Yucatecan panuchos: the puffed tortilla with bean and cochinita pibil

What is it?

Panuchos are one of the most iconic antojitos of Yucatán and the Maya peninsula. They are made with small tortillas of nixtamalised maize dough that, during their cooking on the comal, puff up slightly forming an air pocket. This pocket is carefully opened on one side and filled with a paste of strained refried black beans (black beans blended with epazote). The stuffed tortilla is fried in hot lard or oil until golden and crunchy. On top of the fried panucho the classic topping is placed: shredded cochinita pibil, roast turkey or suckling pig, plentiful pickled red onion with habanero, julienned lettuce or cabbage, tomato, sliced avocado and habanero hot sauce (xnipek or kutbil ik). Larousse Cocina, PorEsto and Directo al Paladar México document them as a peninsular identity antojito, a sibling of salbutes and cochinita tacos. They are a common dish in markets, fondas, lunch counters and traditional Yucatecan cuisine restaurants.

Origin and history

Panuchos have Yucatecan-Maya origins with colonial influence. The most widespread legend — gathered by PorEsto and Yucatán Travel — attributes their creation to a character called 'Don Nuche' or 'Don Hipólito Panucho', a cook from Ticul or Acanceh who at the end of the 19th century ran out of ingredients to prepare tortillas and, seeing a puffed tortilla on his comal, decided to fill it with beans and add cochinita. The word 'panucho' would derive from his name, or alternatively from 'pan untado' (spread bread). Another theory suggests that panucho comes from 'paʼ nuʼkach' in Yucatec Maya, which means 'stuffed tortilla'. Panuchos were consolidated as a popular antojito in the markets of Mérida — especially Lucas de Gálvez and Santa Ana — during the 20th century. The incorporation of cochinita pibil as the main topping reflects the pre-Hispanic tradition of pibil (underground cooking) and achiote as a Maya condiment. PorEsto details that the most traditional versions are prepared with Yucatecan strained bean — paste of blended and strained black bean — different from the common refried bean of the rest of Mexico. Today they appear on the menus of tourist restaurants such as La Chaya Maya, Néctar and K'u'uk in Mérida.

Characteristic ingredients

The dough used is fresh nixtamalised maize, not industrial flour, so that the tortillas puff up correctly on the comal. Small tortillas of 8-10 cm in diameter and 2-3 mm thick are formed, cooked on a very hot comal — ideally clay — where they puff up forming an air pocket in the centre. Immediately on removing them they are carefully opened on one side with a sharp knife and filled with the Yucatecan strained bean paste (black beans cooked with epazote and blended with a little of their cooking liquid, then cooked until they thicken). They are closed again and fried in pork lard or hot oil until they brown and crisp up on the outside, keeping their softness inside. The traditional cochinita pibil is prepared with pork marinated in a red recado of achiote, sour orange, garlic, allspice, cumin and Yucatecan oregano, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pib (underground oven) for several hours. The pickled red onion is made by finely slicing it and marinating it in sour orange juice with habanero, salt and oregano. They are served hot with avocado slices, tomato, lettuce and habanero sauce (xnipek: chopped tomato, onion, habanero and sour orange). Variants: turkey panucho, suckling-pig panucho, campechano panucho.

Cultural significance

Panuchos are one of the pillars of the Yucatecan repertoire and form part of the 'great trinity' of peninsular antojitos alongside salbutes and cochinita pibil tacos. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine — particularly the Michoacán paradigm — has extended into recognition of regional cuisines such as the Yucatecan one, which the Mexican Ministry of Culture has promoted as one of the most distinctive gastronomic identities of the country. The Yucatán Tourism Secretariat includes panuchos in its official gastronomic catalogue and tourist routes. In the Lucas de Gálvez and Santa Ana markets of Mérida, the panucho stalls are part of the state's intangible heritage: some families have spent three generations at the same spot. In popular culture they appear in regional novels, state tourism promotion and programmes such as Pati's Mexican Table and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Chefs such as Roberto Solís (Néctar), Pedro Evia (Kuuk) and David Cetina (La Tradición) have elevated them to contemporary haute Yucatecan cuisine. Economically, panucho antojito makers sustain thousands of micro-businesses in the peninsula. Panuchos have been exported: in Mexico City there are specialised restaurants such as La Chaya Maya and Casa Oaxaca-Mérida; in the US they appear in Yucatecan restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between panucho and salbut?

Both are Yucatecan antojitos of fried tortilla, but different. The panucho carries the tortilla stuffed with Yucatecan strained bean before frying, so it remains denser and flatter with the bean inside. The salbut is just the fresh tortilla fried until it puffs up, with no prior filling, resulting in something hollow and light. Both are topped with cochinita or turkey, pickled red onion, avocado and habanero sauce.

What do panuchos taste like?

They taste of crunchy fried tortilla with the deep flavour of the Yucatecan strained black bean — earthy, aromatic and spiced with epazote. Cochinita pibil provides an acidic-sweet-smoky profile from the achiote and sour orange. The pickled red onion adds citric freshness, the avocado unctuousness, the habanero an intense fruity heat. It is a very Yucatecan combination of textures and flavours: crunchy outside, soft inside, spicy and acidic at the end.

How are panuchos served?

They are served hot, freshly fried, on a flat plate. They are topped with shredded cochinita pibil (or roast turkey), pickled red onion, lettuce or cabbage, tomato, sliced avocado and optionally habanero sauce (xnipek). They are accompanied with sopa de lima, strained bean, agua de jamaica or Yucatecan beer such as Montejo or León. They are eaten by hand or with a fork depending on size, generally 3-5 pieces per order.

Where do panuchos originate from?

They originate from Yucatán and the Maya peninsula, with their epicentre in Mérida. The most widespread legend attributes them to Don Hipólito Panucho of Ticul in the late 19th century. The word may derive from his name or from the Maya 'paʼ nuʼkach' (stuffed tortilla). They were consolidated at the markets of Mérida in the 20th century. Today they are a peninsular identity antojito, omnipresent in Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo, and exported to Yucatecan restaurants throughout Mexico and the US.