Pati: The paths of the Rarámuri are carved through the canyons of Barrancas, revealing a community living in harmony with the earth.

Famous for their legendary long-distance running, these 3 brothers run nearly two marathons every day.

Did you hear that?

That's fascinating!

They bring me to Irma's gordita stand, the perfect spot to refuel.

[All speak Spanish] And you'll get a taste of Irma's in your own home... Ha ha ha!

Now I'm just having fun.

because I'm teaching you to make red gorditas stuffed with creamy chipotle chicken.

[Speaking Spanish] At Huetosachi, sisters and local cooks Maria and Rosa share with me the simple wonders of Rarámuri cuisine... Mm!

which I will bring to you in the form of a Rarámuri delicacy, chacales--sun-dried and cracked corn kernels, rehydrated to perfection in a roasted tomato stew with melty cheese.

♪ [Sizzling] What a feast!

♪ Pati: Mm!

So succulent.

These beans are insane.

[Laughter] Mm.

♪ Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... ♪ Announcer: La Costeña.

¡por sabor!

Men: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ ♪ Announcer: Texas A&M International University-- going beyond borders.

Announcer: Eggland's Best available in your grocer's egg aisle.

Visit egglandsbest.com.

[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.

♪ Pati, voice-over: Martin Moreno and his brothers Gregorio and Ignacio uphold a revered Rarámuri legacy, running extreme distances.

Their daily commute to work is a breezy 20-mile run each way.

All 3 have won some of the most challenging races in Mexico, like the Caballo Blanco, a 50-mile ultra-marathon known for breaking some of the world's most elite athletes.

[All speaking Spanish] Heh heh!

Mm... [Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: The Rarámuri people are famed for their remarkable endurance, navigating their home in the Copper Canyon-- 4 times larger than the Grand Canyon-- a tradition that began as a way to settle disputes.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Mm-hmm.

[Speaking Spanish] [Both speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Some of those opportunities come in the way of tourism.

Recent initiatives like Barrancas Park offer breathtaking views of the canyon and teach visitors about Rarámuri culture, while also providing employment for local communities.

[Pati speaking Spanish] [Brother speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.

[All speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: The cable car runs about one and a half miles, with multiple stops, allowing not only tourists to get unbelievable views of the canyon, but has also become an important means of transportation for Rarámuri to move around from place to place.

[Pati speaking Spanish] [Brother speaking Spanish] [Pati speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Gorditas are like small and chubby corn tortillas that are stuffed with all kinds of fillings like pork, beans, and cheese and are a staple in the Chihuahuan diet.

Conveniently, they're also a fantastic way to refuel after a leisurely 50-mile run.

[Pati and Irma speaking Spanish] Pati: Uh-huh.

Muy bien.

[Both speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.

[Dog barks] [Pati and Irma speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.

Irma: Uh-huh.

[All speaking Spanish] [Irma speaks Spanish] OK. Mm-hmm.

Mm.

[All speaking Spanish] Ha ha!

Mm.

Mm.

Pati: Mm.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaks Spanish] Mm!

Mm, mm.

Mm-hmm.

Pati, voice-over: Irma's red gorditas are so unique.

I can try to help you re-create them at home.

[Acoustic guitar playing] Gorditas go by the name "gorditas" because "gordita" translates to "chubby," and gorditas are chubbier than regular tortillas.

I had eaten them with normal corn masa dough and with blue corn masa dough, but I had never tasted them red.

Now that I went to Chihuahua, I learned how to make them, and all you need to do is add colorado chile powder to your masa harina, and you can make your own.

It's very easy.

I have here my dried colorado chiles, and what I learned when I was in Chihuahua is that guajillos are the ripe and dried mirasol chiles.

They're a part of the colorado chile universe.

These are the colorado chiles, and they come from the chile verde, chilaca, which you may also know as Anaheim or California chiles.

And these chiles are picked when ripe and then they're dried.

[Crunches] You open the chile and remove the seeds.

Before you make your powder, you want to toast the chiles, so I have a comal here.

It's pre-heated over medium-low heat, and I'm just gonna toast about two ounces of the colorado chiles, and you just want to flip them.

The color, the texture, the smell of the chile changes.

Think this is ready.

So I have my coffee grinder here.

My husband's coffee is gonna taste spicy tomorrow morning.

Just break the chiles into smaller pieces and add them into your grinder or food processor.

Heh heh!

I'm laughing, thinking about Danny's coffee tomorrow morning.

[Chuckles] [Whirs] OK, this chile powder is gonna taste so much better than the one that you get at the store.

I have here... [Spoon clanks] two cups of masa harina, and then I'm gonna add one tablespoon of the chile powder that you just made with me, and then I'm adding a half a teaspoon salt, then I'm adding one and a half cups of hot water.

I'm gonna leave a little out as I start kneading the dough.

OK, once the masa has come together, and it's nice and soft like this, I'm gonna add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and then I'm gonna mix the oil into the masa.

And this is gonna make the gorditas cook better because, as you're gonna see, the gorditas take much longer to cook than the tortillas 'cause they're thicker.

So I'm just gonna-- this is fun.

Ha ha ha!

Now I'm just having fun.

Just let it sit here, cover it with a moist or wet towel, and now I'm gonna make the filling.

And today, I'm gonna make creamy chipotle chicken, which was one of the most popular fillings in Chihuahua.

It's so tasty.

♪ OK, I have some water here that I've been heating, and I'm going to add half of a white onion, and I'm gonna save half to cook with the chicken once it's ready.

Adding in here.

Two garlic cloves, two bay leaves, one teaspoon salt, and one and a half pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast.

So, adding the chicken.

This is gonna come to a boil.

I'm gonna cover it and let it cook for about 10 minutes.

While this is cooking, I'm gonna slice the onion.

This has been cooking here for a little while.

I'm gonna add my tomatoes-- 4 ripe tomatoes-- and these are gonna cook here for the next 8 to 10 minutes.

♪ OK, this is cooking, this is cooking, these have cooked.

We're gonna take the chicken out, so I want to let these cool here a little as I make my tomato sauce.

So here, I'm gonna add everything that cooked in here: the tomatoes, the onion, the garlic, and the bay leaves, and about a half a cup of this chicken broth.

Want to let these cool for a second, the chicken is ready for me to start shredding.

I can actually start cooking the onions.

I'm gonna turn my heat on here over medium heat.

I'm gonna add two tablespoons oil, one tablespoon unsalted butter.

I can hear the butter sizzling, so I'm adding the onion... [Sizzling] but I also need to puree the sauce.

[Whirs loudly] OK, we need to add the chipotles, so I'm adding 4 whole chipotles in adobo sauce, plus 4 tablespoons of the chipotles in adobo sauce sauce.

I'm gonna puree this until completely smooth again.

[Whirs loudly] It smells crazy chipotle-y, which is amazing.

Gonna start adding my chicken in here because my onion is ready... [Sizzling] and then we're gonna pour that sauce.

Now, to make it creamy, I'm gonna reduce the heat, and I'm going to pour one cup of Mexican crema.

So this is gonna simmer here.

As this happens, I'm gonna start making the gorditas.

[Clanks] I'm gonna turn the heat to medium-high, and let's see what the masa's looking like.

Mm, beautiful.

You have your tortilla press.

You line it with sheets of plastic that you cut into circles.

Most of the people that make gorditas that have a lot of experience making gorditas make them by hand, not with a tortilla press.

But if you're not super-skilled and make, like, dozens or hundreds of gorditas a day, you may find it useful like me to use a tortilla press.

You roll your dough.

Let's see what this masa does.

I'm pressing down gently.

We want about 4 inches in diameter, and we want less than a 1/4-inch in thickness.

This is too thick.

Got to be patient with all things masa, but it's rewarding, and look at the masa.

It's beautiful, so I'm adding it here, and it's gonna be about 6 minutes per side, or longer as needed.

♪ You just have to continue flipping.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna cut my lettuce 'cause we need some garnishes.

Oh, see?

This one looks puffy.

Come see.

See?

I mean, it's very slight.

So take them off the comal, and I'm gonna cut into the gordita.

You just go like this, and you open the pocket like this.

We are going to stuff them.

Ah, so beautiful.

Now, look at this.

Beautiful.

I'm adding lettuce and cheese.

Beautiful.

So now you know why these are called gorditas, because they're thicker than tortillas, but because you can really stuff them.

Yum.

♪ Mm, mm, mm.

There is so much flavor from the masa, which is so flavorful and a little bit spicy, and then this soothing, creamy chipotle chicken-- really good.

♪ The Rarámuri community at Huetosachi is situated in the vast area of the Copper Canyons and has an ancient quality about it, almost like going back in time.

And sisters Maria Monarca and Rosa Angela are giving me a lesson in the ancient flavors of their people.

[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: But first, you can't start any dish in Mexico-- Rarámuri or otherwise-- without tortillas, and Maria is making me work for it.

[Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: In Rarámuri cuisine, corn is king, and Maria uses techniques that have passed down through the generations.

[Pati speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Nixtamalization is an ancient process used throughout Mexico to prepare corn, by soaking the kernels in slake limewater, unlocking its nutrients and making it easier to grind into dough for making all kinds of foods.

[Pati and Maria speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Maria really wants me to break a sweat.

[Both speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: But that's not even the hardest part.

[Both speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: The Rarámuri are masters at sustainable living.

They eat very little meat and utilize every harvestable resource in their communities.

[Both speaking Spanish] Mm-hmm.

[Both chuckle] Mm.

They cook so many things, and my job is to taste it all.

Next up, chacales-- perhaps the Rarámuri's most common dish, featuring the resourceful use of corn to create something similar to grits or porridge, but sometimes with additional spices mixed in.

Mm.

[Pati and Rosa speak Spanish] ♪ Pati, voice-over: And lastly, perhaps the perfect way to end is atole--a comforting, thick beverage made from corn masa, water, and flavored with natural sweeteners-- both a nutritious drink and a heartwarming embodiment of their culture.

[Pati and Maria speaking Spanish] ♪ Pati: Alan, you know what's incredibly amazing?

What?

That you were there in Chihuahua as a digital content producer, capturing content.

Behind the scenes a little bit, yeah.

Behind the scenes, and--but you ate all these things, you tasted all these things, and now we're here at home, re-creating these foods, and it's amazing 'cause we can share with our friends how they can bring the pieces of Mexico that we explored to their kitchen.

Yeah.

So, here we have yellow and white cracked corn.

In Chihuahua, they call it chacales.

They traditionally use white there.

Should we use white?

Yeah, let's do it.

OK, so, opening the lid 'cause I have water boiling, and I'm gonna add the corn, but help me rinse it first.

OK. [Both speaking Spanish] Pati: OK. Pati, voice-over: We're adding one pound of dried cracked corn.

If you can help me peel a garlic clove... Sure.

and I'll cut half of an onion, and then let's add a teaspoon of salt.

As this continues to cook, I want it to come to a boil... Mm-hmm.

and then I'm gonna let it simmer.

We saw the chacales plain with cheese and salsa in Huetosachi.

Mm-hmm.

But then, with Chef Ana Rosa, we had them with tomato, and I wanted to try and re-create that Chihuahua-ness in here, so we're going to roast the tomatoes.

OK.

So we're gonna put them under the broiler, so let's add the tomatoes, and we add them whole.

If you can help me cut this onion, that's perfect, and then we're gonna add two garlic cloves, but with the skin on... OK.

So they're going to char or roast in the skin.

Pati, voice-over: And we're gonna roast this in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until they're charred and soft.

Pati: In Chihuahua, both times that we had it, they had it with cheese.

Mm-hmm.

And we were able to find Mennonite cheese.

With the Mennonite cheese.

Sí.

Nice.

[Speaks Spanish] Is it from Chihuahua or did you find it here?

No, it is, and you have to taste it, Alan.

Help me dice this into, like, bite-size pieces... OK.

But when you taste it again... Mm-hmm.

tell me what cheese would you compare this cheese to.

Let me taste it.

I'll tell you.

It's kind of like, um... a little bit like cheddar, but it's, like, a softer cheddar... Mm-hmm.

you know?

OK, so we have the cheese... Mm-hmm.

and while the ingredients are roasting, we can chop some cilantro.

I love the smell of cilantro.

♪ I mean, look at the beauty of these ingredients now, and... [Pot lid clanks] look at the corn.

It's so beautiful.

OK, so we're gonna use everything from the tomatoes.

You're gonna help me, like, chop finely.

We're gonna use everything of the onion... Mm-hmm.

Which--yum.

It's gonna taste good with the charred bits.

Yeah, and then we're gonna peel the cloves.

OK. And what, um, what's your impression of the food of Chihuahua now that we went back?

Yeah, I was really surprised by how... Yeah.

complex some of the dishes were.

Yeah, I agree.

I mean, there were ingredients that we tried that I had never even heard of before.

Me, too.

What's the ingredient-- The Ari?

Ari, yeah.

Yeah.

The Ari, which is-- comes from the, from, like, these insects... Yeah.

you know?

I'm gonna turn this on.

I have my heat at medium-high.

I'm gonna add two tablespoons of oil, and then we're gonna let it heat.

So now, we need to add the tomatoes, the onion, and the garlic.

[Sizzling] Awesome.

How much salt should I add?

Now, add salt to taste.

[Speaking Spanish] Do you think you and I have a similar love for salt?

Salt?

I don't think so, to be honest.

I do more?

I think you do more.

You like more salt than I do.

I do.

Ha ha!

Yeah.

OK, let's add.

OK. You can see--you know how rich you want them.

If you want more chacales or less chacales, put-- ai, look at how beautiful this looks.

That looks so good.

And then, I have the option of adding chicken broth.

Mm-hmm.

I feel like that adds a little... Mm-hmm.

more flavor, too.

And now, that's it.

We, like, let this come together, just a few minutes, and I love to serve it-- this boiling hot because we're gonna add the cheese, and we want the cheese to melt.

Want it to melt.

Of course.

Is that for you?

This is for me.

OK, 'cause I would add more cheese.

You want more cheese?

I mean, that's for you.

All right, fine.

Maybe I should do more cheese.

Yum.

So you want a lot of cheese, right?

Ha ha ha!

So maybe I should just give you the whole thing.

[Both laugh] Like, half, like... OK. yeah, that's good.

[Acoustic guitar playing] Should we smash the chiltepin?

Oh, yeah.

Cilantro.

How many should we do?

I like spicy.

I like a lot.

Me, too.

[Speaks Spanish] OK. [Speaks Spanish] Oh!

Oh, oh, oh!

Did the cheese melt?

Yes!

Oh, yeah, it's totally melted.

The cheese melted.

Mm.

Mm.

Mm!

It's...bright with the tomatoes.

They're just so, like, splashy and fresh and juicy and bright.

Mm-hmm.

And the Mennonite cheese is intense, and then the cracked corn, like, los chacales, are so toothy, and the texture is so much fun to bite into.

Mm-hmm.

Yum.

Alan, what a treat to eat this with you in Chihuahua and at home.

And here, yeah.

It's so easy.

Sí.

Thank you.

Oh, whoa.

♪ Pati: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit patijinich.com and connect.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... ♪ Announcer: La Costeña.

¡por sabor!

Men: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ ♪ Announcer: Texas A&M International University-- going beyond borders.

Announcer: Eggland's Best available in your grocer's egg aisle.

Visit egglandsbest.com.

[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.

Announcer: Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.

♪