AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 5Gorditas
We visited Las Cruces, New Mexico, to learn the
secrets to these chubby little snacks. by Cecelia Jenkins
WHEN OUR EXECUTIVE food edi-
tor, Bryan Roof, returned from a trip to
Las Cruces, New Mexico, he spoke en-
thusiastically about the gorditas he had
eaten at Saenz Gorditas (see “Family
Style”). There, the gorditas (Spanish for
“little fat ones”) are plump corn cakes
with crisp exteriors and tender interiors
that are split open like pitas and stuffed
with ground beef picadillo. They bear
almost no resemblance to the fast-food
item that shares their name.
The dough rounds—made with corn
flour (masa harina), water, and some-
times cheese—are often fried in a hot
pan (without fat) to form a crust and de-
velop toasted-corn flavor. At Saenz, the
cooks skip the pan and the griddle and
go straight to the deep-fryer to make
gorditas with soft and moist interiors,
exteriors with crunch, extra savoriness
from the cheese, and a captivating corn
flavor. They’re perfect for stuffing.
I started with corn flour (masa hari-
na), which is much finer than cornmeal
and available in the Latin American
section of most supermarkets. When
mixed with water, corn flour takes on a
soft, pliable texture that is very easy to
manipulate. When cooked, this pliable
dough (masa) has much less structure
than doughs made with wheat flour.
The amount of liquid in the dough
was the first code to crack. With too
little water, the dough was dry and
crumbly and the dough rounds cracked
in the oil. With too much water, the
dough became an unworkable paste. We
found that a combination of 5 cups of
masa harina and 3⅔ cups of water cre-
ated a workable, putty-like dough that
was delicate yet sturdy. I had no trouble
kneading in a big handful of shredded
Colby Jack cheese.
I shaped portions of this dough
into rounds streaked with tangy, rich
cheese. After some experimenting, I
found that at ½ inch thick, the rounds
required about 10 minutes of frying in
375-degree oil. What’s more, I found
that I needed only 6 cups of oil for even,
nonsplashy frying.
A version of picadillo the test kitchen
developed a few years back—a mixture
of ground beef, cubed potato, and
plenty of seasoning—was the perfect fit
as a filling for our gorditas. Once the
golden pockets were split and stuffed,
my tasters happily munched away—
none more happily than Bryan. That’s
how I knew I’d nailed it.
GORDITAS Serves 6
We developed this recipe using Maseca
Instant Corn Masa Flour. Monterey
Jack or cheddar cheese can be sub-
stituted for the Colby Jack. Add hot
sauce, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced
tomatoes, and shredded cheese to your
filled gorditas, if desired.FILLING
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
1 russet potato, peeled and
cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tomato, cored and chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
¾ cup waterDOUGH
5 cups (20 ounces) masa harina
2 teaspoons table salt
32⁄3 cups water, room temperature
3 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded
(¾ cup)
11⁄2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying- FOR THE FILLING: Combine
beef, potato, salt, and pepper in
12-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over
medium-high heat until beef and
potato begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes,
breaking up meat with wooden spoon.
Add onion and tomato and cook until
softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic
and cumin and cook until fragrant,
about 30 seconds. - Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in water and bring to boil. Cook
until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
Off heat, season with salt and pepper to
taste. Cover and set aside. - FOR THE DOUGH: Line baking
sheet with parchment paper. Whisk
masa harina and salt together in large
bowl. Add room-temperature water
and Colby Jack and knead with your
hands until mixture is fully combined.
(Mixture should have texture of
Play-Doh and easily hold fingerprint.) - Divide dough into 12 level ½-cup
portions and place on large plate;
divide any remaining dough evenly
among portions. Working with 1 por-
tion at a time (keep remaining dough
covered with damp dish towel), roll
dough into smooth ball between your
wet hands, then return it to plate. Cut
sides of 1-quart zipper-lock bag, leav-
ing bottom seam intact.- Enclose 1 dough ball in split bag.
Using clear plate or dish (so you can
see size of dough round), press dough
into 4-inch round, about ½ inch thick.
Smooth any cracks around edges of
round; transfer to prepared sheet.
Repeat with remaining dough balls,
placing second sheet of parchment on
top once sheet is filled so you can stack
dough rounds as needed. Cover with
damp dish towel. (Dough rounds can
be covered tightly with plastic wrap,
without dish towel, and refrigerated for
up to 2 hours.)- Set wire rack in rimmed baking
sheet and line with triple layer of paper
towels. Add oil to Dutch oven until it
measures about ¾ inch deep and heat
over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. - Fry 4 dough rounds until golden
brown on both sides, 5 minutes per
side. Adjust burner, if necessary, to
maintain oil temperature between
350 and 375 degrees. Transfer fried
rounds to prepared rack to drain.
Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat
with remaining dough rounds in
2 batches. Let fried rounds cool for
10 minutes. While rounds are cooling,
reheat filling. - Insert paring knife into side of fried
dough rounds and split 180 degrees
to create pocket. Stuff each pocket
with ⅓ cup filling and serve.
A Pressing Issue
To press the gordita dough, cut the sides
of a zipper-lock bag. Then put one dough
round in the bag and press it to a 1⁄2-inch
thickness with a clear plate or dish (we
like to use a clear pie plate).We stuff these
crispy fried corn
cakes with a
spiced beef and
potato filling.