What Is A Machaca Burrito? You’ll love It!

Last Updated on December 6, 2021 by

Perhaps, you´ve been to a Mexican restaurant, and have read about machaca burritos on the menu, and you´ve wondered: what is a machaca burrito?

Burritos come from the northern states of Mexico. They are the pride and joy of many restaurants in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and Nuevo Leon. If you’re ever in the bustling capital of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, you’d be doing yourself a disservice as a meat-eater if you don´t try a burrito that has been freshly prepared at a local bar and grill. As a matter of fact, grill culture, in general, is a very big deal along the northern part of Mexico. This has influenced so much of the United States southwest that it is quite common to find dishes, including burritos, that feature it in dishes.

Jump to Recipe

Northern Mexico is also where you find the best beef in this most largely desert region. This last point is relevant as the burrito does feel like food that’s ideal to take on the go while you’re crossing large expanses of open country.

This is where the dried part also comes in. This drying process helps to preserve the meat so that it doesn’t spoil. As machaca keeps fresh for a long time, people could traditionally endure longer trips across a pretty unforgiving landscape. 

What Machaca Is About

The word machaca comes from the action of machacar which means to pound. This is how the meat would be prepared traditionally atop a mesquite trunk. People pound it with a wooden mallet from the same tree until the meat reaches the desired thickness. In the northern states of Sonora and Sinaloa, it is quite common for people to have a large curved stone for this purpose in their family homes. The meat, which may be either beef or pork, would be dried before and after this treatment in order to make it tender to a detectable degree.

Machaca burritos are usually made with a large flour tortilla. They are filled with beans which tie together the different flavors of the different ingredients quite beautifully. If you like beans, it’s sure to win you over. Some people, even in certain parts of Mexico, find the idea of a dried food item such as this to be unattractive, but this is how the palate of the people who live in the north has been developed to be.

In reality, machaca isn’t that dry of a meal. It is common to add a salsa within the burrito to balance the dryness of the meat out.

History Of Machaca

What sets machaca apart is that the meat that people use is dried meat. This is reminiscent of the shawarmas that are so popular throughout the Middle East. This is ideally done by drying under the sun which enables it to then be pulled. However, there are other drying methods as well that are employed at more industrial scales. Some like the ultimate strips larger and others prefer the smaller sizings as it mixes more with the other ingredients that you include.

Once this meat is cooked, either by grilling or boiling ideally, it is ready to be incorporated in a large number of wonderful Mexican dishes such as flautas, tacos, and, of course, burritos!

What today we call machaca and burrito actually preceded the Spanish colonization. They were prepared by the indigenous populations that lived in the mountainous and desert regions. They used sun-dried deer meat strips that they would then make into rolls. This procedure made them ideal for transport.

Read more about Authentic Mexican Rice With Caldo De Tomate Recipe

Machaca Burrito Recipe

Ingredients

For the marinade

• A tablespoon each of Worcestershire and soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup each of lime juice (ideally freshly squeezed) and vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons of water
• Salt and pepper (as desired)

For the filling

• 3 pounds of skirt steak
• A large white onion
• A medium-sized red or yellow and one green bell pepper
• A cup of beef broth
• 14 ounces of tomatoes (canned is fine)
• Half teaspoon of Mexican oregano
• Salt and pepper as desired

For the burrito

• 12 medium-sized flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Sour cream
• Cilantro
• Avocado

Equipment

• Large iron pan
• Large plastic bag
• For the marinade
• Paper towels
• Platter

Step 1: Mix the marinade ingredients

Finely mince the garlic and then combine it with the rest of the marinating ingredients in the plastic bag.

Step 2: Shake the ingredients with the steak

Close the bag and then shake it up so that it mixes well. Add the steak and shake the bag as long as you make sure that it is fully covered in the marinade mix.

Step 3: Refrigerate

Refrigerate the meat with the marinade mix for 8 hours.

Step 4: Get the meat ready

Take the steak from the fridge and wait for it to come to room temperature. Dispose of the marinade and dry it with paper towels.

Step 5: Cook the meat

Fry the meat on all sides in the iron pan. After it’s cooked, place the meat on a platter.

Step 6: Cook the vegetables

Cook the vegetables in the same pan where you fried the meat for 5 minutes.

Step 7: Cook remaining vegetables

Mix the previous with the tomatoes, beef broth, salt, and pepper. Add the meat and increase the heat to a boiling point. Then lower the heat and let it simmer. Cover the pan to make sure that the meat is cooked evenly.

Step 8: Cut the meat

After 2 hours of cooking, remove the meat and wait until it cools own. At the same time, cook the vegetables and only remove them from the heat once there is no more liquid left in the pan

Step 9: Shred the meat

Shred the meat using your fingers.

Step 10: Cook the meat again

Cook the meat with the vegetables.

Step 11: Make the burritos

Make sure that the tortillas are hot before you place the meat mixed with the vegetables in them. They need to feel kind of fat, keep in mind that burritos are not tacos and they have this bulgy feel.

Step 12: Serve

Burritos need to be warm. You can serve them with salsa made of chile, cream, and lemon juice

Cooking Time And Servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Servings: 12

Tips And Tricks

Some people like to add avocado, once the burrito is wrapped to add a fresh tone to an overly cooked dish.

If you are a taco fan, you can add machaca to your corn tortillas as well.

Read more about Buñuelos Recipe With Tortillas To Please Your Sweet Tooth

Conclusion 

In a way, machaca burrito is a giant taco. It is preferred over tacos in Northern Mexico and is usually marinated and spiced.

They are often sold like hamburgers within a wrapper. This makes a lot of sense when you consider the size and how it is that you can eat a part of it and then wrap it up and save it for later. As a matter of fact, it is quite common for frozen versions of these to be sold in convenience stores, and for them to be picked up by baseball teams.

In this way, you can refrigerate machaca burritos to have them ready to take them to work. Remember to wrap them in aluminum foil to keep them fresh. Also, make sure to warm them up to be able to enjoy all the flavors of this unique meat. 

Casia Valdés

Casia is a passionate home cook who loves to share her love of Mexican food with the world. She has been cooking since she was a child, helping her grandmother in the kitchen and learning the traditional techniques used to create delicious Mexican dishes. Casia loves to experiment with new ingredients and flavors, always looking for ways to make her dishes even more flavorful. She is also passionate about teaching others about Mexican cuisine and its rich history. When she is not in the kitchen, Casia enjoys exploring new cultures, traveling, and spending time with her family.