Mexican · Yucatán · main

Poc Chuc

Poc Chuc reads umami 4.6, heat 4.6 and sourness 4.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Mexican · Yucatán main, about 1 hr 17 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.0 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 5.5 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 5.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 4.6 · Heat 4.6 · Sourness 4.4 · Richness 4.4 · Salinity 3.7 · Citrus 3.7 · Allium 3.5 · Herbaceous 3.2 · Fruity 2.5 · Sweetness 2.1 · Earthy 2.0 · Warm Spice 1.6 · Bitterness 1.5 · Nutty 1.3 · Floral 1.1

What's in it (13)

• pork — 800 g
• sour orange juice — 250 g
• salt — 10 g
• cracked black pepper — 5 g
• red onion — 220 g
• tomatoes — 500 g
• habanero chile — 200 g
• garlic — 12 g
• pork lard — 14 g
• black beans — 300 g
• epazote — 2 g
• corn tortillas — 1200 g
• cilantro — 30 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 17 min (47 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 214.5 kcal, 9.3 g protein, 6.2 g fat, 31.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Poc chuc means charred and cooked over embers, and it is a fast dish. Marinate the pork sheets in the sour orange with the salt and pepper for 30 minutes only — the acid is strong enough that an hour begins to cook the meat and turn it chalky.
2. Char the tomatoes, habaneros and unpeeled garlic on a comal or straight in the coals until they are black in patches and collapsing, about 12 minutes. Blend them coarse with salt to make chiltomate — it should look rustic, with flecks of skin in it.
3. Fry the chiltomate in the lard for 8 minutes to concentrate it, then keep it warm.
4. Grill the thick onion slices over the fire 6 minutes, turning once, until they are limp with black edges.
5. Lift the pork from the marinade, shake it off, and grill it over high heat 2 to 3 minutes a side. You want dark grill marks and no more; pork this thin goes from juicy to dry in under a minute.
6. Warm the beans through with their epazote, heat the tortillas on the comal, and serve the pork with the chiltomate, the grilled onion, the beans, cilantro and lime.
7. Substitutions: 125 ml orange juice plus 65 ml lime juice plus 60 ml grapefruit juice can stand in for the sour orange juice.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Chicken Tortilla Soup with Crispy Strips — Mexican
• Pork Chile Colorado — Mexican
• Yellow Split Pea Dal with Tomato — Indian
• Picadas Veracruzanas — Mexican · Veracruz
• Memelas con Asiento y Quesillo — Mexican · Oaxaca

Keep reading: what umami, heat, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.