Sonoran cuisine: what it is and typical northern dishes

What is it?

Sonoran cuisine is the gastronomic tradition of the state of Sonora, in north-western Mexico, characterised by its ranching and frontier character. It is a cuisine of large cuts, open-air grills and wheat flour tortillas, a legacy of the colonial haciendas and the desert ranchers. Its most representative dishes are family carne asada, machaca, burritos, sobaquera flour tortillas, chimichangas, caldo de queso and the coyota. Sonora is the main beef-producing state in Mexico and almost all its towns revolve around the tradition of meat. It is consumed daily in homes and butcher-grills, and the weekend carne asada is a social institution in Hermosillo, Ciudad Obregón and Guaymas.

Origin and history

Sonoran cuisine was forged with the arrival of the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, who introduced wheat to the missions of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino between 1687 and 1711. Wheat thrived in the fertile valleys of Sonora thanks to the dry climate, partly displacing maize and giving rise to flour tortillas, today a regional emblem. Ranching became established after the desert conquest war and the expansion of haciendas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as México Desconocido documents. The proximity to Arizona and the US border has influenced dishes such as the burros (large burritos) and the Sonora-style hot dog, wrapped in bacon and served in a bolillo. Dried meat or machaca has a Yaqui indigenous origin and became popular as a preservation method in areas without refrigeration. Larousse Cocina notes that coyotas, sweet biscuits filled with piloncillo, are attributed to Villa de Seris, today part of Hermosillo, since the nineteenth century.

Characteristic ingredients

Wheat is the star cereal of Sonora, and its sobaquera flour tortillas reach up to 60 cm in diameter and are characterised by their transparent thinness. They are filled with machaca with egg, frijoles puercos or grilled beef to make burros and chivichangas. Beef is the star cut: arrachera, ribeye, skirt and rib are grilled over mesquite, the typical wood of the Sonoran desert that gives a characteristic smoky flavour. Machaca is made by dehydrating meat and then pounding it until shredded; it is rehydrated with tomato, onion, green chilli and egg. The chiltepín chilli, very small and very spicy, grows wild in the sierra and is the base of salsas. The frijoles puercos contain lard, chorizo and chilli. Bacanora, Sonoran mezcal with a designation of origin since 2000, is distilled from Pacífica agave. Caldo de queso, a mestizo dish of Jesuit origin, combines potato, fresh cheese and green Anaheim chilli. The coyota is a circular biscuit filled with piloncillo or cajeta.

Cultural significance

Sonoran cuisine is a symbol of northern Mexican identity and of the frontier ranching culture. The weekend carne asada, around a grill in the yard, is a fundamental social ritual: it unites families, strengthens communities and transcends classes. Sonora obtained a designation of origin for bacanora in the year 2000 and for its prawns from the Sea of Cortez, a driver of the fishing economy. Festivities such as the feasts of San Francisco in Magdalena de Kino, the traditions of the Yaqui and Mayo in Lent and Holy Week, and the celebration of 4 July in border towns such as Nogales show the weight of food in the regional calendar. The state government has promoted Sonoran cuisine as a tourist attraction and has included it in its gastronomic routes. Grills such as Anchos in Hermosillo and Sonora Steakhouse have taken the Sonoran meat style to other Mexican cities.

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