Los Almendros ★ 4.0
Los Almendros on Parque de la Mejorada in Mérida runs the Yucatecan canon since 1972, claiming credit for putting poc chuc on the city's restaurant maps.
Signature: Poc chuc, Papadzules, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
History
Poc chuc is a relatively young Yucatecan dish, popularized by Los Almendros in Ticul in the 1960s before the chain expanded to Mérida in 1972. The name combines Mayan poc (toasted) and chuc (charcoal). The technique is to marinate thin pork loin or leg slices in sour orange and salt for an hour, then grill over an extremely hot charcoal fire for under three minutes a side. Standard plates pair the pork with frijol colado bean broth, charred white onion, avocado, pickled habanero salsa and a stack of warm corn tortillas. La Chaya Maya, El Príncipe Tutul-Xiu and Los Almendros all run reference versions in Mérida.
Common allergens: Pork
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 4 pork loin steaks, 200g each, butterflied and pounded thin
- 200 ml sour orange juice (or 60% orange + 40% lime)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large tomatoes, halved
- 1 small red onion, sliced for pickling
- Pickling liquid: 100 ml white vinegar, 50 ml lime juice, pinch of salt
- Refried black beans, rice and corn tortillas to serve
Method
- Marinate pork loin in sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, pepper and salt for 3 hours, refrigerated.
- Pickle red onion in vinegar, lime juice and salt for at least 30 minutes.
- Char tomato halves directly on a grill or under a hot broiler until blackened. Mash with a fork for the salsa.
- Heat a charcoal grill or cast-iron pan to very hot.
- Grill the pork loin 1-2 minutes per side, no more, or it dries out.
- Serve immediately with charred-tomato salsa, pickled red onion, refried beans, rice and warm tortillas.
Tip from the editors. The Yucatán original cooks over wood charcoal; if you only have gas, sear in a cast-iron pan very hot, very briefly.
Where to eat poc chuc
Poc chuc in Mérida
La Tradición ★ 4.3
La Tradición on Calle 60 in Mérida runs chef David Cetina's Yucatecan recados, poc chuc and queso relleno from a family kitchen of two decades.
Signature: Poc chuc, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
La Chaya Maya ★ 4.4
La Chaya Maya on Santa Lucía in Mérida pours tortillas on a clay comal in the dining room and runs sopa de lima, poc chuc and panuchos seven days a week.
Signature: Sopa de lima, Poc chuc, Papadzules, Cochinita pibil
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