Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• ½ cup light Mexican beer (such as Tecate, Modelo, Corona, or Pacifico)
• ½ cup fresh orange juice
• ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 2 lb. ¼"-thick skirt or flank steak, cut into 5"-long pieces
• 2 large plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 small white onion, halved through root end
• 2 large tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, halved
• 3 dried chiles de árbol
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt
• 2 cups (8½ oz; or more) masa harina (such as Maseca)
• 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt
• 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided; plus more for frying (4–5 cups)
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 15.5-oz. can pinto beans, rinsed
• 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• Freshly ground pepper
• 6 oz. Chihuahua cheese or pepper Jack, coarsely grated
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• Coarsely chopped cilantro (for serving)
• A deep-fry thermometer
• A tortilla press

Method

1. Stir the finely chopped garlic cloves, coarsely chopped cilantro, light Mexican beer, orange juice, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt, freshly ground pepper and ground cumin together in a large dish or bag, add the skirt or flank steak pieces, coat them in the marinade, and chill the meat for at least 4 hours and up to a day.
2. Heat the broiler, set the halved plum tomatoes, halved white onion and halved tomatillos cut side up on a foil-lined rimmed sheet, and broil them for 8 to 12 minutes until their tops char.
3. Blend the charred vegetables with the dried chiles de arbol, the three garlic cloves, the tablespoon of vegetable oil and the teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt until the salsa is smooth, and set that bowl aside.
4. Whisk the masa harina with its salt in a medium bowl, stir in one and three-quarter cups of room-temperature water, and knead the dough by hand until it feels smooth and wet without sticking, adding water or masa a tablespoon at a time if the edges of a flattened ball crack or the dough clings.
5. Divide the masa into six smooth balls of about 3¾ oz each, wrap them so they do not dry out, and rest the dough for 15 to 30 minutes.
6. Heat three tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, soften the finely chopped small white onion for about 3 minutes, then stir in the finely chopped garlic, rinsed pinto beans, salt and ground cumin with pepper and a quarter cup of warm water.
7. Mash the beans as they simmer for about 2 minutes until they are mostly smooth and loose enough to fall from a spoon, adding a little more water if they tighten, then cover the refried beans and keep them warm.
8. Cook the marinated steak in a tablespoon of hot vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 10 to 15 minutes in total, turning it now and then, until it is charred and cooked to medium-rare or medium, then rest the meat for 10 minutes and chop it into small pieces across the grain.
9. Heat frying oil in a heavy high-sided skillet to 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer, press each masa ball in a parchment-lined tortilla press to about a quarter inch thick, and fry the gorditas one or two at a time for about 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown, then drain them on a rack.
10. Spread about two tablespoons of the warm refried beans over each fried gordita, divide the grated Chihuahua cheese over the beans, pile the chopped steak on top, spoon the charred salsa generously over the meat, and finish the chorreadas with the finely chopped red onion and extra chopped cilantro.

Total: 1 hour 20 minutes (plus marinating)

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data