View source for Machaca

{{Short description|Mexican dish}}
{{about|the Mexican dish}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Machaca
| image            = Machaca (32157311937).jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = Machaca
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = [[Mexico]]
| region           = [[Northern Mexico]]
| course           = 
| type             = [[Dried meat]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Beef]] or [[pork]]
| minor_ingredient = [[Chili pepper|Chilis]] and other spices
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Machaca''' {{IPA|es|maˈtʃaka|lang|Machaca.ogg}} is a traditionally dried meat, usually spiced beef or pork, that is rehydrated and then used in popular local cuisine in Northern [[Mexico]] and the Southwestern United States.  It is also readily available in many groceries and supermarkets in these areas.<ref name="adame">{{cite web |last=Adame |first=Homero |date=3 November 2013 |title=El origen del machacado con huevo |trans-title=The origin of machacado con huevo |url=https://adameleyendas.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/el-origen-del-machacado-con-huevo/ |work=Mitos y leyendas de Homero Adame |language=es}}</ref><ref name="eleconomista">{{cite news |last=Torres |first=Armando |date=22 March 2012 |title=Tía Lencha ampliará su mercado de exportación |trans-title=Tía Lencha expand its export market |url=https://eleconomista.com.mx/estados/2012/03/22/tia-lencha-ampliara-su-mercado-exportacion |newspaper=El Economista |language=es}}</ref><ref name="horizonte">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=30 July 2013 |title=Estados Unidos abre frontera a la machaca |url=https://elhorizonte.mx/a/noticia/411756 |newspaper=El Horizonte |language=es}}</ref><ref name="as-2014aug19">{{cite web |last=Chavez |first=Stephen |date=August 19, 2014 |title=A breakfast of machaca con huevos |url=https://www.alhambrasource.org/news/breakfast-machaca-con-huevos |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224205739/http://www.alhambrasource.org/news/breakfast-machaca-con-huevos |archive-date=December 24, 2014 |website=Alhambra Source}}</ref> In areas where the dried meat product is not easy to obtain, slow-cooked roast [[beef (brisket)]]<ref>McKenna, John. ''Gran, gran fiesta Mexican food '' [[Irish Times]] 2 January 1999</ref><ref name="hp-2013dec26">{{cite news |last1=Chavez |first1=Stephen |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Art |name-list-style=amp |date=December 26, 2013 |title=Latino Recipes For The Holidays: Machaca Con Huevos |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/machaca-con-huevos-recipe_n_4506332.html |website=[[Huffington Post]]}}</ref> or [[skirt steak]]<ref name=as-2014aug19 /> shredded and then fried is sometimes substituted.

The dish is known primarily in the north of Mexico, and the southern regions of the U.S. states of [[Arizona]], [[California]], and [[New Mexico]], and in [[Texas]] where it is known as ''machacado''. In central and southern Mexico, it is not well known by lower socioeconomic classes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mitofsky |first=Consulta |date=October 2006 |title=Consumo de Platillos Tipicos: Encuesta Nacional de Viviendas |url=https://www.consulta.com.mx/interiores/99_pdfs/12_mexicanos_pdf/mxc_NA20061005_PlatillosTipicos.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227032521/http://www.consulta.com.mx/interiores/99_pdfs/12_mexicanos_pdf/mxc_NA20061005_PlatillosTipicos.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 |language=es |quote=Donde si se nota una diferencia importante es en la proporción de consumo en niveles socioeconómicos; los niveles bajos han consumido en menores ocasiones alimentos como chilorio, machaca y cochinita pibil, lo que elimina la creencia que son alimentos populares, sobre todo fuera de sus regiones de origen.}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Machaca.jpg|thumb|left|Machaca served in [[Puerto Vallarta]]]]
Machaca was originally prepared most commonly from dried, spiced [[beef]] or [[pork]], and then rehydrated and pounded to make it tender.  The reconstituted meat would then be used to prepare any number of dishes.<ref name="Jamison">{{cite book |last1=Jamison |first1=C.A |url=https://www.archive.org/details/bordercookbookau00jami |title=The Border Cookbook: Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico |last2=Jamison |first2=B. |publisher=The Harvard Common Press |year=1995 |isbn=9781558321038 |location=Boston |quote=machaca. |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> While drying meat is one of the oldest forms of preservation, the drying of beef with [[Chili pepper|chilis]] and other native spices was developed by the ranchers and cowboys of northern Mexico.<ref name="ciad.mx">{{cite web |last1=Ibarra-Armenta |first1=A.S. |last2=Valdez-Urías |first2=D.B. |last3=Zamorano-García |first3=L. |last4=Cumplido-Barbeitia |first4=L.G. |last5=González-Ríos |first5=H. |last6=González-Méndez |first6=N.F. |name-list-style=amp |date=<!--undated--> |title=Estudio y Mejora del Proceso de Secado de Carne de Bovino para Carne Seca y Machaca. |url=https://www.ciad.mx/boletin/enefeb02/Investigacion3.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210133044/http://www.ciad.mx/boletin/enefeb02/Investigacion3.PDF |archive-date=2012-02-10 }}</ref>

After the arrival of [[refrigeration]], [[dehydration]] was no longer needed for preservation. Most dried beef is sold in the United States as [[jerky (food)|jerky]]. In Mexico, it is still sold for cooking and snacking; this is done primarily in the north and in small-scale operations.<ref name="ciad.mx"/> Most machaca dishes now are made from beef that has been well-cooked, shredded, and then cooked in its juices until the desired consistency is achieved, which can be soupy, dry, or ''medio''.  In [[Tucson, Arizona]] and southward, the preparation is almost always dry, and approximates more closely the taste and texture of the original dish prepared from dried meat. ''[[Carne seca]]'' is an alternative name for machaca in parts of the Southwest and [[Sonora, Mexico]].<ref name=Jamison />

== Serving ==
[[File:Machaca at La Imperial (455833992).jpg|thumb|[[Machacado con huevo]], served with beans and rice]]
Prepared machaca can be served any number of ways, such as tightly rolled [[flautas]], [[tacos]], or [[burritos]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Newburn |first=Paisley |date=February 20, 2014 |title=Delicious discoveries in Mexican cuisine |url=https://www.thephoenixnews.com/2014/02/delicious-discoveries-in-mexican-cuisine/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101003025/http://www.thephoenixnews.com/2014/02/delicious-discoveries-in-mexican-cuisine/ |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2014 |newspaper=Phoenix ([[UBC Okanagan]] student paper)}}</ref> or on a plate with eggs, onions and peppers ([[chile verde|chiles verdes]] or [[Poblano|chiles poblanos]]).  Machaca is almost always served with flour [[tortillas]] that tend to be large, up to 20&nbsp;inches in diameter.<ref>{{cite web |last=Griffith |first=J.F. |date=April 1997 |title=La Comida Mexicana en Tucson |url=https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/tucfood_es.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423235429/https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/tucfood_es.html |archive-date=2014-04-23 |access-date=2007-07-30 |publisher=El Folklórico del Sur de Arizona |language=es}}</ref>  A very popular breakfast or brunch dish is [[Machacado con huevo|machaca with eggs]], associated with miners in the state of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]].<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=<!--undated--> |title=Machaca con Huevo |url=https://www.chi.itesm.mx/chihuahua/arte_cultura/cocina/c_llevar/machaca.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927042858/https://www.chi.itesm.mx/chihuahua/arte_cultura/cocina/c_llevar/machaca.html |archive-date=2007-09-27 |access-date=2007-07-30 |publisher=Instituto Tecnologico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) |language=es}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of dried foods]]
* [[List of Mexican dishes]]
* [[Rousong]]
* {{portal-inline|Food}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Mexican cuisine}}

[[Category:Mexican beef dishes]]
[[Category:Dried meat]]
[[Category:Pork dishes]]

[[es:Machaca (carne)]]