Salting and curing meat: what it is and how it's done

What is it?

Salting and curing are traditional Mexican techniques for preserving meats through dehydration with salt and, in some cases, seasonings such as chilli, garlic and vinegar. They arose as a response to the warm climate and the lack of refrigeration, especially in northern Mexico and in Morelos. Products such as Yecapixtla cecina, Sonoran machaca, Chihuahua dried meat and chilli-rubbed cecina are a direct result of these techniques. The meat, usually beef or pork, is cut into thin slices, generously salted and left to dry in the sun or air for hours or days. The result is intensely flavoursome meats, light to transport and with a long shelf life, the base of tacos, machaca with egg and northern ranch stews.

Origin and history

The curing of meats with salt reached Mexico with the Spaniards, who brought Mediterranean techniques of hams, cecinas and tasajos. However, the dry climate of the Mexican north and the central highlands allowed their immediate adaptation to local conditions. During the colonial period, the cattle haciendas of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora and Durango popularised machaca: salted, dried meat pounded with stone to keep for months. In Morelos, the town of Yecapixtla developed from the nineteenth century a particular technique: very thin slices of salted beef dried in the sun for a few hours, without prolonged curing. Larousse Cocina and the Diccionario Enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana document that Yecapixtla cecina obtained a Collective Trademark in recent years, protecting its tradition. Sonoran machaca is also recognised as a typical regional product, linked to the cowboy culture of the north-west.

Characteristic ingredients

The techniques vary according to the region and the type of meat. Yecapixtla cecina uses lean beef pulp, cut into slices of 2-3 mm, salted with coarse salt and air-dried in the sun for 6-12 hours. The chilli-rubbed cecina of Oaxaca and Puebla adds guajillo or ancho chilli paste to the salting, giving a characteristic reddish colour. Northern machaca uses lean beef cuts, salted with coarse salt and dried in the sun for 2-4 days, until hard, then pounded with stone or shredded. Chihuahua dried meat is hung in mesh cages in the open air, without direct sun, for days. In all cases, the salt draws out moisture and prevents bacterial growth, while the seasonings (chilli, garlic, vinegar, sour orange) provide flavour and preserve. Rehydration is done in warm water or directly during cooking with juices.

Cultural significance

Salted and cured meats are a living gastronomic heritage in many Mexican towns. Yecapixtla, in Morelos, holds the Cecina Fair every year, with thousands of visitors who tour the local taquerías. Sonora has made machaca with egg a dish that symbolises the northern breakfast, present in burritos, chimichangas and caldillos. The chilli-rubbed cecina of Oaxaca appears in tlayudas and markets such as the 20 de Noviembre. These techniques sustain small family producers and keep alive ancestral knowledge adapted from Iberian tradition. Traditional Mexican cuisine, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, explicitly recognises preservation techniques as a value of the national gastronomic system. Cured meats also have economic value: they facilitate inter-regional trade without a cold chain and allow export to Mexican communities abroad.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cecina and machaca?

Cecina is meat salted in thin slices, briefly air-dried in the sun and eaten almost fresh. Machaca is salted meat, completely dried over days and then pounded or shredded, which gives a fibrous texture. Cecina is typical of the centre and south (Yecapixtla, Oaxaca), machaca of the north (Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila).

What does Yecapixtla cecina taste like?

It has an intense flavour of concentrated beef, slightly salty, with notes of sun and natural air-drying. Its texture is firm but tender, easy to chew when grilled over charcoal. Chilli-rubbed cecina adds heat and a guajillo-chilli aroma. It is usually served in a taco with beans, guacamole and fresh cheese.

How is northern machaca served?

The most popular form is machaca with egg: the meat is rehydrated with onion, tomato and chilli, cooked with scrambled egg and wrapped in a flour tortilla to make burritos. Machaca caldillo, chimichangas and breakfast burros typical of Sonora and Chihuahua are also prepared.

Where does Mexican cecina come from?

The technique of salting and drying meat arrived with the Spaniards from the Iberian peninsula, where cecinas such as that of León existed. In Mexico, it was adapted from the sixteenth century in cattle areas. Yecapixtla, Morelos, is the documented origin of the most famous Mexican cecina, while Sonora developed machaca from its cowboy tradition.