By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken—
When we are in Mexico, we rely on poultry as our primary source of land-based protein, as do most Mexican nationals. Although living in coastal Oaxaca is virtually synonymous with having delicious fish dinners, many traditional dishes use poultry – especially chicken (pollo) as a primary ingredient. Others require turkey, quail, duck, or other domesticated birds for regional or holiday treats.
Chickens are not indigenous to Mexico but were introduced by the Spanish settlers in the early 16th century. Some of the varieties farmed in Mexico today are related to the earliest chickens introduced to the Aztecs and Mayans. Today Mexicans consume, on average, 35 kilograms (77 pounds) of chicken each year. Given the relatively large number of chickens one sees running around Mexican villages or hears clucking away in city backyard coops, one might mistakenly assume that preparation of most chicken dinners here begins with chasing down a free-range fowl on the fly. Perhaps that once was so, but today most chickens and eggs are produced by three large corporations on large-scale farms strategically located around the country. So a chicken meal preparation most often begins with a trip to a supermarket or local store.
Whether at home or in restaurants, you have a choice of a myriad of chicken preparations. The favorite of millions of people is caldo—a rich, hearty chicken soup. There are restaurants all over Mexico that specialize in caldo, and although we frequently prepare large batches at home and freeze portions for emergency meals when we or friends are under the weather, in Mexico it is easier to swing by a caldo take-out restaurant for freshly made soup. Another ubiquitous type of chicken is pollo asado, grilled chicken. Mexican restaurants lure in patrons by grilling chicken right outside their entrance; one’s nose takes in the delicious smell of garlic, onions, chiles and other spices cooking in chicken fat, and the rest of their body follows their nose and watering mouth indoors. At home, the easiest preparation requires only a chicken, spices that are family favorites, and an asador (grill).
More chicken dishes we’ve relished over the past decades include chicken in tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, tamales, tlayudas, sopes, omelets and quesadillas. But our very favorites are the many types of moles with chicken. Whether mole negro (black), amarillo (yellow), coloradito (red) or verde (green), small pieces of chicken are primarily eaten as a vehicle for carrying the rich mole sauce from the plate to the tongue and slowly savored to enjoy the mix of multiple ingredients in the mole.
Turkeys (pavo or guajolote), unlike chickens, are indigenous to Mexico. Both Mayans and Aztecs domesticated and raised turkeys long before the Spanish invaded. The Spanish, who had never seen a turkey since there were none on the European continent, were quickly converted to eating turkey. In addition to tomatoes, which also weren’t known in Europe, turkeys were crated and traveled to Spain on returning ships. The European turkey market flourished, and the breeders produced a line that was introduced back in the “New World” and became the forebears of the turkey found in U.S. and Canadian supermarkets today.
The first time we tasted turkey in Mexico was in centro (downtown) Cancun in a restaurant frequented by the workers who provided services in the affluent hotels on the isle just off the coast. The restaurant was noted by the locals for its turkey dishes – prepared in the same ways the Mayans had used for centuries. These included pavo pibil (turkey marinated in citrus sauce and achiote paste and wrapped and roasted in banana leaves) and pavo relleno negro (turkey simmered in a jet-black broth seasoned with fired chiles and other local spices).
We greatly enjoyed the rich gamey taste of the bird and found out that these turkeys were closely related to those originally domesticated by the Mayans. Although they are still raised on the Yucatan peninsula, the very few turkey farms throughout the country are more likely to raise turkeys introduced from the U.S. via Europe. Most of the year, Mexicans do not consume a lot of turkey. For the past 10 years, turkey farms in Mexico have steadily produced a total of 8,461 metric tons of turkey meat, compared to 3.8 million metric tons of chicken. Except in the Yucatan peninsula where turkey is a year-round treat, turkey in the rest of Mexico is generally a part of holiday meals. Since the demand soars at holiday time beyond the capability of the Mexican turkey farms to meet the need, turkeys are largely imported from the United States.
Other Birds Eaten in Mexico: Quail, Duck, and Chachalaca
Three other birds—quail, duck, and chachalaca—are consumed in Mexico in much smaller quantities than chicken. Mexico has more varieties of quail than any other country in the world. Although they have long been hunted and used in Mexican cuisine, quail farms are now an emerging industry in the Yucatan Peninsula. These tiny succulent birds, codorniz, are often found as starter dishes in the most expensive and loudly lauded restaurants in Mexico City, including Pujol and Maximo, and as delicious but pricey add-ons in barbecue restaurants in tourist areas around the country. We first sampled codorniz many years ago at Finca de Vaqueros in Pochutla and were glad when the restaurant opened a branch serving it in Huatulco.
Duck (pato) is raised in small numbers in the state of Jalisco. It is far from a common dish and is presented as gourmet offerings such as pato en mole and pato carnitas. Most of the restaurants in Mexico offering duck are Asian restaurants or fusion Mexican-Asian restaurants (using tortillas instead of Asian pancakes). Of course the top French restaurants in Mexico City include duck a l’orange on their menus. But if you’re from north of the border, you might just wait until you’re home to order duck, since most of the duck served in restaurants in Mexico is imported from there anyway.
Chachalacas are those extremely noisy birds that look like turkeys and parade past your seaside windows early in the morning. To our knowledge they are never served in restaurants nor are they available in markets. In some communities, chachalacas have traditionally been hunted or raised for food, subject to wildlife regulations. Supposedly they taste like turkey. If you are invited by a friend for a chachalaca meal, please do send us a post reviewing your experience. If you, like us, never have that experience, please enjoy the rest of the poultry in Mexico.
Drs. Marcia and Jan Chaiken have been married for 62 years and have published many justice system research reports together.
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