The canonical version and where to order it.
Salbutes are puffed, fried corn tortillas with no filling inside, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, shredded turkey or chicken and avocado, with habanero salsa on the side.
The salbut takes its name from Yucatec Maya: sáal buutʼ, roughly light and stuffed. It is a Yucatán Peninsula dish of a corn tortilla fried in oil or, preferably, lard until it puffs a little and stays soft, then topped with lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, shredded turkey or chicken and avocado. Unlike the panucho it has no beans inside. Cooks also top it with cochinita pibil, relleno negro or chicken in escabeche. Salbutes are sold in the evening at panucherías, and in Cancún they are one of the plates the Mercado 23 fondas cook.
1 editor pick for Salbutes in Cancún, ranked by editorial score. All Cancún signature dishes · Salbutes across every city.
Also in: Mérida.
Mercado 23 fondas are the lunch counters of the Mercado Javier Rojo Gómez in downtown Cancún, cooking cochinita pibil, salbutes, papadzules and relleno negro.
OrderCochinita pibil tacos or a plate of salbutes, then papadzules or relleno negro if the fonda has them.
TipGo between 08:00 and 11:00, when the best food is served; the market slows down by 14:00. Bring small peso notes.
Salbutes makes more sense with someone from Cancún explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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