Salbutes: what they are, what's on them and how to make them

What is it?

Salbutes are one of the most representative antojitos of the Yucatecan repertoire, close siblings of the panuchos but distinct in preparation. They are made with small tortillas of fresh nixtamalised maize masa — not industrial flour — which are fried in very hot lard or oil to order. The tortillas puff up slightly on contact with the hot fat, forming a light, crisp and hollow disc. Unlike panuchos, salbutes are not stuffed: the tortilla is fried plain and topped with the classic peninsular toppings: grilled and shredded chicken or turkey, lettuce or shredded cabbage, tomato, plenty of pickled red onion with habanero, avocado and habanero salsa (xnipek). Larousse Cocina, Excélsior and Gastrolab record them as an essential antojito of Yucatecan cooking, present in markets, fondas, restaurants and family celebrations of the peninsula. Their light character — only fried masa, no filling — makes them perfect as a starter or snack, and they are habitually eaten with sopa de lima as a traditional combo.

Origin and history

Salbutes have a pre-Hispanic Maya origin with colonial evolution. The word 'salbut' comes from the Yucatecan Maya 'sal-but' meaning 'light masa' or 'tortilla filled with air', in reference to the air that forms inside when fried. This etymology is the most accepted by regional linguists such as Briceida Cuevas Cob and authors of the Yucatecan Academy of the Maya Language. Before the conquest, the peninsular Maya already fried tortillas in turkey or deer fat for various ceremonies. After the introduction of pork and its lard by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, salbutes were enriched with pork fat and began to be topped with grilled turkey, cochinita pibil or chicken according to availability. Excélsior documents that salbutes were already a common antojito in the markets of Mérida, Valladolid and Tizimín in the mid-nineteenth century. They became established as an antojito of patron-saint festivals in towns such as Acanceh, Maxcanú, Tekax and Oxkutzcab. La Chispa de Yucatán gathers testimony from cooks who have been preparing them for four generations in the peninsular markets. Their popularity remains alive owing to the simplicity of the recipe and the inherent quality of the Yucatecan nixtamalised maize masa.

Characteristic ingredients

The optimal masa is of fresh nixtamalised maize — in Yucatán there is a tradition of nixtamal with lime from the Loltún or Calcehtok caves — hydrated only with water without added salt so it does not burn when fried. Small tortillas of 8-10 cm in diameter and 2-3 mm thick are formed, generally thinner than those of the panucho. The tortillas are fried immediately on being made, without passing through the comal: they are submerged in very hot lard or vegetable oil (180-200 °C) for 30-40 seconds per side, until they puff up and turn golden but soft. Pork lard is the ideal traditional medium because it provides a deep flavour. Once fried they are drained on absorbent paper and served immediately. The chicken or turkey is prepared boiled with onion, garlic, cumin, allspice and Yucatecan oregano, then shredded and briefly sautéed with onion and tomato. The pickled red onion is cured with bitter orange juice, chopped habanero, salt and Yucatecan oregano. Assembly: fried salbut, a layer of chicken or turkey, pickled red onion, lettuce, tomato, avocado and habanero salsa to taste. Variants: salbut of turkey in mole, salbut of cochinita, campechano salbut (with suckling pig), salbut of boiled egg.

Cultural significance

Salbutes form part of the identity corpus of Yucatecan cooking, declared by the Mexican Secretariat of Culture to be one of the most distinctive regional cuisines of the country. Together with panuchos, sopa de lima, cochinita pibil and papadzules, salbutes are gastronomic ambassadors of Yucatán in Mexican restaurants around the world. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes the peninsular corpus as a living manifestation. In the Lucas de Gálvez and Santa Ana markets of Mérida, as well as in the Sunday tianguis of inland towns, salbutes are one of the best-selling antojitos. In Yucatecan popular culture, salbutes appear as an antojito of patron-saint festivals, especially those of the Day of the Virgin of the Assumption (15 August) in Tekax and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Izamal (8 December). Economically, salbut stalls sustain thousands of family microbusinesses in the peninsula, many run by women with culinary traditions inherited from Maya great-grandmothers. Chefs such as Roberto Solís, Pedro Evia and David Cetina have included them on their menus as a vindication of Yucatecan popular cooking. In the United States, Yucatecan lunch spots in Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco offer them as a typical antojito of the peninsular diaspora.

Frequently asked questions