- Pounding the pork cutlets earlier than breading helps them cook dinner rapidly and fry evenly for a crisp, satisfying crunch.
- Soft but sturdy cemita buns maintain the sandwich fillings with out collapsing or turning soggy.
- Canned chipotles in adobo add a smoky depth that cuts via the richness of the avocado and pork.
This beloved regional specialty hails from the bustling streets of Puebla, Mexico, the place the cemita is as iconic as mole poblano and chiles en nogada. The sandwich takes its identify from its signature bread — a tender but sturdy sesame seed–topped roll that’s fluffy inside however sturdy sufficient to carry beneficiant fillings. That bread is what units cemitas aside from different Mexican sandwiches and provides them their distinctive character.
A cemita sandwich is all about distinction and steadiness. Here, the crispy fried pork cutlets are layered with creamy slices of ripe avocado, tangy queso fresco, and the sharp chunk of recent onion. While pork is the commonest protein, there are additionally conventional variations with beef and rooster ready in the identical Milanese type. The star of the sandwich filling is the canned chipotles in adobo and the way it performs off the opposite components. These dehydrated jalapeños marinated in a tomato-based sauce with heat spices are a pantry staple in most Mexican households, and so they lower via the fattiness of the pork and the richness from the avocado, giving the filling tasty depth.
Making these sandwiches is a good alternative to observe the basics of dredging and frying. Use the wet-hand, dry-hand methodology when breading the cutlets to maintain your station — and your fingers — clear and the method extra environment friendly. It’s additionally an opportunity to work on temperature management, an important step in frying that ensures a crisp, crunchy end result each time.
Cemita sandwiches historically use Oaxaca cheese; why do these use queso fresco?
The conventional cheese for cemitas is Oaxaca cheese, often known as quesillo, a cow’s milk cheese with a buttery taste and stringy, mozzarella-like texture. Because it may be onerous to search out outdoors Mexico — most frequently out there in markets focusing on Oaxacan components — this recipe makes use of queso fresco as a substitute. The delicate, salty cheese is less complicated to supply and nonetheless enhances the opposite filling components.
What is the wet-hand, dry-hand method?
The wet-hand, dry-hand method is a breading methodology designed to maintain your fingers and cooking station neat. Use one hand for dredging in dry components, reminiscent of flour or breadcrumbs, and the opposite for dipping in moist components. This prevents your fingers from sticking collectively and makes the method extra environment friendly.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
- Set up your breading station with the wet- and dry-hand methodology in thoughts. Start with the uncooked pork at your far left, adopted by your flour, egg combination, breadcrumb combination, and at last a clear plate on your breaded protein in your far proper.
- Substitute cemita buns with a sturdier bread like a sesame-seed brioche hamburger bun. Regular sesame hamburger buns nonetheless work, however the texture will likely be softer.
- Frying in batches permits the oil to come back again as much as temperature and prevents the cutlets from turning into greasy.
This recipe was developed by Iliana de la Vega; the textual content was written by Andee Gosnell.
