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📍 Morelos

Cecina de Yecapixtla (Yecapixtla salted beef)

· Lunch

A thin sheet of salted, air-dried beef, grilled over charcoal and served with crema, cheese, and guacamole.

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Cecina de Yecapixtla (Yecapixtla salted beef): A thin sheet of salted, air-dried beef, grilled over charcoal and served with crema, cheese, and guacamole.
Photo: Capucine Byron · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servings📊 Easy🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Gluten-free
Preparation
15 min
Cooking
10 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

A specialty of the town of Yecapixtla, Morelos, famous for its thin beef cecina; it's served alongside chile-rubbed pork cecina and fresh garnishes.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Cook cecina on a preheated griddle or grill and check internal temperature and resting using the beef cooking reference.

  2. 2

    Grill the nopales and onion alongside the meat if you like.

  3. 3

    Make a simple guacamole with avocado, cilantro, lime, and salt.

  4. 4

    Serve the cecina with crema, cheese, and the guacamole.

  5. 5

    Serve with warm tortillas to make tacos.

Cooking tips

  • Cecina already contains salt: taste the accompaniments before salting and check doneness with a thermometer.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Cecina is thin and salted, so taste accompaniments before adding more salt. Dry the meat surface and cook on a preheated griddle or grill without overlapping pieces. A fixed time per side is not a sufficient doneness check because thickness and equipment vary. Follow the linked beef temperature and resting guidance. Keep cream, cheese and avocado separate until serving.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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