Surviving Yucatan Mexico!! Extreme Meats and Heat!!

thanks it's ok to say I don't know what the hell just happened would be an understatement food conical these days its influence and food can be found all over the world Mexican cuisine includes the masterful use of chilies in sauces and moles and the salsa It's not very spicy yes, it's not that spicy I thought it was spicy I have heartburn right now several varieties of corn can be transformed into tamales or tortillas look how beautiful they are, then there are tacos as limitless as your own imagination that contain any thing, Cactus to cow's head this is not what I expected when I got up this morning for breakfast the last time we went to Mexico we ate as much as possible in Mexico City this time we exchanged the fresh, high air of the central region elevation for the tropical

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of the Yucatán Peninsula as we head to the state of Yucatán, everything is fine, it turns out that it is actually illegal to drink beer outdoors, but here you will not find a regional culinary identity like no other in Mexico, a deliciously unique style of cuisine that plants Mayan, Spanish and Caribbean flavors in a large and beautiful Melting Pot.

I have eaten a lot of Mexican food in Mexico. I haven't seen turkey anywhere. We have more turkeys than the rest of Mexico and that is why we eat a lot of turkey. The food here is all about

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and meat, that's a big front shoulder, this pig almost has shoulders like you with spicy eyes, watery face, melted habanero, sauces that will make you wonder if you tripped over a volcano. I literally cried two tears, it's because I never know it's like Roshan Rolex, but hey, who needs taste buds? Well let's talk about the meat here, King Pig Reigns from snout to tail, they transform pork into a dazzling BBQ top display for a dish known as poke, the smell comes out here, it's amazing. roast pork marinated in sour orange juice and served with pickled onions.

I don't know how you eat a meal like this and come back and do literally anything while you're at it, order a side of blood tacos, have you ever had that? That's before no no thanks well guess what we're going to try today let's go then there's the piglet you're going to see in a moment all this meat is going to disappear under some earth a whole pig cooked in a steel box underground for hours, the Hardest part is when you dig it up because you never know the result, but the meat selection here doesn't end with the pork, it's just getting started.

There is the largest ostrich farm in Mexico. You want to grow birds up to hundreds of pounds and sell them for their meat included. This is something you would see in The Flintstones. They are record-breaking drummers that weigh more than 40 pounds. When they are eight months old, they weigh almost 100 kilos. Sacred cow. That's me this morning in deep in the countryside of the state of Yucatán you can find Black Caza in the market for species that you would never have considered food. I didn't know what animal it was and I saw everyone looking up. The dogs chased this up a tree.

This will be the first time for me. Badger meat in the coastal town. of competition Supreme seafood rain and shark meat piled into a tortilla lasagna, they put a lot of sauce here, but buying seafood in the largest market in the city is disconcertingly slimy it's not always that simple today at the market I bought something I didn't know it was potentially illegal, but it turns out it is illegal and can't be sold in restaurants. I wonder if we can take it to your house to cook it? Join me on this Mayan food journey, enough, see why.

Did you remember that she is a 25 year old singer-songwriter born and raised in Marina, the capital of Yucatán, even though she is mine, she broke down and it was not my fault that she has not tried many of the amazing foods that this region has to offer until now. you can see those wrinkles here are those wrinkles I know where they are and whether you like it or not, yes, we are trying it all, each region of Mexico proudly boasts its own culinary personality and first we will get to know the flavors of Yucatan intimately.

I'm on a mission to experience Yucatan-style Mexican street food and the street food here is completely different from what you'll find in the rest of the country. It all starts here. This market is incredible. It is the largest market in Marina. It is one of the largest, yes, welcome to Mercado Lucas de Gálvez, an economic center full of energy, it is like the Super Bowl of markets, but instead of touchdowns we have tacos, tamales and cochinitas flying from left to right, which Whatever you want to find, here's the key to Navigating this place is to keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks delicious, to be fair, that's not hard to do, from juicy beef to succulent pork to fresh-caught seafood. of the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the heartbeat of Mérida. This is a completely different place. region of Mexico and has its own culinary identity, including our first taste of the state of Yucatán. Her beloved greeting begins by flattening a bowl of fresh cornmeal dough and then dipping some in hot oil and adding succulent pieces of tender shredded turkey. I have tried a lot of Mexican food in Mexico. I haven't seen turkey anywhere. We have more turkeys than in the rest of Mexico. Pour over a generous dose of Yucatan's infamous black sauce, made from one of dozens of Mexico's most prized roasted chiles like Finishing Touch's El Huevo with roots dating back to the Mayan era, salbutus, offers a tantalizing glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The tortilla has a wonderful texture, it's a little crunchy when you fry it, it made it a little fat like me in my I was 20 years old, when I was depressed, same thing, yes, you're 20 years old, well, when I was 18 years old, and you you have that and you are depressed, yes we all go through that. Drive happens, meet K. A 25 year old local singer with Mayan Roots, she will guide me. through Yucatán as she guides her through the cuisine of her home state. What is this? you know what it is, you'll soon see what I mean so the turkey I don't think the turkey offers much flavor no, it's the right seasoning The black sauce seems super tasty to me, it has a delicious and very deep salty flavor and then here we have juice habanero, well it's like a pop dinner, milk, not milk, how do you milk a habanero?

No, so what is this? that looks like you're milking something no, it literally stinks put two tears it's because you never know it's like Russian roulette a little spicy very sour do they mix citrus with that? I love that all over Marita I see people mixing citrus with these different foods to keep it fresh and preserved, but also add a little nice acidity Marita, did you grow up here? What would you say is the personality of this city? It is the safest city in Mexico. I have been to Mexico City and other cities. I think people are stressed, people here seem relaxed all the time, maybe it's the blow that they don't even want to move.

I seem very happy and friendly. I love it, I would say that's my experience so far, so our mission today is something like that. see how the food in the state of Yucatán is different from the rest of Mexico we have something delicious I'm ready for more food in Yucatán has strong Mayan roots The Mayan culture here is ancient and dates back thousands of years, the same Mayans who built Chichen Itza They also worked with the land developing a deep knowledge of local ingredients and genius cooking techniques, so to truly understand the essence of Yucatan cuisine you must try this, hey, what's going on here?

We are making pogchuk, it is an edible time machine that takes you back to the days of the ancient Mayans. Where did you learn this recipe? What did your mom learn to bake from this grandmother? Grandma's mother and legend says that the Mayans marinated and smoked their meat as a method of preservation. What's so special about this pork compared to other pork sellers who are obviously not as good as you, it's marinated with naranga, so this is the orange I've been hearing about, it's the yucatagan orange or sour orange, is a brilliant baking acid in marinades and sauces.

The pork chop here starts with fresh pork raised very close to the restaurant. seasoned with salt, garlic, black pepper and then spicy orange juice. The really important thing is to leave a little fat on the meat because that gives it the flavor. Taste, that's what I try to tell my wife every morning when she looks at the scale when I get on it. she doesn't agree with me anyway once the seasoning soaks into the pork it hits the charcoal grill it looks fantastic the smell comes out here I wish people could experience what I'm experiencing now but wait there's more our tube of thrust comes with their signature salsa A perfect blend of roasted smoky tomatoes and fresh ground cilantro with a pinch of salt, the pork is grilled to perfection and served with a bed of fresh lettuce, diced onion, salsa aromatic and a big slice of orange because in Yucatan there is no such thing as too much acidity fantastic next to it we have tortillas of course to try a little of this meat right here I have to try it even before putting it on the taco oh my goodness, still It's hot off the grill and juicy, it's fresh, the seasonings really stand out, so we have to mix this with other things, all together, we have habanero with a beautiful thick, slimy bean sauce, it's the best and then we have some onions with red chili with Carby, it is delicious, it is succulent on the grill.

Meats are not enough for you. How about something like some more bad liver with onion, this is pig's blood, have you ever had that before? No, no thanks, guess what thin slices of pork liver are seasoned like pork and then thrown into a pan with hot oil, add red onion and pour a touch. of sweetness and crunch, caramelize both sides and then serve them with a dollop of sauce and narangha, so you've never had liver before, never show me your piece of liver, microscopic Evan, that's fair to me, at least it's something you saw that this lady cooked. he knows what he's doing just do it um you're acting like it's a shot of mezcal this is our first episode in this whole series it's going to get a lot more intense than this come on it's delicious but the final texture I don't know you I don't know if you like it I know which I like.

I didn't expect it to be difficult to compare liver to anything else. The liver tastes like liver, but look, that's why you have to try new things here. It is cut very fine. It's marinated. she grills it it's awesome it's delicious it's tender and it's a perfect base if you want to add this to a taco or pair it with anything it's so good that brings me to our last meal here they have blood tacos, oh, amazing. The unlikely Taco is filled with a combination of fried pork blood and intestines along with tomato and chopped onion.

Let's see how K does in his first foray into the world of blood tacos. Hmm, not as bad as he thought, potentially even good, yeah, I mean, he knows. just like meat, have you tried it before? Everything you can think of. I've been trying to try to think of something crazy. iguanas, we'll have that later and you'll try it too. Vegans always say you should eat a portobello mushroom inside. your burger because it has meat, they say, but you know what else is blood with meat, so if you are vegan cook blood, Mayan cuisine has become part of Mexican cuisine, of course, some people say it must be the best today, the impact of Mayan food.

The cuisine extends far beyond its own borders and influences modern Mexican food as we know it. The next time you eat a plate of delicious Mexican food, remember to think of the Mayans to enjoy some of those delicious flavors. This is just food. We also have three more left, come on, there is still more liver, do you want to try a little more liver. I'm good to explore the depths of Yucatan cuisine. We must tread uncharted territory. If I know you, I'm guessing you've never tried this before. Our next culinary effort is a dish introduced by the Spanish during the colonial period.

It is known as tripe. If you are squeamish about unusual textures or if you are gay, you don't even need those knives, they will cut it for you. You see, no, no, it's too big, this dish. promises to take your taste buds on a wild ride with a list of disturbing remains: water, cow legs and cow tribe, join a pot, liven it up with oregano, pepper, garlic, salt and annatto, an addictive staple Yucatan spice derived of a natto seeds, this mixture is simmered for hours until it transforms into a vibrant and delicious Crimson mixture. I have to ask you something: the entire country of Mexico is sponsored by Coca-Cola, yes, it's basically everywhere, it's on every chair here, even in the van area. people are addicted to the sweetness they are when they eat something like this, something super salty, tasty, rich, you need that mix back and forth, although I'm not suggesting that people drink Coca-Cola, although I drink Coca-Cola Zero, this is an attempt, it's a little confusing. one side like a rug, the other side nice and soft.

I think you should first get a big piece of Shaggy at least this big and let's try it. I totally agree thatIt's incredibly soft and falls apart as you go. When you bite into it, the taste is very pleasant, it has a very deep salty flavor with a little spicy taste but not unpleasant, and then this right here I am going to show you about the wonderful world of tendon, oh my God, it is sticky gelatinous Rich these They are some of the most delicious organs and trimmings I've ever tried. If you don't like it, what's wrong with it?

I don't know the taste. I like it, but the texture feels weird. I don't like gelatinous. things that you know are full of collagen. I know women love collagen. I know something like this and the cow leg has to be made with love. They have to remove the outside of the hoof and then they have to boil it. Hours and hours afterward, all that delicious flavor that is there will be here in the broth, fantastic, rich and tasty, they come for food. I love it, it's like chicken soup for the soul, except it's made with cow feet.

I don't understand, how do you feel? I'm okay, you're ready to give up, yes, no, okay, you started with yes, I'm not giving up, we're getting ready to tackle an absolutely exciting and mind-blowing dish, one that I know Kate will love and yes, I say that sarcastically. But first, to settle into a false sense of security, the suckling pig cake begins with toasted bread overloaded with a juicy and succulent tone or a roast pork sandwich without a sandwich because sandwich bread is used for the sandwich. This special one is called French bread, we only have it in Yucatan.

They are in chicharón to give it texture and then finished with a spoonful of aromatic pico de gallo. You have to be careful because the bread is actually quite delicate and soft, it's so bad that it's the perfect amount of that crispy crackling like when you're young. poor white trash and you put fries inside your sandwich and you're like it's different. I love it, have you ever been a poor white trash youth? No, it's white. But garbage, sour Mexican garbage and it's Havana. I'm going to put some of that in. there oh my God oh man the meat inside is tender it's juicy I'm addicted to the habanero flavor I love it I think it's the best chili there's something bold and intense and as if they put 30 on it toxic masculinity I want to ask you about your musical career is your job full time to be a musician right now I would say full time content creator how did you get started?

I started when my mother forced me to join singing classes because she listened to me. She had a lot of stage fright. she couldn't do anything not even talk and she forced me and thanks to her I am here now as I started five years ago and I started singing on Instagram Tick Tock and people liked it a lot. I've been recording my own music. these last few months, so when these come out I'll be a full-time musician and what's the end goal for you, what do you hope comes out of this? I want to be a full-time musician, concerts, music tours every time.

I think you could handle that life, yes it is a wildlife food. Can you write a song about it? Maybe what was the key: when you find protein in Yucatan, if it's not in a cake, it's usually stuffed into a corn tortilla and eaten taco style. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and perhaps also your access to cow heads. Look at him where his sunken eyes used to be and it makes you hungry. Yes Yes. For the Mayans, the cow's head was a symbol of prosperity, a revered delicacy to be enjoyed. for generations here in this 30-year-old family taco cart the cow's head appears ready to eat after hours of braising what's magical about the meat of the head is that there are a variety of textures what are the different cuts available to the palate which is its own category love, it's the tongue, okay, thanks for the visual reference, did you listen to each different cut that it has here, yes, which one scares you the most, the cheeks, yes, great, what I have learned from that answer is that it Now she understands me and Then she told me something she would like to eat.

I'm pretty smart, but I know that saying it is what scares you the most. You told me in a previous phone call that you knew we weren't going to eat brains. This whole series turns out we have a perfect opportunity right here to eat brains, isn't that fantastic? Fantastic, we're going for the ultimate taco experience with three varieties, first, the local favorite from Undisputed, chopped into almost unrecognizable strips and topped with onion. and cilantro here we have the cheek tacos, but before we get into that I want to recognize Pepsi here in a country sponsored by Coca-Cola, they are giving it their all, they hit it hard with a little citrus. we slowly move towards the more unique head cuts, applause, hmm, oh this is spicy, the meat seems soft, sticky and greasy to me, but I like it, I like it, I didn't expect this, look, you've had so many new experiences.

I'm learning a lot today, it's funny that I came to Mexico and I met someone and I said, let me show you the tacos, they are fresh off the grill, delicious, I love it, the tortilla is very hot and soft, it's thick, let's make the next one. one next, a variety of tacos that surprisingly K has never tried before, tacos filled with hot, sticky cow brains, you can see those wrinkles, you know what those wrinkles are, I know where they are so far, are you enjoying the tacos more than what you thought? This could simply be a continuation of step one.

Lemon. I'm going to spread it with a little sauce. You've tried a lot of new foods today. I'm proud of you. I want you to bite into this with confidence and take it. It's going to be delicious, I feel as thin as I like, but it's not like Bongo's. It's unexpectedly good. The only person who would have a thin brain would perhaps be a mummy. Could you see it up close? Hey, she was there. a bite, okay, I need you to have a big piece of bread and eat your brains all night yeah, it's a cowboy, you know what octopus is like, so it's not bad, eh, no, it's a little sticky, it has a greasy texture and swallows perfectly.

I love it, well done. That being said, we have one taco left. Our final variety was personally recommended by the chef. Beef tacos with tongs, from that Mammoth bovine tongue to chunks of ground beef. This is art on a little corn disk, but you've never had tongue before. Never language. It is one of the most delicious cuts of meat, have you ever had chicken hearts? What's going on? Do you eat cereal? It is my favorite. Oh my goodness, let's try some tongue tacos. um, perfect, lean, not greasy, not shaky, not like me when I brush. teeth and I look down and say, oh my gosh, I wanted mints like this, it probably just tastes like a steak, it's a little more like a dense meat, super satisfying, delicious, great texture and even better flavor 100. the Mayan culture.

It dates back thousands of years, long before Mexico was a country, we are in the state of Yucatán, about an hour from its capital, Marina, this area has the largest Mayan population in Mexico, hey, doing a monologue, Yes, that's right when it comes to food. I have a unique culinary identity deeply rooted in the Yucatan region, ladies, how often do you make tortillas by hand? The correct word is: there is a verb that means to make tortillas, of course, today I have come to experience this Mayan food made by myself. by a local family in the state of Yucatán their pretty

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pork sausage broke into one of the most iconic dishes in my kitchen, okay, right now they're digging up that head, those are good teeth, this pig has better teeth that I. lime banana leaves Nano seeds and soil these are the fundamental elements of today's main dish good morning from Mexico today we are going to cook meat underground can you guess what type of meat?

You're probably right, there aren't many foods in this world that are worth digging up in your backyard, but this is a whole pig slow-roasted underground for hours. I have seen a similar meat preparation when I was in Mexico City, they did Barbacoa there, but today the meat will be prepared in a slightly different way. We are digging a hole and soon this will come into it, under a dozen nimble hands the carcass is doused with boiling water and scraped clean. Now butchering can typically begin with pigs like this, what I have seen in the past is cooking a whole pig. underground like we saw in Jamaica, but I've also seen what they do in the Philippines taking the whole pig and roasting it above ground.

Here it is something like Barbecue in the sense that different parts of the body are cut off and different sections are placed in a large metal pan and buried today the mission of the pig goes far beyond the piglet its intestines and blood are delivered to the ladies who will prepare another Yucatecan delicacy that you will soon try meanwhile the pork skin will be reserved for the chicharrón in contrast to a typical Mexican cuisine Mayan dishes embrace the flavors of herbs and acids with the extensive use of sour orange habanero chiles and herbs of leaf, but the star of the show here is the annatto paste, this blend of natto seeds, cumin, pepper, coriander, oregano, clover and garlic adds an earthy, sweet, spicy and slightly smoky touch. flavor profile rub or rather dip the pork in this garlicky delight and then stack the meat in a giant steel treasure chest now comes the most crucial piggy bank, the burial step right here we have all the meat is filling the pan is completely full and now we are going to cover it with banana leaves.

The food we are making today is the love of the Spanish and Mayan cultures. From here we have the steel lid after the colonization of the Spanish. Pigs were introduced to the Mexican region in the 16th century. He wants. To seal it tighter he has a steel cord that he will wrap around it and then twist it tightly. It didn't take long for the Mayans to join this new protein to their existing terrestrial oven cooking technique. To my right we have an

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ly hot heat bed. They place charcoal at the bottom, from here they cover everything with more leaves.

The most important thing we want is for the heat not to escape. This is almost as if we were creating a sauna so that the meat grazes and steams at the same time. I would do it. I'm not saying that this part is exactly traditional, but here they are putting some tarps, some old bags so that when they put the soil in, none of the soil comes into contact with the meat. As far as traditions go, I'm fine. With this updated version I really don't want my food to get dirty. My experience with underground cooking tells me that a lot can go wrong here.

What happens if we dig it up too soon? We'll have to leave the meat in there for three. or four hours for it to cook completely or what if there is not enough heat, you never know, you never know the results, you think you know because this is a meal program, it should work, but remember in Pakistan, half an inch Approximately it is probably cooked and then underneath that quite raw let's hope that doesn't happen today meanwhile breakfast good good morning I don't know what that means remember okay this 25 year old singer is my traveling companion on this trip through her home state like you milk a Havana native despite his pride and powerful Mayan ancestry.

Kay's veins are filled with more Starbucks than Mayan blood. Have you ever eaten chicken hearts? It was never your intention. Oh my gosh, I love tacos. What are you eating? Cereal is my favorite. It's part of me. mission to reconnect this young woman with her roots and what better way to do it than by getting to work. You'll see what I mean soon. I'm incredibly excited to be here. This is the place where you grew up. Can. At home, this is your mother and you see, it's okay. I'm just checking out what's exciting about today because we're cooking a whole pig underground.

The pork will take some time to cook completely in the meantime, we have us, Tia. It is another gift from our Spanish Friends that is taking root in Mexican cuisine. This is the first task for K, so right now we're making more Sia, which is a dish basically made with blood, lemon juice, mint leaves, scallions, minced pork, and blood. This unlikely combination is the filling for a breakfast sausage for the gut how about a natural option it is also organic right now we have some intestines that have been previously cleaned with lemon and now we are stuffing them oh you should do a good step one we take a good intestine we open and grab some meat with the blood.

I'm going to want my shirt to get in the blood. We're putting it all in there and now we have to tighten it so it can get there. See so many. You can find versions all over the country using different types of proteins, but in Yucatan it's pork, it feels like gelatin, it stinks a little on my fingers because of the lemon that was broken. Uh oh, it made it easier for me. I must be honest. I was really scared to do this, but now that I'm doing it I feel good and connected to these women and she's helping me so my shirt doesn't get all bloody, so it feels good to connect with my roots.

We're done. Bloody Marcias are placed in a pot of bubbling water and boiled until firm, then these plump sausages make their final transformation in the pan, but in Mexico it's still not a complete meal without the tortilla. What do you see when the Mayans invented this corn flower? Thousands of years ago, breadThey didn't know that one day it would become the most prominent pillar of Mexican gastronomy. No matter where you go in Mexico, you will find tacos in some variation, whether they are corn or flour, and many different types of corn too, I mean there is yellow there is red there are blue tacos tell me about the maze or the dough that is being used here in Yucatan we use white corn once ground we have something like this we are doing it by hand it is mandatory like in kindergarten Do you have to take a class on this here in Mexico?

Your average man consumes 2,000 tortillas a year, which is equivalent to 135 pounds of food. It's so popular that even Kate has mastered the skill of making it. This is the hard part. Alright. I take it back. it's tough so you really have to slap it there yeah oh this is a complete debacle it's sticky that's why one out of three not bad in baseball each tortilla is grilled for a minute on each side you know your tortilla is perfect when it's blow up like a puffer fish, you want to try one, yes, but you need to put a little salt on it.

You already know what is called burrito con sal. Taco with salt. Ah, that would have been my second guess. Greetings, Greetings, Greetings, oh this is extraordinary, why is it so good? Because it is made with love and perhaps the ingredients and the temperature and the shape, they press it for me. Sometimes a corn tortilla can be a little sandy or even dry and here it looks like a dough. The dry ones are the machine ones and normally the ones that They are handmade, they taste like that, I don't care. They are largely tortillas, so it turns out that this type of cooking takes time.

Very much, can we try it? Yeah, there are some, there are some bad bits in here that are gigantic. I know you're supposed to put them in a taco, but I really just want to experience the full flavor of this blood sausage, go for it, oh wow, it's a lot of different things at once, it's big chunks, it's not a uniform texture at all, you can try the different types of meat, it's really crunchy, super crunchy, slightly spicy overall. It's fun, but I think it would go better with a tortilla, sorry, tortillas, so I'm going to break this up a little bit and put it in and then throw some onion on top.

Is it normally eaten with some kind of a sauce oh habanero oh I have a lot of seeds in that one very spicy I think it's good, it's better than the last one we tried yesterday the blood tacos the habanero is the best part it's like a spice that drags you down , but it feels like my throat is glowing with spices in addition to the soft and doughy tortilla like a warm pillow the best tortillas a big part of our mission in coming here to the state of Yucatán is to understand more about the Mayan people and Mayan cuisine.

We all have Mayan ancestors, except the Mayans. The culture might have been lost a little with the burying of the pig these days, at least it used to be done in a steel container. How did people cook pork? Underground ceramic pots. You could put a whole pig in a pot. Let's see, is this something we've already seen in the past. It is clearly a difficult tradition to follow because it is labor intensive. Nowadays people tend to take shortcuts like making it in the oven, but thanks to these beautiful ladies we can still experience it in just two more hours.

Piglet. will be revealed you get that I'll get this one and we'll find out if we have a feast or a flock. Have you ever taken out the cochinita and it was still raw meanwhile we will see how the raw pork skin is transformed into the most emblematic chichorón of this country and it starts with a sharp knife, so here it is the skin on top, there is a huge layer of fat, the skin is thick and tough and then you can just slide the knife under it all. This fat and cutting it in one fell swoop is like skinning a shark, have they done it before?

Well, bad example, oh, that's the final rawhide, there's no fat on the outside, in fact, it's a little hairy right here, should we? get some shaving cream to shave, yes we will make sure all the hairs are out of there, then this will apply some super hot oil and you will see it transform and change completely into something else, prepare to be amazed, you can see this . I love this frying pan because it's basically an oil drum that's been cut in half and had a couple of handles welded to the inside. We have a lot of pork fat.

This fat will melt once it turns into liquid. to be able to put the pig skin here and it's going to fry like crazy last time in Mexico City, an eyewitness's skin touches hot oil and immediately swells exponentially in seconds. I expect to see the same equipment right here, we have the fan, it's rendered. Hot, it's actually boiling and it's got a ton of skin right here, it's going to be thrown away, are you ready? Ready, let's go back in time. I have only seen one chicharome made at a time at this point, you are putting it all in at once and nothing good turns out what I witnessed in Mexico City was the end of a long journey the key to achieving a perfectly crispy skin is to pre-fry it and then fry it twice now we are putting the pure fat extracted from the pork now this is our chicharrón it is about to be fried again and hopefully it will expand until it becomes the chicharrón that you have seen before, okay, put it in, uh oh, it's happening, yes, slowly, it's starting to get bigger and bigger.

I can see the individual pores bursting creating this crunchy texture originally from Spain. Chicharrón has taken over the taste buds of regions around the world, so here we have the final product. This is a slightly smaller piece. I mean, they can get huge and they can be so tall. As this one has actually finished cooling, you can see that it's golden, it's crispy and it has this wonderful kind of thick, bubbly texture on the outside, let me give it a little crack, yeah, that crack is music to that, gentlemen Armando. you're comfortable There's no practical reason for us to be sitting on logs I just thought it looked cool joining Armando and Eduardo here so how long does this last?

So we have a word of mine called sitting soaked because we live in Yucatan, the right humidity is on top so it's already because you leave it exposed these guys have the highest standards I've seen for chicharón anywhere in the world well, said this, let's eat this half soggy and crispy foreign master, it would literally cut my teeth, that's delicious, I love it. chicharrón and it goes in several different dishes in fact sometimes it even goes in the cake to give it a little crunch but it's good to try the pure product from time to time to know what it tastes like because once you mix all these different things together, it's A different kind of experience, but there's one more meal here that I haven't seen.

What is it? This consists of trimmings that are used to obtain fat for frying pork rinds. The most loved cut here is this stomach. It seems that I know. some Spanish too, eh oh, it's like the leather is good, some oils still come out and I don't care that it's chewy, it reminds me of a drinkable food. I hear him say it and I can feel the passion he has. is the beer beer where I want to ask you two are from Yucatán and you are both Mayans what does it mean to you to be Mayans do you feel proud and are even prouder of speaking the language what do the Mayans do better than anyone else the lions were not only famous for their art and architecture, their uses of many native plants such as corn, beans, cocoa and squash remain crucial to modern Mexican cuisine, while hunting further supplemented their diet.

Do you hunt deer, turkeys, wild pigs, How good is the venison crackling, almost four hours? They will dig it up and see the result gentlemen through this tarp here it has been a long, long time ago it is starting to get out they are removing all the dirt now they gently remove the tarps carefully trying to make sure that no dirt whatsoever gets in, the leaves have changed completely like the leaves were baked too thank you foreigner okay let's do it there's a wire here you get that one I'll buy this one oh I think I'm tightening it more it's hot the heat is radiating here and that my friends you are a real treasure all this meat that is the liver that is a ham that is a knuckle that is oh fever in the crotch oh he said liver I'm sorry I'm still working on my Spanish we don't even need a knife right here he brought some tongs that can just tear and it's incredibly soft, but you know a knife can never hurt, so here we have the foot, the hoof, the cartilage, okay, Perfect, this is so delicious it's just the first bite, but my goodness, it's full of pork pig juices perfection I love it from here we are going to put it on the table cut it up and let everyone enjoy guys we have done it you have done it has been a magnificent day and it is built Up to this point, I understand that people would let it cool a little bit, they would skewer it and then put it in a taco, maybe put some onion and salsa on it and enjoy it like that, that sounds great, but you know what it sounds like.

Even better, pulling out huge chunks of pig parts and seeing them with our own eyes and tasting them with some beer. She just translated a part and everyone agrees in foreign. I want to try just a bunch of different parts. Could we start with the liver? so he cuts it but then dips it in the pork oil that has been seasoned and dyed directly with the annatto seasoning. Okay, cheers to the liver. Oh wow, much better when seasoned with annatto. What does your day know? Good description. Knows. delicious you know it's like that thick oily tomato but chile e precisely e meanwhile the liver is so crumbly that it's neither dry nor moist there's something in between crunchy on the outside a wonderful texture I love it there are people in other parts of Mexico trying to replicate this This dish is the most famous Yucatani dish, so everyone tries to make it, but it's never like that.

They're digging up the head right now, yeah, and that's the ear, it's incredibly soft, it's so soft it might even break. just holding it like that like the cartilage inside was ready to snap and tear under the gravity of its own weight in the US we usually throw this kind of thing away oh they fight for it my man a huge piece of ear to oh yes please he is afraid of the air oh my god that is one of the most delicious ears I have ever had in my life it is incredibly soft tender salty usually the cartilage in the center can be a little crunchy, here it's just nice.

It melts in your mouth completely, what do you think? I think, like fish, it's like the texture, you're a real foodie, huh, like fish, finally here we have the head, those are good teeth, this pig has better teeth than me, oh yeah, that is. the cheek, this is not a joke, can I tell you something, it's like the best bite of the whole pig, so that's what all the chewing does and there's something about it, it's like some kind of soft, sticky fat and completely beautiful, can I give you this? I'm sure I'm going to try it lack of enthusiasm I tell you it's the best part eat it eat everything you think I like it very well that was anticlimactic it would be a tragedy to leave here without eating one of these we have some pork loin here let's go put some onions oh a little fat all the flavors together you need the onion you need a little sauce the tortilla helps with some of that heaviness the meat is so soft and tender it's Gorgeous I love it for you what's the secret behind of the perfect seasoning for suckling pig?

Use banana leaves and bury it. That's all. Some people can skip steps, but if you don't skip any steps, that's perfect. How about you put it in the microwave? Because that's my style. for four hours For me My culture is fascinating here in Yucatán, even the other day I went to Chichén Itzá. It's just this huge pyramid made by man and probably by woman, that there is no explanation, it has been there forever and it still stands today. So obviously the roots of the Mayan people go back to people who don't even know homo hundreds, probably thousands of years, do you ever worry about some of the traditions, the Mayan traditions, going away, yeah, yeah, he's worried because they are Our roots, our Yucatan identity, so if we don't have it, we don't have anything and do you think that joining me in this series is a way to fully connect with those groups?

Do you think you are doing it wholeheartedly? I have tried everything you asked of me. what to do I'm just kidding you did fantastic ladies you're going to have a big chunk of us with you absolutely and let's drink some beer for him jingle jingle jingle jingle we're straying away from tradition as we head to a farm where they're raising the largest birds in the world, birds that will be used to obtain the incredible food they provide, giant eggs that are really thick, 24 times bigger than a chicken egg. Here we are going to know some of the best animal proteins.

I have ever tried this glued look. I don't have enough words right now. I'm really on a mission to learn how this farm works. We will eat this part and taste some of the furthest feathered birds in Mexico. Have you ever been curious to try theostrich? It all starts here, at a nearby morning market. Do you know why this market is famous? That's true and that's why we're eating today this morning. Yes, these little pockets of goodness are a staple of Latin American cuisine. and for good reason, the Dome is simple, cornmeal, salt, butter and water, have you ever had this for breakfast before?

I don't know what they feel. I'll tell you about this filming. Fill it with your favorite local pork. fold it in half and let the dough fully embrace the filling before jumping into the oil. What do you usually breakfast? I'm making it myself or cereal. Not like Cheerios. Like depressive oatmeal. Top with cabbage, pickled red onion, and salsa. This is habanero but it's red-orange, okay sir, with the archenemy case orange habanero hot sauce this is what you would do I just didn't like taking yes, what if it burns your vocal cords and your singing career is over?

That's what I'm saying, well I don't have a career as a singer and I used to have a career as a rapper and it didn't really go that well, yeah here's a clip of them, it used to be you with something to prove, so sweat it . job to do now baby, move, look, it's not so good, free yourself. I like that the corn around it is not too thick. The ratio you need is a good ratio between the dome and the

meats

and then you key it in, but it's really about the seasonings. It's almost like a Mexican salad a little bit of Yucatán Yucatán is like a little bit you can sell it on top with the cabbage with the onion with the sauce very delicious oh how spicy I took the risk but I like it I feel empowered with courage I want to take more risks in the future I want to put all my money in Bitcoin, you do it, thanks Moto is a small town located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, this is where the iconic breakfast dish known as eggs motolenos originated, what does that mean if you translate it?

People from surrounding cities make pilgrimage here. To try this famous dish, this dish is very popular here in this market, almost every place sells it and it's hard to find almost anything else. I want to try this dish with you today, but in a different way we have arrived here at Dickbaw Ostrich Farm. Here I have an ostrich egg that weighs 20 times the weight of a normal chicken egg, this one was just laid, hatched and defecated yesterday. The original juevos motolenos look like this black bean paste spread over fried tortillas, then fried chicken eggs, more tortillas and fried plantains, top it all with hot sauce now looks fantastic, but what if this local classic was reinvented using the largest egg in the world?

We're about to find out. This is what I have eaten ostrich eggs in the past and the annoying thing is that they always like to drill. a hole and then slowly let it ooze out like snot. Once I went to India, I had an emu egg. This guy was blowing on the egg so the yolk would come out the other side. Because? Because they wanted to save the egg for decorative purposes they wanted to reuse it and sell it, but today we won't do that. I want to see how difficult it is to open an ostrich egg.

Oh yeah, that was nice. It's so heavy, so thick that you have to hit it. much harder I'm going to try no more nonsense wow that was the hard one oh my god oh yeah yeah oh that's perfection look I couldn't have done it better guys can I be honest? In fact I think that could have gone better here we have Edward and he is going to show me the correct way to open the egg. Let's see it. He says you have to hit it and go around the perimeter breaking piece by piece, not just one. big hit like I did, so you've got your thumbs in, you're going to pull it apart as hard as you can.

Can do it? Need help? Okay, oh yeah, check it out. That is the most magnificent giant egg yolk I have ever seen. seen in my life very well soon this will join our pretty eggs we don't play that at all while we wait for the egg to cook let's make some sauce chopped tomatoes onion and ham sausage then mix in a pot along with the peas and honey and let it simmer in another pan fry the plantains then prepare the egg for the construction first a bed of tortillas spread with black beans add the Colossal fried ostrich egg then even more tortillas and cover everything with salsa decorate with some jalapenos and fried plantains to be now on your ostrich farm exactly you have a handful of ostrich eggs our chef here took an ostrich egg and made an oversized version of eggs okay almost a little bit of practice give me five six years we have layers. of tortilla a lot of egg inside a lot of sauce and the banana too thank you that's a great breakfast we just dig no no because someone told me that the first step is to cut the habanero so that the juice comes out all over the nail juice now just do it, do it, um , there is a lot of flavor with the tomato with the habanero, then you have that layer of beans, the beans give it a nice flavor.

I really like the mix, it's like salty, salty and then sweet. the egg, what do you think of the egg? I think it tastes like a regular egg, deliciously regular orange, yes, but I've never seen an egg like this, it's about an inch thick, it's an amazing combination of flavor, a very delicious companion, this food is a companion. to this food, yes, I see you open and then you feel it like a cake, so I can make a small sandwich with my breakfast, how often do you eat ostrich eggs? We try to preserve all the eggs so that they breathe and can have new babies, but from time to time.

Although there is a problem that there is a little crack or something like that and that we use for Saturday all together all the workers ostriches what is the best way to prepare it we do it anyway eggs with chorizo ​​​​one colony at a time the next time for everyone because it is possible Samuel came from Mexico City five years ago he bought 20 ostriches and a piece of land to raise them after five years he now has 2,000 ostriches one of our great missions today is to roast part of an ostrich now I don't want to to sweeten this the purpose of the farm is to grow meat for people to consume exactly we are going to consume the largest thigh in the world hold it with one hand I'm going to see if I can handle the full breakfast it's time to reveal what I came here for guys , today we are going to try something that has never been done before in Mexico, somewhere there is an ostrich limping on one leg, the other leg is right here, the TCF Grande, this is something you would see in The Flintstones, it is huge. must weigh 35 pounds.

Leticia is going to season all of this right here and we'll cook it underground to start. Leticia makes a few shallow cuts to create pockets to allow the seasoning to absorb. She first rubs a leg with salt and then a seasoning mix made of oil, garlic, pepper, salt and sugar. She boxes with banana leaves and seals it with aluminum foil and wire before this raised leg reaches the flame. I want to learn how an egg that weighs only three pounds transforms into a 300-pound bird. All. it starts with the egg exactly, we have 300 breeders at the moment, we are just starting the season, but we have about 49 eggs each day, many yes, the eggs take about 40 days to hatch in the incubator room, so after after the egg hatches, one week. then it looks like this, take out the bird, it's beautiful, it's adorable, look at that pattern, you can put it on yoga pants and sell it at Lululemon.

Now one thing you need to be prepared for is that this bird is going to take over you, that's what birds do. no if to a nursery with 18 12 pounds in just three weeks that is double the size of an adult ticket in three months they can reach a weight of 60 pounds that is when they are ready to head to the fattening area it is called fattening area where you come from, that's what I call my kitchen at month eight ostriches are almost full grown adults that weigh at least 220 pounds, that's what I weigh. These ostriches are seven to eight months old pretty much any day now, any week, they could be on the chopping block, want to try petting one?

Gouge out your eye exactly and you have two of those. Yes, look, as adults, ostriches have two clearly different life paths. A select, lucky few are kept to reproduce, while the rest, well, that's it. the slaughterhouse at what age can the females begin to reproduce around 18 months the males around 30 months are safe from the slaughterhouse yes beyond ostrich meat their other gifts can also be used their feathers will be used for fashion decoration and crafts, even their skin can be made into leather bags or shoes in a corral. How many animals of each sex do you have so that a male can handle two females if it is not one female who is the alpha and the other is the beta? alpha wife works too oh sorry that's my wife is the alpha female trying to stop the other female from breeding with the male?

No, the alpha is the one who is close to the male and sleeps with the man. The beta is right on the side, right, yes, side of the chick, after the ostriches are slaughtered, the meat from it can be used for hamburger tacos or to cook a record-breaking thigh, all in one glorious piece . This is possibly the first time in Mexico that someone has cooked an ostrich leg underground. The difference from what we saw yesterday is that the steel has some holes in it, so somehow they're going to have to cover all of this up and keep all the heat in.

If the heat escapes, we will not have a cooked leg. The challenge of cooking underground. is finding the right balance between heat and time, in any case you don't want to overdo it or not, we hope to get to the Goldilocks zone so that when the meat is finally revealed it's fine, but if it's going to work, we. We'll have to seal this and let it cook for about three or four hours while our dinosaur-sized drum roasts under Cinders Samuel explains the future of ostrich farming in Mexico, is there demand for ostrich meat in Mexico right now? not so big, okay, it's bigger than the month in the United States, how long has it been on the market?

We are actually just starting out in the market because when we started the farm five years ago we only had 40 ostriches so everything has been through breeding, yes in five years we want to be the biggest farm in the world and we will be around of 80,000. I know that here in Yucatán they also eat turkey, it is one of the only places I know in Mexico where people eat turkey. a lot of turkey why should people eat ostrich? It's healthier, it's very lean, it has no fat, it's a very ecological solution, they don't drink as much water, they don't need as much land and they don't need as much food. sir, thank you very much, this is probably the weirdest interview I've ever done, well, we can get weirder, let's go eat some Oscars, come on, let's give it a try, ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come, these two guys behind They dig up the ostrich leg from me.

As I speak, it's been there for about Wait, I can tell you exactly how long three hours and 45 minutes is right now. I think that's enough time. There's no way it's not fully cooked, but I'm curious. to be like southern barbecue, it will be like falling off the bone, it will taste delicious, it will be dry, I mean this is not pork, we will find out in just a second, years ago turkey was very exotic. Hoping that in the next 20 years the new turkey will be ostrich and that people will be more willing to eat their ostrich, gentlemen and ladies, this looks impressive.

It's like I don't have enough words right now to pick it up. It's really hot. very soft but look at this just use my hand someone brought a knife we ​​don't need a knife what surprises me is that it smells like meat yes it doesn't look like turkey at all so it's thick it's red really classic dark meat I hate this bone in chicken and now it's 10 times bigger, there you have that little sliver of bone when you're eating drums. I mean, this would be wonderful on the taco, how can you not eat it? Yes I know, let's make it, very tasty, it's almost like a roast beef yes yes there is a thick sauce in here it's like the Jewish ostrich that's been dripping it's fat the only reason I want to buy a house with a yard rear now so I can start cooking underground it's remarkable how it turned out very different to I expected it to be on the bone when it was bad.

I thought, man, is there enough fat? It will be too drying, but it is super juicy and shiny with oils. I usually eat steak or hamburger exactly. I never try something like this and I'm surprised, this opens your mind to new possibilities of course, and I'm sorry to say my Mexican says we're short on tortillas, I know right gentlemen, you and your team really nailed it, you did something really special here, thank you. Thank you very much for this experience. Samuel plans to grow his ostrich empire primarily by exporting this meat to other countries, but what would everyday locals think about this strange, meaty-tasting bird?

Carmelita and Olivia were born here, just a few miles from the ostrich farm. You normally eat pork or chicken, what about fish? No, no, lobster, no, okay, how about ostrich meat? Yes, they have heard that it is also very nutritious, but some people do notthey can afford it. Actually, compared to pork, do you know it is double even more? double have you ever been curious about trying ostrich meat? How do you imagine it would taste like chicken or turkey or more like beef? Oh, turkey. The beef is very good, so they are cut in half. Yes, we can make a taco, but I think you should. just get the real taste of meat directly try it delicious this is a sauce right?

Oh, because you do that too, you do that with cochinita, the sauce comes off, we would call it aju in France, where I don't come from. I think this guy is paying me like thirty thousand dollars. I don't get anything, but it's so good. Now I have a flour tortilla and some green habanero, my favorite, oh, I'm going to wrap it up, which is heaven. Ladies of Earth, thank you for being so open-minded, inviting us in and being willing to try something new and you can keep this. The dogs are going crazy. I don't know what they'll see next.

They will see how hunting works on the black market. in Mexico then we are going to eat the results if the police catch someone, what happens next, but before that, let's go back in Mexico, when it comes to the daily diet, there is no shortage of chicken, pork or beef, I tell you . Scientists dug this up and they would say it was a dinosaur, but if you leave the city and go into the countryside, you can find options of animals that you have never seen before, they are hidden in the rocks, so you have to be very careful and it is a rural town between Mérida and Campeche.

Hunting is a way of life, but the rules surrounding hunting are not always easy to understand. Is there a law or is there not just a law? So technically it's illegal today. I'm on a mission to learn about the most extreme

meats

in Mexico from tamales made with unexpected ingredients some people put ash and food on purpose and others just like to eat ash after roasting everything we can find at the end of this hunt oh, It was something of the tree, it all begins here here in the Yucatan countryside the sounds of the modern world Fall Away replaced by the relaxing symphony of nature It is early in the morning and the hunters, their children and their dogs gather around checking their firearms While breakfast hits the flame rated protein with serious nutritional firepower, the dish goes from good to great with the addition of pipia, an ancient Mayan sauce recipe, the rabbit meat is bound with hot water and seasoned with salt and natto powder or achiote, which infuses the dish with the fiery burst of orange adds black beans and a pumpkin seed mixture to give the dish a rich, velvety texture a search will begin shortly after everyone fills up good morning I'm very happy to be here I am excited that this is so a unique place and you are serving unique food here at kahone joining our food Chef Wilson Alonso and his father Cecilio today's hunt leader okay I have a big piece of meat here Wilson is the man behind this hidden culinary complex, this place is It is close to one of the taco places in El Molino, it is a treasure of the authentic taste and flavor of Yucatan, it is smoked and the piece of rabbit that I have I think which is very chicken, it's like Chicken, how do you say it was good?

Yes, this is my pronunciation, yes, okay. Well, today you will go to hell for judging people. I'm not here just for what's on the menu but for what's not like this bird that would be illegal to sell to restaurant customers. This right here, what is this grilled? So it's because we have a special fruit called sapote and they eat it, that's why they come, you know? What I like about that explanation is that you think I know what chocolate means. It is the name of the bird in the Mexican and Central American forests, chachalaka, it is not an ordinary bird.

It's like a strange mix between a chicken and a pheasant and, like both, the chachalaca is a great source of protein, the chef seasons it with sour orange, salt and pepper, now lets the heat do the work, once cooked, It is covered over a bowl filled with a mixture of corn flour, water and onion. I am supposed to put the meat on top. I must say that as a chef it leaves us with a lot of work today. What is the best part of this animal? The breasts always go for it. Right away it has a bit of a wild bird flavor, it's interesting, its legs are very small and thin, yes, along with its thighs, the breast is a little bigger, it's not a ton of meat, but when you put the meat on it, you get the flavor of the broth. a thickening agent for a broth without broth, just a little sticky with onion and without many strong flavors, this is more of a Mayan food.

Yes, so how do you purchase a touchalaca at a Mexican Walmart where you need to hunt for foreign products? One of the reasons we came here is that I am very fascinated by the hunting culture that exists here in the countryside and there is a lot of nature and there are a lot of forests and places where people hunt it, sir, how long have you been hunting 25 years when are you By hunting what type of animals do you hope to improve? It's a small pig like an iguana oh, a big rodent. I like a big guinea pig.

I heard there are deer here too. Look, yes, they hunt deer. Furthermore, hunting in Mexico is regulated. By the Mexican government, how often is hunting done? No, in an ideal Mexican world, hunting would be carried out sustainably and people would obtain permits from the appropriate authorities depending on the season. It's like a hobby they go to once a week. Failure to do so would be considered illegal and would then result in a fine or jail time. What if no one finds out that these guys don't have a permit? So technically it's illegal, yes, so how is it possible that they are freely hunting species like chachalacas as we drive?

I go hunting. I hope to discover more to make it clear. I know I can look like a tough outlaw on camera. The reality is that I am a foreigner and, more notably, a foreigner who only observes a hunt. I'm not breaking the law. The law says our local repairman takes no chances. What I do. I'm a ghost and that's what I'm good at, so I can't show my face. Our repairman says that simply bringing us here could quickly turn him into an endangered species. in the eyes of the government, so this is where we attacked the hunters much faster than we, the dogs that the hunters had taken off we can already hear maybe 100 or 200 meters away.

They told me they crushed a deer somewhere. Can you see the deer? he is ready to shoot this because they know the rear guard will run in this direction that is the type of traffic the hunting team surrounds their prey with three or four hunters staggered through the forest the idea is to put pressure on an animal by pushing it towards the others hunters until someone finally has a chance how do you not shoot your friends? your friends are wearing camouflage they have to sit with their legs to the side when the deer crosses they shouldn't do it before they don't shoot on the road like this before where everyone works as a group but not only does it have no communication devices, there are no phones, there is no text messages, there's nothing, there's the sound of dogs and that's it.

Hunting dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, the dogs lead the way as they sniff out and sniff out any potential prey. rabbit to deer and the deer gets up like that they say, does that mean they actually see a deer or are they hoping to treat the dogs to keep them going? So they told me they found one, but how do you know they found one? very over here because the dogs are barking that means they are following us right now we don't know what he has it could be a deer it could be a badger it could be a Bengal tiger it doesn't always play out like an action movie for example if this It was better written I wouldn't be breathing so heavily or sweating through my shirt the reality here is that one must be persistent but patient the dogs over there are going crazy right now keep your wits about you knowing that your luck could suddenly change in an instant of a muzzle, okay, the dogs are going crazy right now they're barking, Jesus, okay, I see it, come on, come on, I understand that if someone flew here from Mexico City, they went hunting, that would be illegal, that would be a big problem.

Here, essentially, the community, people look out for each other, if someone were caught by the police, what happens? So each small community has its own law, so the president of the community says that it is okay if you hunt this amount of deer and the Mexican law they let it pass because it is like the traditions of each community, yes, so it is totally prohibited If you're doing it to sell, fine, yeah, saying I don't know what the hell just happened would be an understatement. the dogs got excited I didn't know if there was a deer I didn't know what animal it was and I saw everyone looking up the dogs chased this up a tree this is a badger they surrounded him he climbed up and then this guy he Got it, we don't want to show too many close-ups because it hit him right in the head.

Very good shot. This is a form of hunting that I have never seen before in my life. Look over here, there's thick brush, even the bullets. I don't know how bullets can penetrate all this. At the end of the day, we have something that will be a first for me from here. We'll take it to the chef and try it with Badger for a moment. An omnivore with legs, an elongated weasel-like head, small ears and a flexible nose, it may not be deer, but this promises to be the basis of an unforgettable dining experience. Skinning the badger with precision and Care Chef Wilson introduces another member of tonight's dinner party.

This is how you say iguana, this one is big, the small one, the medium one, I think it's a little small, it's like I've been hurt, thank God, he's not alive to hear you say that, a master of disguise with a body of thunder, sharp claws and distinctively colored scales. helping him blend in with his surroundings how close does someone have to be to slingshot an iguana today six meters are hidden in the rocks so you have to be very careful and kind. I like how you end your sentence with a sound. Indeed, although today they are protected by law in many countries due to overhunting and habitat destruction, iguanas are still consumed in rural areas and are considered a prized delicacy in the Mayan diet, which is why I have had a few reptiles in the past.

I have even had a crocodile and if you are eating a crocodile you really want the tail as all the meat is here in the tail, what is the iguana tail like? So today we will eat this part. Chef Wilson will turn the scaly reptile into a tamale by first cutting the iguana into sections and boiling the meat until cooked. The iguana loses its tail. Can it grow back? Its tamale base is a mixture of corn flour, lard and salt. I have a great idea, we are in Mexico, you have an iguana farm and every six months or so you remove its tail like an apple, it will grow back, that's kind of bad.

I mean, someone shot this iguana now for the filling, a sauce that calls for onions sautéed in pork fat, shredded and diced iguana meat. then ginger, green chilies, tomato and an orange mixture of Adda or achiote, enhance the flavor by using salt and apazote, a type of local herb, instead of using corn leaf tamales, here sit inside a banana leaf, add the iguana sauce on top, fold the base to enclose the fillings and seal them instead of boiling tamales here. Hiding under hot coals until they cook, gentlemen, it's been a wild and wonderful day and many new experiences for me.

I had never experienced hunting the way people hunt for food here. also because a moment ago you saw that iguana and now it's in here oh yeah, I can't wait to see the inside of this. Hit it first so there's a little bit of Ash in there, okay, okay, some people put Ash in their food. on purpose and some people just like to eat Ash, you know what I'm saying, yeah Ash a-sh, it's okay, I'll pick you anywhere. I'm hanging out with my jungle friends and you're embarrassing me so I'm going to break it up. the middle has a lot of iguana meat, the outside is pretty hard as a rack, it definitely has a different texture than other tamales I've had at Saloon when it was incredibly crispy like a giant tortilla chip and incredibly smoky thick Beyond just smoked like roast meat, it's almost like I can taste the ash of the fish, it's actually like a completely different species of tomato, crispy on the outside and plump, which means it's hard to understand the meat because it's so flavorful, especially when you add the habanero.

How would you compare the iguana to fish? A fish with chicken. A fish with chicken. Yes, that's interesting. It may have a similar texture here, but the flavors are very powerful. I think it's really good, maybe the best amount I've ever eaten. And now the iguana is our main dish. Stewed badger cooked by Cecilio himself, the meat is cut into thin slices and then marinated with black pepper, a citrus sour orange, salt, onion, bell pepper and garlic, left to cook until the water evaporates and the flavors meld. merge, concentrating on a rich and abundant dish. I have done a jobincredible.

Looks great. I have so many random body parts. I have some ribs. I have one leg. I have a thorax. Let me sprinkle everything. He puts a little habanero in it. Don't know. I want to put too much in there first because I want to taste some meat as much as possible. The density of the meat looks like a liver but it just tastes like dark meat like duck, yes I agree with that, yes it is a bit like that. Duck, it has a delicious spicy citrus flavor, even apart from the lime, it's the sour orange, oh Ryan, the onion is sweet, so it has everything and then if you have the habanero, a little bit of spice, yeah, this It's the best I've ever tried.

I had all day. I am really surprised by this because I have had a lot of interesting creatures in the last year that are not just like cow pig chicken and it has subverted my expectations in many different ways, taste, look, feel of it's really good, I love the taste, I think it's smoked red meat, I love it, I feel like your Arc character in this series, it's almost complete, you went from barely taking a bite of anything and now you're fishing with a badge arm that moves. You feel a little proud I feel proud You seem like an expert in hunting compared to now when you were younger hunting Were there more animals?

Was it easier to find deer and all these different creatures in the woods? No, I used to, obviously they are Still, I'm certainly not against hunting, but I am for sustainability. Have you ever been worried that any of these animals are endangered or become extinct completely? They have their own laws, even if they are not regulated, they know when they reproduce, so if they hunt here today next week they want to hunt here then the animals want for example so they don't buy rifles anymore so if there are 30 rifles there are only 30 people hunting because it is hereditary so parents give them to their children and so for themselves as our world grows and becomes more populated and complicated, we have to devise more sophisticated ways to make sure the animals stay, so it seems that what is saying is that there are ways to keep this sustainable so that it continues in the future and that is the same thing that I have seen in other places like the Pharaoh Islands, in the Pharaoh Islands they hunt whales for the people, it is a little extreme, but the The reality is that they have been doing it for hundreds of years and whales still exist, so my hope is that in 100 years your great great great great great grandchildren can have the same experiences as you going out into the desert hunting animals and eating this meat really only gentlemen thank you very much now we are moving from the state of Yucatán to the state of Campeche to a coastal city that has the same name here you have some of the widest seafood options that you will find in Mexico fish of all colors, from giant to very small, There are species that I have never seen before. like the fish is its own cooking vessel and species you wouldn't expect to see like a Mexican tiramisu, but instead of layers of coffee and chocolate, it's like beans and shark.

Most surprising are the ocean animals that you may not realize are illegal. It's strange that someone sold you that, but it is illegal to sell or eat some seafood. So why is it for sale? Well that's what I came here and found out that this is the largest seafood market in the competition, ready to eat, street food product sections adorned with freshly slaughtered locally grown fruits. Meats hanging out waiting to be turned into something delicious and then there's seafood. Plug directly from the ocean basin known as the Gulf of Mexico here. I'm looking for an epic catch to contribute to tonight's meal, but beware beneath the surface of the Ruckus and the intelligence of this market lies a disconcerting truth right here.

I found something very unique. Shellfish creatures that should never have gotten here. It's disconcertingly slimy. It feels like a big, long muscle. I've never seen a performance like this because they've already taken it out of its shell. Smells good. In fact, it smells fresh. It is a horse snail one of the largest carnivorous sea snails in the world that is like a bicep that is like a trapezoid I did not know at this time that harvesting selling or eating the horse snail is completely prohibited by law here in Mexico the deal is Later today we are going to a fisherman's house so we are going to have a little seafood party I think I want to bring a couple of these in case he knows how to cook them and if it doesn't go well we'll figure it out, we'll probably have the people at the ceviche work with seafood, they are the funniest on the market, they were basically meant to be artists and somehow make a living selling seafood, which is a cross section of a stingray.

I can always tell because there's a huge steak on each side and then this is the beef jerky version. I guess it's called a dog shark here. This is actually the food we came here for early. It will become our breakfast. dish, I don't know what happened someone made a movie about a killer shark and then everyone hated sharks and then Gordon Ramsay made a documentary about sharks and now everyone loves sharks, can you guys make up your mind? Eyes are on Campeche's famous butter cookies, blame him. It starts out like a shark soon becomes this, the fillet is grilled over charcoal giving it a rich smoky flavor, then boiled until the meat is tender and ready to shred to a mint with the whole shark, the sauce is on the cover a tantalizing mix of diced tomato onion and spicy habanero the mixture hits the hot steel with the perfect combination of seasonings after adding shark meat to the sauce it's time to build a base of tortillas on the flat top then a layer of creamy beans another tortilla more beans or special sauce and a generous pile of shark meat, then another layer, and another layer and five layers, stack them just before the point of architectural failure, then decorate with habanero and avocado slices, so How is it excavated?

Just do it. I'll see if I can. cut it like a pizza, it's working, it's tripping, I know they put a ton of sauce in here, it's basically like a tortilla lasagna with shark meat in the middle, that's how they describe it. Smoky, a little bitter, I would say salty and I would say you. You can feel the protein more than you can taste the protein. They use baby sharks because they don't taste as fishy as the big ones. That breaks your heart. Make it a baby shark, of course, don't you bring yours somehow? I manage, yes. the mound of tortillas creates an interesting texture.

I can taste the beans there, very nice for you. It's shark and an unusual food. I guess not, but when I ate this before, I never thought, "Oh, I'm eating sharks." I'm eating fish, yeah, no big deal, our mission today at home is to experience the whole wide world of seafood they have here. I even bought some things I don't think you've ever tried before. I found some snails, this one is poisonous, I hope it is exciting, very exciting. I mean, if someone dies in a video from eating a guaranteed food, a million views, let's hope we die okay, not both of us, you die from here, we're headed to a restaurant.

I discovered the secret to selling an endless supply of giant crab claws for eternity. People from all over the world come just to eat this. Is here. I'm sorry. These are stone crabs famous for their sweet and juicy meat, they are abundant and competitive. Nearby waters, this is very unique because I notice that you only have the claws where the rest of the crab is. The crabs have two hands, one big and one small. They simply take the big one and let it come out with a small one until another big one arrives. One grows like tearing one off. apple from a tree this harvesting system has been in place for generations to preserve the crab population it is not simply a suggestion but a strict legal mandate to never harvest the body of the crab if you catch it you can eat it at home but you cannot see it in the streets, yeah, wow, Mexico is full of these gray areas, we just came from the seafood market, are there certain foods in the seafood market that can't be served in restaurants, so we could never eat one in our lives? red snail oh really it's always an interesting day when you accidentally become a criminal it's strange that someone asked me to sell you that oh they certainly did my curiosity has been heightened by the fact that a forbidden animal could be openly displayed in a busy market In order to better understand what is happening, I have invited the fisherman Rubin to join us for lunch and shed a little light on the matter.

We have this beautiful Fiesta, very delicious and very typical here in Capuchinos, which one do you think is more appetizing? The octopus is boiled until be fully cooked through Violet, it's fried for a deep smoky flavor, only in this caliber of flame can you produce one like this and it curls up a little bit like that, right, it's cute, it tastes like a kiss of fire there. It has a wonderful texture these crunchy suckers are crispy on the outside wow oh this sauce smells amazing it's called the sauce it's butter garlic with parsley we're going to have stinky breath yes maybe if you're about to go on the first date don't do it o If you are on the first date don't do it any other way if you are in an established relationship especially me where you are already tired of your marriage have everything you want I can't wait to try it.

After this, the chef first boils our jumbo crab claws and then cracks the thick shell to reveal the succulent meat inside flavored with salt, pepper, and tangy lime juice. The recipe is simple but in my experience, less is more, especially when it comes to crabs, so there's a little bit of lime in here, I'm going to sprinkle some on it and I don't see any salt, so what do you do? Oh there's a little bit of salt in here, you know it's salt because on the container it says P for salt mmm sweet it's medium it's delicious it's cold sometimes I don't mind having a cold so it might give the crab a different flavor now we have to try it with garlic this is like my new favorite food all the flavors and all the convenience all in one place I feel like I have a casino in my mouth and I just won a jackpot and the best companion for anything foreign fantastic as a fisherman what fish are illegal to breed sharks there are seasons when you can do it, they just have to Respect the breeding time in an effort to control the population decline.

Certain species such as shark or octopus can only be caught during designated seasons at this time. What's the penalty if you're out there? If you are fishing for octopus out of season, you don't do it. you have a permit in jail and they take your boat oh that sounds pretty serious, that's pretty serious, but other vulnerable species like the Kung horse are prohibited from being captured or sold entirely with this incriminating protein in hand. I'm curious to see how serious these laws are. They are taken today in the market I bought something that I didn't know was potentially illegal when I bought it but it turns out that it is illegal and cannot be sold in restaurants I wonder if we can take it to your house to cook No, no, it's okay, because it's in the chamber and the temperature is too low and you could get into trouble.

I clearly understood that locals here are familiar with seafood laws and are motivated enough not to violate them, at least not in front of the camera, so why are some willing to take such a risk also what legal options do I have for dining? and find out that we are visiting Abraham a friend of Rubens who is already preparing an exotic but still legal local delicacy the website is great what do you do in school administration? Well, you love to cook, it's your passion, yes, I love to eat, our passions go very well together right now, tonight's appetizer.

Cowfish, a member of the boxfish family with the super ability to release toxins from its skin that are lethal to other fish and humans. the toxins should be harmless at least that's what they told me now the perfect salsa joins this herd of cows a fresh mix of habanero onion cilantro lime and salt this is just the beginning of Abraham's Taco Master P the only thing I don't understand is How do we get the meat? Could you show us that he's just removing a bunch of foreign bones and organs? We don't want any of that. Oh, sure, yeah, I'm pretty sure it really does look like chicken. brisket puts it in a tortilla it's always delicious give it a little salt oh my gosh it's like a complete recipe a little bit of avocado and that's complete um spicy it just has such a robust bite what do you think it's a little bit like polio, It doesn't taste fishy at all, it's neutral and then the sauce you put in here is delicious, I get a taste of habanero, citrus spice, it's amazing, yes you can smell it but not taste it, that's just the beginning, we have a lot more to go do. come on let's keep moving okay dinner starts with the bonnet head shark you cut it into pieces and boil some meat for 20 minutes once cooked it is cut into small pieces then left on the bench to measure More food arrives to play pineappleroasted, red onion and habanero, where?

If you learned this recipe, you know they have improv comedy classes. Do you think they have improv cooking classes? Because you would definitely win. Mix with cilantro, a pinch of salt and a touch of honey. Cook that and mix it in a pan, add the shark meat and let it absorb all those flavors being on a boat, especially at night, it's so peaceful. I think it's usually better if you're in the water, that's the most common. Oh okay, we have an amazing variety here, buddy, you can cook your ass off. first of all, on the pineapple, I mean, what kind of amazing presentation is this.

I have a big plate full of shark and pork. Let's try it doesn't have any fish at all, oh no, it goes beyond no fish, it's really refreshing, there's a little bit of heat back there. first you get that sweetness from the pineapple and then all of a sudden you feel like and then your throat closes up, the fish is soft, slightly mushy, it goes well with the sauces he's put in here, you get a little bit of texture from the onions, so good and the pineapples are so delicious the first drink of the night, what do you know, there will be many more, it's so good, yeah, oh the police are there, everything is fine, turns out it's actually illegal to drink beer outside , but we don't give up.

If you're bad, you think I don't care at all, the next meal here is fried fish done the Campeche way. Abraham first skillfully fillets the barracuda, which is not illegal, then seasons with pepper, salt, lemon juice and lemon pepper before frying for a crispy result. The outer layer is created using flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Where we go? I just grab a piece with my hands. Nice try, try a plane. You can taste the fish, but there is no fish in it, it is wonderfully fried, and the seasoning on that fish is slightly sour, slightly fresh. I love how many of the recipes we have tried in the Yucatan Peninsula here use so many citrus fruits.

This is a green sauce, it is very powerful. What is made of garlic, habanero and oil? It's spicy? Yes, but I love it. There is still something. competing things that don't add up to me that I don't understand and those are about the food I tried to bring here I showed you the sea snail immediately when you saw it he said oh no illegal I can't buy it I can't cook it I don't even have it in your house here it is the part that confuses me I went to the market I filmed the scene The warehouse was there he didn't care why if he can sell he'll do it but if he sees the police coming he'll just hide it just like we beat up the Bears the same way like this that somehow we're all working to get around the system, whether you're the guy poaching octopuses without a permit, whether you're the guy selling the snail, or whether it's us illegally drinking beer on a boat.

I think I now understand that Mexico congratulates itself on that, if the consequences are so extreme, why would people still take the risk? It is likely to be discarded even so, the seller profited from our transaction, which probably motivated him to look for more snails to sell in the future, just like that, my ignorance has somehow contributed to perpetuating a black market for seafood that reduces the chances of survival of the species. Food review show is a small team of independent creators and everything we do here works because of you, click the link in our description to join our patreon and receive exclusive benefits.

One piece. I think we solved it, we solved global warming. Do you remember when I was talking? about lizards and how they could just remove their tails. It's the same idea, they just grew them again. Great, thank you very much, that's all I wanted with your validation. I like that our looks couldn't be more different right now she looks like a sad teenager and I look like a guy who lies to women and tells them I have a boat and That is an aphrodisiac, that is necessary because I have noticed you. You can walk into almost any pharmacy in Mexico and get what you want.

It's like a medical buffet. Won't they demonetize us? What is this here? It looks like a fish, it is very delicious because it is white meat. so it just needs a little bit of salt and salsa and avocado and a tortilla but that's it and you've tried the body before or you read about it in a book that her mother-in-law makes delicious that your mother-in-law had. the crab I don't know if you think I'm going to say more words or you forget that you have to translate because you usually talk a lot and a lot boom guys, that's the end of our Mexico series, I want to Give a huge thank you right here to Kate Manak k handshake wow I mean your character Arc throughout this whole series you went from not wanting to try anything spitting beef tendon to looking at you now it was a rollercoaster but he was good at In the end do you feel like you grew up a lot as a person?

If you want to follow Kate on social media, look for Kate Manok on YouTube, Instagram and everywhere, guys, that's it for this. Thanks so much for looking. See you. next time a peace we have to say it together a peace oh, we harmonize a little, you know, I think I could sing Let's Walk This Way too, could I do a rap bridge on one of your songs? Yes, I'm looking for an artist to do that, I can do nine bars, you could do 12. No, I only do odd numbers of bars. I'll do 11. Okay, deal.