Yes, I know that here in Chiapas, they would not call this a BBQ as we would in Alabama but Dawg is being international in outlook now since Montgomery is the past and San Cristóbal de Las Casas is today. Let´s just say for clarification that we were invited yesterday by a Coleto (as folks from San Cristóbal are known) family to join them at the city´s locally famous park known as Rancho Nuevo Parque Eco Turistico within the boundaries of which one also finds the also locally famous "Grutas de Rancho Nuevo" which are a local tourist attraction as well. Locals flock to this large pine covered park in the High Jovel Valley (the park is at about 7,500 feet) especially for weekend picnics at the many stone BBQ pits available to the public for a ten peso fee on a first-come-first-served basis. These family members were determined to show us foreigners just arrived from Lake Chapala for the season what a true Coleto BBQ is all about.
The menu consisted of:
Longaniza Sausage: A sausage similar to the famous Portuguese Linguisa sausage found in many parts of the world but, in Chiapas, quite spicy and delicious with unique local ingredients.
Chorizo: Chiapas style made with, among other things, chiles and garlic. In Mexico, these sausages can be made with pork, cabrito or venison but here in San Cristóbal it is typically made with pork. Most if not all of you know that this is very different from Spanish Chorizo and must be cooked on the BBQ before being consumed.
Tasajo: Which, I believe, can mean a number of things from "piece of meat", to dried or "jerked" beef but here in San Cristóbal implies, according to our hosts, either air dried or fresh beef similar to cecina cut into strips, The tasajo we were served was fresh and not dissimilar to an arrachera cut and had been marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and lime juice which, to some extent, mirrors the significant Chinese influence popular in local cuisine and much of Chiapas because of the large Chiinese immigrant population living here.
These meats were, of course, barbequed over charcoal and served with
* Tortillas.
* A salso cruda made with fresh tomatoes, white onions, habanero chiles, cilantro, salt and lime juice.
* Large green onions charred over hot coals and peeled once charred with the sweet cooked inside layers served with the meats and tortillas.
* Avocados halved and served as accompaniments.
* Some habanero chiles served independently for more adventurous souls.
* Fresh limes to squeeze over all as desired.
Our contribution was cerveza and soft drinks and coffee and chocolate eclairs from a local French bakery.
Fantastic food and further proof that, as others have attested on these forums, the best food in Mexico is prepared by families for themselves and friends - not in restaurants generally speaking. That same rule exists in Dawg´s native Alabama - also famous for its BBQ - and I must say, whether it´s a slowly smoked BBQ´d pork butt for pulled pork sammiches outside of Montgomery or Chiapas sausages and beefsteak BBQ´d in an eco-park outside of San Cristóbal, or grilled lunches served al fresco with fabulous wines in Dawg´s wife´s natiive France, these are the memorable feasts of a lifetime.
Tue 01 Mar 2011, 18:38 by Don Cuevas