Copper Canyon Wheat Tortillas and Burritos

Thanks to Raquel Alc?ntar, Mexico, for this great information and recipes!

Here are some very nice recipes for making Mexican flour tortillas and some stews for stuffing the tortillas and making burritos.

These stews are prepared while you visit Copper Canyon or "Barrancas del Cobre" in Sierra Tarahumara /Chihuahua state in Northern Mexico.

Copper Canyon is the name given to a network of enormous canyons comprising the steepest part of the Sierra Tarahumara. The system is named after the Copper Canyon a branch of the Urique Canyon which became famous for its copper mines. These sharp differences in height within a space of just a few miles create significant variations climate. There have been times when there has been snow on the high tablelands of the canyons, while at the bottom, where the rivers flow, it has been fairly hot.

The large streams that water the fertile valleys of Sonora and Sinaloa, including the rivers Fuerte, Mayo and Yaqui, rise in the Copper Canyon. The principal streams that produce these rivers include Verde, which flows through the Sinforosa Canyon, the Urique, the Batopilas, the Ch?nipas, the Papigochi (which flows along the Hu?poca canyon). The universe of depths is home to some of the greatest biodiversity in the world. Its vegetation consists primarily of pine and oak forests, located at over 2,000 metros above sea level, in regions where there are heavy snowfalls in winter. As one descends into the canyons, the vegetation changes until at about 400 metros above sea level, plants characteristic of semi-tropical and humid climates appear, such as mangos, oranges, Plum figs, mammee apples and many others. There is also a wide diversity of fauna, including mammals, birds, reptiles, freshwater fish and amphibians. If you want to visit Copper Canyon, call free at: 01800-504-5000 Chihuahua Tour- Fiesta Inn hotels. For flying to "Barrancas del Cobre", call free at:

Aerom?xico 01800-021-4030 or 01800-133-4030 in Mexico

These recipes are mostly prepared in Chihuahua state during visits to "Copper Canyon."

Wheat Tortillas

(10 to 15 persons)

1 pound wheat flour
1/3 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 ounces pork lard or vegetable shortening
1 cup hot water

Mix the flour with salt and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the flour, add the lard, mix and add the water gradually until the mixture can be shaped into a soft ball. Make small balls called "testales" of the desired size and roll out the dough on a floured surface to make tortillas of the desired thickness. Place a tortilla on a hot comal or griddle and leave it for about a minute, and then turn it over for a third time, allowing it cook for another thirty seconds.

Burritos

(10 to 15 persons)

Use any of the stuffings for these burritos.

20 (6-inch diameter) large wheat tortillas

Refried Beans Stuffing

3 cups cooked beans
1/2 cup of the liquid used to cook the beans
4 ounces pork lard
1 large onion, sliced
4 chiles Colorados (or guajillos) sliced
Salt to taste

Blend the beans in their liquid. Fry the onion in hot lard until dark brown, drain the fat, add the chiles and fry for two seconds, add the beans and salt to taste and simmer until the flavors have blended.

Chile Colorado Stuffing

5 ounces pork lard or 1/2 cup corn oil
2 pounds pork shoulder (pulp), cubed
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 chiles Colorado or guajillos, sliced and fried in oil
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Salt to taste

Brown the meat in the oil, add the potatoes and fry for a few more minutes, add the dried, ground chiles Colorado with the garlic and salt and add the broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender and serve.

Crisp Pork Rind Filling in Green Sauce (Chicharr?n" en salsa verde)

6 chiles jalape?os
20 green tomatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons pork lard or corn oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 sprig epazote
2 pounds crisp pork rind (chicharr?n)

Simmer the chiles, tomatoes and salt in 1/2 cup of water until vegetables are tender; allow cooling slightly and blending.

In a separate pan, fry the onion in the lard until transparent, add sauce and season with the sprig of epazote. Add the pork rind cut into medium size and allow the flavors to blend.