Regional Cuisines: The North

Welcome to our new series on the 7 regional cuisines in Mexico, where we explore the differences of each area. Today we’re taking a look at the North!

Norteño (Northern Mexico)

The also known as the region that makes up “El Norte”, it consists of Baja, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

The most popular dishes from this area include machaca (made by rehydrating dried beef), arrachera (marinated skirt steak, also commonly known as Fajitas) and cabrito (baby goat), pen de seminta as well as grilled beef. It’s also known for capirotada, a dish similar to bread pudding, made with bolillo bread with sugar, spices, dried fruits, and nuts.

The wheat cultivation in the area gave way to the popularity of flour tortillas, with the invention of flour tortilla burritos was invented in Sonora.

Gettin’ Cheesy

Due to the cattle culture in this area, it is also well known for it’s Mexican cheese production. Some of these include queso, ranchero (which is similar to Monterey Jack), cuajada (a mildly sweet, creamy curd of fresh milk), requesón (similar to ricotta), Chihuahua’s creamy semi-soft queso menonita and several varieties of asadero (smoked cheese).