Machaca

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Machaca, which comes from the verb machacado (pounded or crushed), is a dish that was prepared originally from dried, spiced meat (most commonly beef) that had been rehydrated and pounded to make it tender. The reconstituted meat would then be used to prepare any number of dishes.".^[1] While drying meat is one of the oldest forms of preservation, the drying of beef with chiles and other native spices was developed by the ranchers and cowboys of northern Mexico ^[2]

After the arrival of refrigeration, dehydration was no longer needed for preservation. Most dried beef is sold in the U.S. as jerky. In Mexico, it is still sold for cooking as well as snacking; however, this is done mostly in the north and in small-scale operations.^[3] Most machaca dishes now are made from beef that has been well-cooked, shredded then cooked in its juices until the desired consistency is achieved, which in Phoenix can be “soupy,” “dry” or “medio.” In Tucson and south, the preparation is almost always dry, and approximates closer the taste and texture of the original dish prepared from dried meat. Carne seca is an alternative name for machaca in Tucson and Sonora. ^[1]

Prepared machaca can be served any number of ways from tightly rolled flautas, to tacos, to burritos, or on a plate with eggs, onions and with peppers (chiles verdes or chiles poblanos). Machaca is almost always served with flour tortillas, which tend to be large, up to 20 inches in diameter ^[4]. A very popular breakfast or brunch dish is machaca with eggs, associated with miners in the State of Chihuahua^[5]

The dish is known primarily in the north of Mexico, California, Arizona and New Mexico. However, south of this region, in central and southern Mexico, the dish is hardly known, especially by the lower socioeconomic classes; as a result it is not perceived as being a major dish of Mexico (known by over 50% of the country) but rather an insignificant, very regional dish ^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Jamison, C.A, and Jamison, B. (1995). The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.. Boston: The Harvard Common Press. 
2. ^ Ibarra-Aumenta, A.S., Valdez-Urias, D.B., et.al.. Estudio y Mejora del Proceso de Secado de Carne de Bovino para Carne Seca y Machaca..
3. ^ Ibarra-Aumenta, A.S., Valdez-Urias, D.B., et.al.. Estudio y Mejora del Proceso de Secado de Carne de Bovino para Carne Seca y Machaca..
4. ^ Griffith, J.F. (April 1997). La Comida Mexicana en Tucson.
5. ^ Machaca con Huevo. Instituto Tecnologico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
6. ^ Mitofsky, Consulta (Oct. 2006). Consumo de Platillos Tipicos: Encuesta Nacional de Viviendas.