the mountains of Chihuahua, Sonora and Durango, and for the Huichol or Wixárika who live in Nayarit, Jalisco and Zacatecas.
In these Amerindian towns the tesguino fulfills several functions. It is used as a base for the preparation of natural medicines, consumed as an alcoholic beverage, used as a means of payment and, diluted in water, taken as food by nursing mothers and children.
It is also the common denominator of the tesguines, meetings to carry out community work or to make important decisions for the community.
It is made with corn kernels that are allowed to germinate in a dark environment and are then ground in a metate and cooked in water. This preparation is left to ferment in the so-called tesguineras pots for variable periods that determine its alcohol content.
The low alcohol tejuino is mixed with piloncillo and drunk as a soft drink. It is common to consume the drink in containers similar to ladles without handles, made with the fruit of the gourd.
18. Chihuahua style beef birria
Birria is a popular Mexican dish identified with lamb or mutton in most states of the country, although the use of goat and beef is allowed.
It has a marinade of chili peppers, spices, aromatic herbs and other vegetables, using the most popular of each region, and a consommé made with tomatoes and the cooking juice of the meat.
In its traditional form, the birria is cooked slowly in containers embedded in holes made in the earth, surrounded by the bottom and the walls with wood embers and covered with maguey stalks.
Apart from chili peppers (ancho, pasilla, guajillo, puya, among others), the marinade can include oregano, sesame, marjoram, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, pepper, ginger, onion and tomato.
Given the preponderance of cattle in Chihuahua, beef birria is common in the state, which can be prepared in the well with embers from the purists of the recipe or in gas or electric ovens and stoves.
A typical Chihuahuan birria is made with beef shoulder or rib, guajillo and pasilla chiles, garlic, oregano, thyme, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and salt.
19. Hen in nogada
The nogada, also called picada, is a mash of nuts or almonds with spices, known as sauce de nous in Catalan cuisine, which is used to cook fish. In the Spanish municipality of Castellón, nogada is used to cook potatoes.
During the Middle Ages it was already known in Sephardic cuisine and from Spain it passed to the New World, especially to New Spain (Mexico) and Peru. In Mexico, the most famous recipe is chiles en nogada, one of the gastronomic symbols of the state of Puebla and of the entire country along with mole poblano.
The common walnut or walnut of Castilla was brought to America by the conquerors and was perfectly acclimatized in the state of Chihuahua, which is a world leader in the production and export of walnuts, with almost 100,000 tons per year.
Chicken in nogada is a Chihuahuan delicacy and is prepared by cooking the pieces of the animal with onion, chili peppers, and salt and pepper to taste.
Then the cooked chicken pieces are bathed with a nogada, prepared with crushed walnuts and tomatoes and cooked with oil, garlic, parsley and white wine. The nogada also goes very well with the chicken.
20. Beef tongue in pipián
Although many people prefer not to prepare it because of its appearance, beef tongue is widely used in Mexican cuisine, eaten in tacos, burritos and other recipes.
The tongue is one of the fattest components of cattle and prehistoric man learned to eat it, along with other organs, such as the brain, marrow and legs, for its high caloric intake that protected from the cold.
In this dish, the tongue is linked to a pre-Hispanic classic of Mexican cuisine, such as the pipián sauce, prepared with pumpkin seeds.
The Chihuahua-style pipian or red pipian is made with red chilies that are softened in boiling water and then blended with pumpkin seeds, corn, garlic, salt and other ingredients to taste.
The most common pipián recipe is with chicken, but this Chihuahuan variant with beef tongue is also delicious. The cooked tongue (preferably in a pressure cooker) is cleaned and sliced and then stewed in the pipián sauce with a little oil or butter.
21. Chilaca chili
The chilaca pepper is a star component of the typical food of Chihuahua. This fresh chili is called pasilla or black when dry. The chilaca can reach up to 22 cm and has a twisted shape that loses when dehydrated.
It is grown in various areas of Chihuahua, especially in the Delicias municipality, located in the central part of the state. It is not as spicy as other Mexican chilies, so it is perfect for filling.
It is used to prepare the popular chili slices with cream, tomato, onion and cheese, and to make various molcajete sauces.
The pasilla chili, obtained by drying the chilaca in the sun for at least a month, is also part of the traditional cuisine of Chihuahua. In the state they use a particular dehydration method; They first roast the chili to remove the skin and then dry it in the sun.
One of the typical Chihuahuan dishes that chile pasilla has is a meat stew with onion and tomatoes. Its name pasilla is due to the fact that it takes on the appearance of a plum or a raisin when it dries. It is also called black and dark because of its dark color.
22. Left
Izquiate or iskiate is a tasty natural fresh water made from chia seeds that Chihuahuas drink when the heat hits, in a state characterized by a climate of extreme temperatures that can exceed 33 ° C in the heat of summer.
Chia seeds are a superfood from the plant of the same name, which was cultivated by the Aztecs and was an important component of the pre-Hispanic diet in Central America.
They contain 31% healthy fats, 16% plant proteins and significant amounts of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese and zinc.
This drink, apart from being refreshing, is nutritious, it is prepared by soaking the washed seeds for at least one hour, stirring frequently. Then the chia water is mixed with lemon and sugar and refrigerated or consumed by cooling with ice.
In hot times in Chihuahua, this water is one of the best non-alcoholic drink options.
23. Rainbow trout with coriander
This species of fresh and salt water has become very popular in the kitchen for its flavor and for its ability to adapt to different habitats. It has been introduced into a large number of bodies of water where it is captured to be sold fresh, frozen, salted, smoked and canned.
In the Sierra de Chihuahua there is a native species called golden trout, which would also be perfect to eat, although it is not easily obtained.
The trout are cleaned and butterfly opened and baked with a touch of salt. When there are a few minutes to cook, add vegetables (potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, peppers) previously sautéed in butter.
When the trout are served, they are sautéed with a warmed and whipped dressing, based on fish stock, heavy cream, coriander and salt.
24. Fruit apricots
The dried apricots are an excellent way to take advantage of the abundance of seasonal fruits and their advantages for a healthy diet. They are fruits dehydrated in the sun or by artificial means, which lose about 90% of water, concentrating their sweetness and nutrients.
The dried apricots allow you to preserve the fruits for a longer time and they delight children for their sweet taste and texture that can resemble that of gummies. In this way, the little ones happily ingest large doses of vitamins and fiber.
There are many fruits that can be made dried apricots, such as peaches, plums, apricots, peaches, and apples. In Chihuahua, the apple option is cheap, considering the abundance of the fruit in the state.
Similarly, dried apricots can be incorporated into salads, meat dishes, pasta and desserts, making the daily diet a different experience in variety, flavors and textures.
25. Quince casserole
Quince is another fruit that grows very well in Chihuahua, especially in the municipalities of Allende and Aldama, where there is an artisanal tradition of making jams and cartas or ates.
The quince paste is a sweet native to Portugal and Spain and the conquerors brought it to America. It is prepared by mixing equal parts of quince pulp and sugar, which are cooked until a smooth mixture is obtained. Let it cool and chop it into bars, which are the boxes.
Although they are often referred to as a single fruit, the guava and the quince are two similar but different species. Guava is much richer in vitamins, but quince contains more natural sugars, making it better for sweets.
What is the typical drink of Chihuahua?
Among the typical drinks of Chihuahua, one of the most traditional is sotol, prepared with a pineapple from a kind of agave that grows in the deserts of Chihuahua and other northern Mexican states. The Rrámuris or Tarahumara call this agave sereque. Sotol is known in Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila and Durango and in several states in the southern United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Its alcoholic content can reach 45%.
What are the typical sweets of Chihuahua?
The hams, some types of middlings, the capirotada, the apple pie, the dried apricots and the quince cajeta are among the most appreciated sweets in Chihuahua. Another great Chihuahuan sweet are caramelized apples, in which these fresh and whole fruits are introduced into a liquid caramel prepared by cooking a mixture of sugar, butter, a little water and lemon juice and a red food coloring.
Chihuahua typical food recipes
Some typical Chihuahua recipes are the nopalitos in red chili sauce, the mounted tacos, the chicken in the Chihuahua cheese sauce, the pasilla chili with asadero cheese, the rabbit in jelly, the goat tornare, the torrejas, the corn roll , the milk with pinole and the atol with coriander. Another popular drink is tepache, similar to a sweet beer and made with lightly fermented pineapple juice, cinnamon and a touch of pepper.
Typical food of Chihuahua: images and videos
Images of typical Chihuahua food:
Burritos, iconic Chihuahua dish
Chihuahuan dial
Machaca with egg, traditional Chihuahua dish
Videos of typical Chihuahua food:
Which of these typical Chihuahua food dishes did you like the most? We hope that very soon you can go to the great state of northern Mexico to enjoy them.
