Authentic Gorditas
Masa vs. Corn Meal
When you go to the grocery store, the corn masa should be near the corn meal and the flour. Corn masa is a special kind of dough flour that is made when corn kernels are heated and mixed with ash and lime in a truly ancient process called nixtamalization – Shan thinks I made that up, but it's true. The ash and lime soften the kernels up enough to where they can be ground into a beautiful fine powder that puts corn meal to shame and makes a perfect corn tortilla or gordito.
You'll start with the masa in a bowl and slowly add the warmed liquid to it, mixing it with your hands until you have a moist, pliable dough that is soft and is not crumbly when you fold it together. I like to add a little extra baking powder to help these pop in the skillet. Once you've got the dough formed, use your fingers to make a well in the center. Cover the dough tightly.
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TIP: Cover the dough – not the bowl - tightly with plastic wrap to avoid any moisture rising to the top and evaporating.
Set this aside for about 45 minutes, while we put together the filling.
Meanwhile...
Cover a couple potatoes in water and set it to boil. When the potatoes are fork tender, just set them aside to cool off. It makes no difference right now whether you peel it or not.
Gordito Filling
Crumble the potato up with your hands. To start to cook the filling, heat your cast iron with some bacon grease and start with the onion. Add the jalapeno after a couple of minutes and, when both are soft, add the garlic. Mix in your potato and the spices and cook while all of those delicious flavors combine. The Red River Ranch Mesquite seasoning is perfect for this recipe because the ancho chile flavor in the seasoning adds a warm smokiness without adding any heat. Right at the end, add that bacon in and let the flavors all simmer together for a while on low.
TIP: Don't mash the potatoes until completely smooth, keep them slightly chunky.
Back to the Dough
Now – go ahead and remove the plastic wrap from the dough. The well you made with your fingers is going to be larger now. You can fill it with oil, lard, or bacon grease. I like to use butter. Pour a little of the butter into the well and use your hands to just incorporate that fat all throughout the masa. Now we're ready to finish these beauties.
The dough in the gordita actually has the filling folded in to it before cooking and also added to it again after cooking to make it like a taco, with the filling and some of the cheese baked into the shell.
Stay with me here, it's genius and delicious and you are going to love it.
Divide the dough into equal portions. You want each ball of dough to be a little larger than a golfball.
Pick one up and use your hands to mold the dough into a soft ball. Make it a little cup with your thumbs and fill with a spoonful of the filling we've prepared and some queso fresco. Fold the filling into the dough well several times.
Place each ball of dough between two pieces of wax paper and flatten into a soft patty, almost like a hamburger. You want it about as thick as a store-bought hamburger bun, flattened just enough to be able to slice down the center and fill with delicious food.
Once cooked, slice down the middle – leaving the bottom part sealed – and fill with the prepared filling. Top with cheese, crema and salsa – or anything you want. The beauty of this recipe is that you can fill it with any kind of meat or vegetable that you want to and it will be knock-your-socks-off good!
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