Gorditas de Chicharrón

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240g) masa harina
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb chicharrón prensado (fried pork rind and meat mix), broken into pieces
• 4 tomatillos, husked
• 2 serrano chiles
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 white onion, plus more diced for topping
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• Neutral oil for frying
• Shredded cabbage, Mexican crema, and crumbled cotija cheese, for topping

Before you cook

• Rinse and husk the tomatillos.
• Whisk the masa harina, salt, and warm water together in a bowl, then knead by hand 3 to 4 minutes until it forms a soft, non-sticky dough like play-dough.
• Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest 10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and keep them covered.

Steps

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and cook the tomatillos, serranos, and garlic 8 minutes until soft and dull green.
2. Drain and blend the tomatillos, chiles, garlic, onion, and cilantro with a pinch of salt until smooth to make the salsa verde.
3. Pour the salsa verde into a skillet, add the chicharrón, and simmer over low heat 10 minutes until the pork softens and soaks up the sauce.
4. Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium heat.
5. Flatten a dough ball between your palms into a disc about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.
6. Cook the disc on the dry comal 3 to 4 minutes per side until it looks dry and browned in spots.
7. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a separate skillet to 350°F.
8. Fry each cooked disc 1 to 2 minutes per side until it puffs slightly and turns deep golden.
9. Drain the gorditas on paper towels and let them sit 1 minute until cool enough to handle.
10. Slice a slit around the edge of each gordita without cutting all the way through, opening a pocket.
11. Spoon the chicharrón in salsa verde into the pocket.
12. Top with shredded cabbage, a drizzle of crema, and crumbled cotija before serving.