Pepito: what it is and what's in the Mexico City torta

What is it?

The pepito or torta de pepito is one of the most beloved tortas of the Mexican street repertoire, especially popular in Mexico City and central Mexico. It is prepared with a telera or bolillo bread split open and toasted on a griddle, generally spread with mayonnaise or refried beans, filled with thin strips of beef steak — arrachera, skirt or steak — griddled to order, melted cheese (Oaxaca, Manchego or asadero), sliced avocado, tomato, onion and pickled jalapeño chillies. Unlike the excessive torta cubana, the pepito is a focused and simple torta: the star is the grilled meat, and the other ingredients complement without overwhelming. Pati Jinich and Cocina Delirante document it as an essential torta of the chilango repertoire. Larousse Cocina lists it in its 'Top 10 Mexican tortas' as a representative of the grilled-meat tortas in the capital style, distinct from the Guadalajaran torta ahogada or the excessive cubana.

Origin and history

The pepito originates in the street cooking of the capital in the twentieth century. Larousse Cocina notes that the name 'pepito' comes from the affectionate Spanish diminutive and was used to name small, simple tortas from the 1940s-1950s in torta shops of the Centro Histórico and the Roma neighbourhood. The pepito follows the twentieth-century tradition of torta-shop tortas in Mexico City, when griddled steak became popular as a quick, protein-rich filling for the lunches of labourers, office workers and students. The incorporation of melted cheese reflects tex-mex influence and that of American 'philly cheesesteaks' which were already circulating in North American restaurants of Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Monterrey from the 1950s. In Spain, where the pepito also exists — a small meat sandwich — the origin of the name is very different: it is attributed to the son of King Pepín (Felipe?) or to a regular customer of a Madrid restaurant. The Mexican version became established with its own identity by using telera bread, Oaxaca cheese and avocado. Cocina Delirante highlights the marinated arrachera version as the most popular contemporary evolution in torta restaurants of the 1990s and 2000s.

Characteristic ingredients

The telera bread is the ideal base: oval, flat, divided in three by two surface grooves, made with wheat flour, lard, yeast and a little sugar. It measures about 15-20 cm and is briefly toasted on a hot griddle with a little oil or butter so the crust browns and the crumb absorbs flavour. The steak used is beef in thin strips (1-2 mm thick), commonly marinated arrachera, skirt, top sirloin or eye of round. The meat is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and cumin, and quickly griddled on a very hot plate or pan so it browns outside and stays juicy inside. Some pepitos use the meat diced small in 'philly steak' style. The cheese is usually grated Oaxaca or asadero, which melts directly over the meat on the griddle. Assembly: bread spread with mayonnaise or refried beans, the meat with melted cheese on top, sliced or mashed avocado, tomato, onion, lettuce and pickled jalapeño chillies. Variants: pepito of arrachera (finer), pepito of steak (classic), pepito with melted Manchego cheese, pepito with mushrooms, pepito of grilled chicken. Cocina Delirante describes the canonical recipe with arrachera marinated in beer, lime juice and soy.

Cultural significance

The pepito forms part of the corpus of chilango tortas that defines the street culinary identity of Mexico City. Historic torta shops such as 'Tortas Don Polo', 'Tortas Robles', 'La Castellana' and 'Las Tlayudas' serve it among their best-selling tortas. In the Roma, Condesa and Polanco neighbourhoods, restaurants and bars offer it as a snack or starter. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes the capital's street cooking as a living expression of the national repertoire. In popular culture, the pepito appears as a quick office sandwich, a student lunch and a street antojito. The marinated-meat industry for arrachera and steak, brands such as Bafar, Sigma and Su Karne, has facilitated its spread. Economically, the pepito sustains thousands of torta shops and street stalls. Pati Jinich has included it in her programme Pati's Mexican Table as an example of the everyday Mexican torta worthy of having its own identity. Mexican restaurants in the United States serve it as one of the favourites: the Tortas Frontera chain by Rick Bayless in Chicago and Tortas Neza in Bell Gardens, California, feature it on their menus. It is a perfect example of the Mexican torta focused on the quality of one main ingredient — the grilled meat — rather than the excess of the cubana.

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