All language subtitles for Eva.Longoria.Searching.For.Mexico.S01E04.AMZN.WEBRip.DDP2.0.x264-Cinefeel.en

[soft dramatic music]

- Wow, these mountains.
Look at that!

I feel so small.

So we are arriving
in Monterrey.

It's literally
"the land of mountains."

That's what it means,
king of mountains.

I'm in the state of Nuevo León
in northeast Mexico.

You see the mountains
and the rocks.

This terrain is not
easy on the people.

It's very, very tough living,
and because of that,

they've had to be very
innovative with their cuisine.

I'm Eva Longoria,
born and bred in Texas

with Mexican American roots,
which makes me a Texican.

I'm exploring Mexico to see
how the people, their lands,

and their past have shaped
a culinary tradition

as diverse as its 32 states.

- The food of Nuevo León
is the food I grew up with.

It's like every
childhood memory is wrapped up

in a flour tortilla for me.

The chefs here are
inventive and resourceful...

- [speaking Spanish]

- Transforming
simple ingredients

into mouthwatering classics...

You guys need a tamale!

And age-old recipes
into culinary works of art.

- One bite?

Look, go ahead and say adiós
to vegetables for a while.

[speaking Spanish]

This is the land of meat.

This is definitely a Mexican
kitchen tool right here.

Mountains of meat.

- But I'm not complaining.

I love meat.

This is amazing!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[acoustic guitar music]

You know, I'm Mexican American.

We've been in Texas
for 13 generations.

We never crossed the border.
The border crossed us.

And I think that's why
I have so much in common

with Nuevo León and the north.

It's so similar
to how I grew up.

Nuevo León and Texas were
once part of the same country

ruled by Spain
and then by Mexico.

In 1845, the U.S. annexed

what would become
the Lone Star State.

But the people
of Nuevo León and Texas

still have
so many shared tastes.

Nowhere is this more present
than in the state capital,

Monterrey, the industrial hub
of the northeast.

The locals are nicknamed
regios, meaning "royals."

They are hardworking
and ambitious.

And when the daily grind
is over, just like us Texans,

they like nothing better
than throwing

some steak on the grill.

[both speaking Spanish]

Cómo estás?

Mucho gusto.

This is every guy
I dated in high school.

I'm in downtown Monterrey
to meet Alejandro Gutierrez,

founder of the Mexican Society
of Grill Masters.

He's invited me to experience

the ultimate
Nuevo León barbecue.

I've never been
to a carne asada in Monterrey.

- In Monterrey?
- Yeah.

[dog barks]

- Carne asada literally means
"grilled meat,"

but it's come to embody
a much-loved social ritual.

- Hola!

- [speaking Spanish]

- This is where
everything happens.

- Hola!

Today, Alejandro's whole
family has come together.

Hola, señora. Cómo está?
- Mucho gusto.

- Oh, I love that sound!

That's my favorite sound
in the world.

- We call it carne asada,
but we don't

have to grill meat every time.

It's about the gathering,
about being together.

- The fire unites us.
[speaking Spanish]

This is what happens
when you get united by fire.

[speaking Spanish]

- Sí, sí.

- Cooking over fire goes all
the way back to the nomads,

the first people to live
in this harsh terrain,

constantly moving camp
in the hunt for food.

But it was the Spanish
in the 1500s

who introduced
hardy breeds of cattle

that thrived in Nuevo León.

And for the regios,
beef has been king ever since.

Oh, my God, look at that.

- These are most
traditional cut of beef.

- What's that called?

- Oh.

- Okay.

Are you making filets
right now?

- But look
at the marbleization.

- You got marble.

That's why you love it,
because it has a lot of flavor.

We're gonna grill it,
really high heat.

- High heat?
- 650 to 700 Fahrenheit.

- Oh, wow.
How do we season these now?

- We use salt.

- Oh, that's amazing.

Like, how long do you leave it?
Isn't there a rule?

- For a cut this thick,
15 to 20 minutes.

That's enough.

- That's how you clean it?

It looks like
you're making it dirtier.

- You can do it with a brush.

- Oh, yeah. Or?

- Or you can do it
with an onion

because it starts smelling,
and that is the way you tell

your neighbors
that you're grilling

and they're not invited, so--

- It makes them jealous.

[sizzling]

And it's hot.

- If you're doing
this cut of meat...

But you need that heat
to make the crust.

- Yeah.
- To make the brown color.

- But there's more
to carne asada

than what's on the grill.

Arturo is preparing
his famous charro beans.

This smells so good.

- He has a secret?
[laughs]

This is...

- Yes. Yes.
- Oh, my God.

Y'all, I grew up with this.

I grew up
with ranch-style frijoles.

Every day of my life,
I think, I ate these.

- So you just use that,
but you add

other stuff to it, obviously.

- Oh, wow.

- Jalapeño?
- Okay.

- Always.

- Carne asada.

both: Carne asada.

- And Eva's here,
so carne asada.

- Carne asada.

[upbeat music]

And in order to have
a juicy cut of beef,

you need to let it rest.

- Same thing as poultry, right?

Chicken.
- Everything.

- Everything.
You have to let it rest.

What are we doing?

[indistinct chatter]

- We're ready to feast,

and the star of the show
is the aguja steak.

- You got to cut it...
- Okay.

- Against the grain.
- To make it less chewy.

More tender.

Oh, my God, look at that.

This is gorgeous.

Look at that.
You still see the marbling.

[both speaking Spanish]

- Hmm?
- Oh, my gosh.

She loves it.
Can I taste this?

- Yes, please.
- Let's see.

Oh, my God.

[laughs]
Oh, my God.

This is amazing!

Mmm!

- You can even dip
into it some garlic.

[upbeat mariachi music]

- I'm gonna do this.
I'm so happy!

- [singing in Spanish]

♪ ♪

- The marriage of the roasted
garlic's subtle acidity

with the succulent steak
is divine.

[cheers and applause]

The flames of carne asada
bring people together

over the age-old pleasures
of food and friendship,

a living tradition
that reminds me of home.

[cheers and applause]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Monterrey is
an economic powerhouse.

It's a city
of factory workers,

engineers, entrepreneurs,

and nothing's more important
to kickstart their day

than a hearty breakfast.

- [speaking Spanish]

- Ah!

- Cómo estás?

Local food bloggers
Jero Alvarado

and Neto Esquivel

are the go-to guides
for the best place

to grab a bite
on the rush to work.

- Ready for frittatas?
- I'm ready.

I'm ready for breakfast.

[all speaking Spanish]

- She's a yeller.
- Exactly.

- Why? Why does she yell?

- Well, she loves to yell.

- Hola!
- Hola, Mary. Cómo estás?

[laughs]

Doña Mary has been
serving breakfast tacos

in the center of Monterrey
for nearly 20 years.

- They're the perfect
fast food

for people in a hurry.

- Yeah.
So it's like a cured beef.

- Machacado. I know.

I had this when I was little,
in Texas.

- I love this.

So we get the salsa.

- [speaking Spanish]

There you go.

- This is so delicious.

- It's really nice.

- These are the best tortillas
I've ever had.

- Muy salado?
That's good, that's--

- I love it.
- Part of the dry meat.

- Yes, in the north,
in Nuevo León,

is one of the only places
that has tacos for breakfast,

and in Texas,
we have breakfast tacos.

And those are the only places

you can ever get a taco
in the morning.

- Yeah. Super regional.

I grew up with breakfast tacos.

It was actually a road

linking Monterrey
with the Texas border

that fueled the rise
of machacado con huevos

in the 1920s,

when a café owner
invented this snack

to feed
hungry construction workers.

Today, Highway 85 carries
the bulk of goods traded

between the U.S. and Mexico,
and the breakfast tacos,

enjoyed at both ends
of the road,

are still as popular.

[laughter]

- Doña Mary offers a choice
of 21 different taco fillings.

And today,
she launches number 22.

The new taco she just invented.

I'm gonna take half.
- Okay.

- I'll share it with you.
Oh, my God.

- Oh.
- Ah!

Packed with crispy pork,
potatoes, beans, and cheese.

[all speaking Spanish]

Oh, yeah.
This is--

- Taco Eva.
- Taco Eva.

- Okay.
- Okay.

[accordion playing]

- [singing in Spanish]

♪ ♪

- Do you know how to dance?
- Yes.

No, we did not plan this.

Accordion players just seem
to follow me around.

♪ ♪

- This--we have
to drink beer first!

- Exactly.
[laughter]

- The breakfast taco may be
the simplest of street food,

but it's been hitting the spot
for the workers of Monterrey

for nearly a century.

And thanks to cooks
like Doña Mary,

it's not going out of style
anytime soon.

[upbeat guitar music]

- In most of Mexico,

you'll see
lots of corn tortillas.

But in Monterrey,
the flour tortilla dominates.

It's the building block
of fajitas, quesadillas,

and the beloved burrito.

Hey, mama! Hey, mama!

[laughter]

And it's what we make
for breakfast in my home.

But this modest flatbread
has surprising origins.

- Hola, Eva.

- I have come to the Museum of
Mexican History in Monterrey

to meet Katya Schoening,

who started the city's
Sephardic Jewish Center.

- I'm a researcher specialized
in the history of the Jews

that arrived from Spain
after the Edict of Expulsion.

First of all,
they were, like, crypto-Jews,

and they lived in secret.

- Is it hard to find evidence?
- Yes.

I mean, they lived
as Christians,

but inside the houses
and inside their life,

they have Jewish practices.

And here is full of Jewish
practices, actually.

- And it's influenced the food.
- Definitely.

- The founding governor
of Monterrey,

Luis de Carvajal
y de la Cueva,

was one of the many Jews
who left Spain

at the time
of the Inquisition.

They had to pose
as Catholics in public

while keeping their forbidden
Jewish faith hidden,

a phenomenon
known as crypto-Judaism.

- [speaking Spanish]

- So they felt safer
hiding in the mountains?

- Of course.

- For the first
Jewish settlers,

life under Spanish rule
was dangerous.

If exposed, they faced
brutal execution.

While the crypto-Jews had
to conceal their identity,

their food
couldn't be suppressed,

and their legacy lives on in
the state's classic dishes.

- Katya has taken me
to a pioneering restaurant

that's celebrating this
little-known Jewish history.

[all speaking Spanish]

Okay.

Chef Hugo Guajardo is
the founder of El Jonuco.

- That's what the name means?
- Yeah.

- Like a hidden room
where you keep everything

that you forgot about.

Now I know
why you guys are friends.

You guys are both trying
to uncover secrets.

We're starting
with one of my favorites.

This is my specialty.

I think I'm gonna
teach you something.

The flour tortilla.

I know, I usually end up making
the shape of, like, Africa.

The exact history is hazy,
but a theory goes

that after the Spanish
brought wheat to Mexico,

the crypto-Jews used it
to make unleavened bread

and this led
to the flour tortilla.

It's interesting that you can
go all the way to North Dakota

and find a flour tortilla.

You can go to Washington state
and find a flour tortilla.

Like, the flour tortilla is
the one that traveled,

not the--not as much
as the corn tortilla.

- Okay.

This is basically another form
of unleavened bread.

- One of the most iconic
dishes of northern Mexico

may also have
crypto-Jewish origins.

I grew up with cabrito.

I remember this.

To avoid being found out
by the Catholic authorities,

crypto-Jews used cabrito,
a young goat,

instead of traditional lamb
in religious feasts.

This is definitely a Mexican
kitchen tool right here.

[laughs]

The young goat is fed
exclusively on milk,

which gives it
its delicate flavor.

- What's in your marinade?

- Oregano is obviously known as
a very popular Italian spice,

but we use it in everything.

[upbeat music]

Oh, yeah,
this is super fragrant.

- So do you think this is
the best oregano in the world?

- We're gonna start
a fight with Italy, yeah?

- [laughs]
- Oh, it smells so good.

After roasting in the oven
for 90 minutes,

they crisp it up on the grill.

And then how long
do we leave it?

- We'll leave it for,
like, five to ten minutes.

- Okay.
Now we just wait.

The cabrito is served simply,
on the bone.

- El cabrito.

- It may not be a looker,

but cabrito is
all about the flavor.

- Delicioso, eh?

- Oh, my God.

It's so soft from putting it
in the oven for so long,

and then the grilling
has that crispy skin.

I think a lot of people
may think that goat has

a gamey taste, but it doesn't.

It's very smooth and subtle.

- Also that--the spices
you put on the cabrito,

they don't overpower anything.

- And to finish,
those fresh flour tortillas.

My God!

This takes me back
to my kitchen in Texas.

It's like every childhood
memory is wrapped up

in a flour tortilla for me.

- So what is
the characteristic of a regio?

- Yeah.

It's amazing to think
that two staples

of north Mexican cuisine,

the flour tortilla
and cabrito,

may come from the legacy

of centuries
of Jewish history here.

I think it's so impressive
that something so hidden

is now at the forefront
of gastronomy in Nuevo León.

Muchas gracias.
- Salud.

- This is amazing.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Hola!

- Hi, Eva. How are you?

- Good. Nice to see you.

I've come 30 miles
north of Monterrey

to meet ranch manager
Jorge Montemayor

to collect
a cherished ingredient

that's been on the menu
in Nuevo León

for thousands of years.

So you raise them here
and then let them go?

- Yep.

- Rancho Del Puerto,
one of the hundreds

of ranches in Nuevo León,
specializes in deer farming.

- So we have, like,
three or four breeding pens,

with 20, 25 does per stud.

- Mm-hmm.

So there's only
one man in here?

- Yeah.
- And these are his ladies.

- His ladies.
- So are they all pregnant?

- Right now?
We hope they are.

[laughs]
- Oh.

The deer may be
bred in captivity,

but then they're freed
to roam,

just like their ancestors did.

There's many
stone carvings made

by the nomads who lived here
8,000 years ago

that depict
the food they hunted.

Wow.

That's gonna be a lot of meat.

- Yeah.
- That's gonna be good.

Jorge supplies premium venison

to restaurants
all over Monterrey.

- So I'm gonna put this
in a cooler so you can take it.

- And he's kindly giving me
a leg joint,

one of the tastiest parts
of the deer.

We're gonna make some tamales,
so I'm really excited about it.

- Let me help you carry this.
- Oh, yeah.

You--no, you don't help me.

You carry it.
[both laugh]

So many Mexican recipes can
be traced to the arrival

of the Spanish in the 1500s,

but tamales go back
thousands of years.

- Doña Lupita's café,
in the backyard of her home

right next to Highway 85,

is famed
for her legendary tamales.

She's been feeding
hungry truck drivers

and bikers for over 20 years.

And it's a family business.

- Hola, Cindy!

Hola.
- Mucho gusto. Louisa.

- Louisa. Cindy, Louisa.

- Our sound guy's having
a really great time today.

- Oh.

So good.

- To tenderize the venison,

Doña Lupita poaches the leg
for eight hours

with just salt and garlic.

That's a lot of garlic.

- Thankfully, she's already
got some on the stove.

That's how you know
it came out right.

It's juicy.

It looks so soft.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

- To deepen the flavor,
we add sauce and spice,

ready to pan fry.

- Tamales aren't tamales

without the all-important
corn dough.

- Oh, it mixes really easy.

To make the casing, we spread
the dough onto corn husks.

- I make tamales at home,

but I cannot compete
with these pros.

You guys go so fast.
Oh, my gosh.

- It's almost like
rolling a cigarette.

- Oh, I always make a pyramid.

♪ ♪

[static crackles]
- Come and get it.

Come and eat.

Our hardworking crew
has earned their lunch.

Oh, my God.

Deer chorizo.

- Okay.

Eggs with deer,
deer sausage, deer meat.

It's venison served five ways.

Frankie, I'm gonna give you
a little bit of everything.

You guys need a tamale.

Our British sound recordist,
Nathan, has taken a break

so he can try
his first ever tamale.

This is huge.

You have to take the leaf off.

She's gonna drop this
on my head.

- Ay, Dios...

[laughter]

- Nathan ate the leaf.

He's not supposed
to eat the leaf.

[laughter]

- Ow!

- I'm gonna eat the tamale.

Wow.

Mmm.

Wow.

- So delicious.

- Delicioso.
- Delicioso.

- Mm-hmm.

- It's so juicy and flavorful.

And unlike the pork tamales
I'm used to,

Doña Lupita's venison version

has that wonderfully rich,
earthy taste

that only comes
from top-quality game.

[all cheering]

- Muchas gracias.
- Muchas gracias.

Wow.

No wonder that after
thousands of years,

these pre-Hispanic dumplings
are still adored.

I approve.
[laughs]

[upbeat acoustic guitar music]

♪ ♪

- [speaking Spanish]

- Much of Nuevo León
may be dry and barren,

but southeast of Monterrey
lies a fertile oasis.

The Pilón River irrigates
the fields of Montemorelos,

home to some of the finest
orange orchards in Mexico.

- Ana Rodriguez runs

one of the most successful
bakery chains in Monterrey,

and she uses the fruit
from here

to make one of her favorite
Nuevo León desserts.

Hola. Cómo estás?

- Bienvenidas.Welcome.

- Arturo Salazar is
the fourth generation

of his family
to work these fields.

And now, he's helped
by his son, Fede.

This is mandarin?

- These are mandarin, yeah.

- So you can grow
mandarin here?

- We have mandarins.
We have oranges.

All kind of citruses.

These one in particular
are the ortanique orange.

It has a lot of oil in it,

so immediately
when you open it,

it's like an explosion of--
- Fragrant.

- Yeah, it's very fragrant.

- Oh, my gosh, look at this.
This is so good.

[light music]

♪ ♪

How do I know
when it's ready to pick?

- Okay.
So we have to turn it over.

No, I would just run
and grab them off the tree.

I don't know why I always think
citrus is natural to Mexico.

- No, the first conquistadors,
they come from Spain.

They were the ones that
introduced citruses to Mexico.

- But it was a former orchard
manager from California

who kickstarted
the orange industry

in Montemorelos in the 1880s.

Arriving to oversee
the construction

of a new railroad,

he saw the fertile valley
of the Pilón River

as perfect
orange-growing country.

- So this region was the one
that actually started

producing oranges en masse

and having oranges
as kind of a business

other than just
in your backyard.

- So the train made it
possible for trade.

- Sí.
- Okay, I think we're ready.

[both speaking Spanish]

- This is so fun.

I'm just gonna keep picking
on my way out.

Ana grew up near these
incredible orange orchards.

[both speaking Spanish]

And she's taking me
back to the kitchen,

where her mom Marta helped her
launch her business.

[laughing]
Oh, smells so good.

- Although they include
the zest of the orange,

the main ingredient is
the thick white pith.

- Okay.

The pith gives the dessert
its sour punch,

but the juice
doesn't go to waste.

So you put orange juice
in the--

- More sugar.

Is this a recipe
from when you were a child?

- That's the best
part of cooking

is spoiling your family
and people you love.

Like, I think cooking
is a form of love,

and so that's why
I love to do it.

- Yes.

- After my Nuevo León
meat feast,

the freshness of this
bittersweet concoction

is just what I'm craving.

- Oh, my gosh, look at that.

This is so soft.

[speaking Spanish]

I mean, you have to cook it
a long time.

Mmm.

It's like candy,
but not as sweet,

even though
it has all of that--

I wanna drink it up.
Just drink it.

The oranges of Montemorelos

are the jewels in the crown
of Nuevo León,

a reminder that even
in the harshest terrain,

there are delicious treasures
to be found.

[upbeat music]

- They say that every
great dish tells a story,

and in the Monterrey
neighborhood

of San Pedro Garza Garcia...

Hola. Cómo está?

An imaginative restaurant
has made that its mission.

Oh, God, this is so beautiful.

Named Koli, it aims to tell
the story of Nuevo León

through its food.

Wow.

- Hi, Eva. Cómo estás?
- Hola.

It's the brainchild
of the Rivera-Rio family.

Do you three look alike,
or are you related?

- No, we're actually brothers.
[laughter]

- The three musketeers.
both: Yes!

- Patricio is in all
the wines and spirits

and everything like that,
Daniel is the pastry chef,

and I'm the head chef.

[laughs]
- So do you boss them around?

- No, not too much, because--

- Sometimes.
both: Sometimes.

- Just when he's angry.
- Sometimes we boss each other.

- When he doesn't drink
his coffee,

he comes in grumpy.
- Oh, okay.

How has the response been
with the people of Monterrey

to have
this sort of restaurant?

Like, elevated cuisine
from Nuevo León.

- Yes, it's meat
and carne asada--

- Yes, that's what
the people think.

- Everybody has a grill,
so why do I need you?

- Totally, totally.

- So it's not just about taste.

- That's right. Yeah.

- Okay, so are you
putting me to work now?

[laughter]
Okay. What are we making?

- Well, let's do it.

- Okay,
let's go to the kitchen.

- Are you guys working?
- Yes.

- Okay. All right.
Just making sure.

So to understand this recipe,
we need to go back in time.

Like, way back

to when a giant meteorite
struck the Yucatán Peninsula,

wiping out
much of life on Earth,

but triggering the growth
of the flora and fauna

of the modern world.

This dish is Rodrigo's tribute

to the meteorite
that made Mexico.

Is it, like--
is it beef or deer?

- It's like beef jerky.
It's very common right here.

- Dried beef was one
of the original survival foods

of Nuevo León,
and Rodrigo uses it

as the base for a local stew
known as atropellado.

In Mexican stews,
more time, more flavor.

- The finished product
is this pot of tender,

herb-infused beef.

- Looks like a meatball.

- Yes. Yes.

- 12 grams.
- Each one have to be 12 grams.

- Exact? Okay.
- Yes, exact.

- Flour tortilla.

- You want bitter.

- Okay.

So why tempura?

- And is this
how you normally do it?

- Wow, that's literally
tortilla ashes.

- Tortilla ashes.

- Oh, squid ink. Okay.

- So it's going to be
a dark tempura.

- Rodrigo coats the meatballs
in black tempura batter

and deep fries them
in hot oil.

Where did you study?

- You just have
such international

influences, though.

It's the food
that I really know,

and it's the way
I want to be as a chef.

Okay, this is the tempura
from tortilla ashes.

Inside is the atropellado.

What I do is just
cooking the egg yolk.

That's all.
- This is the egg yolk?

- It's the egg.

Like that.
- Oh, like this.

Oh, that's beautiful.

- And then all the flowers...
- Yes.

- We are going to add it.
- Okay.

- It's gonna give you
this, like, different kind

of flavors, aromas.
- Uh-huh.

- A little bit spicy
and acidity too.

Now we're going
to put right here.

- Oh, what's this?
- This is bones.

Roasted bones.

- Roasted--
bones of what, bones?

What kind--
- Bones from pork.

We put it right here,

and then we're going
to smoke it with mesquite.

- Mesquite wood is used
in traditional Mexican cooking

to give meat
a deep, smoky flavor.

- And we're going to burn
a little bit--

- God, it looks like a bong.

- It actually starts
like a bong!

[laughs]

- This dish is
not just an appetizer.

It's the centerpiece
of a nine-course tasting menu

that transforms
familiar ingredients

into flights of imagination.

And every dish is
a piece of theater.

[gasps]

- We'll start with a brief
history of our country.

So everything started
66 million years ago

when this asteroid,
called Chicxulub,

hit the tip of Yucatán,
now the Gulf of Mexico,

and physically formed
our country.

So we can show you
this asteroid

that became the atropellado.

- Wow.

A lot of people don't know
the asteroid that killed

the dinosaurs was in Mexico.

- And actually in Chicxulub.
Enjoy it.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Start with your fingers,
because it's like

the most unstressful thing.

- And I just bite into it.
- Yes, yes.

- One bite?
- [laughs]

- [gasps]

Mmm.

Wow.

- That was the punch
of the flavor, right?

- The juices exploded
in my mouth.

It's a really great texture
because it's very soft

in the inside
and crispy on the outside.

But that smoked bones,
that is beautiful.

- We try to sell
the experience, not just food.

- I think at the end
of the day, though,

you guys are
amazing storytellers.

- Thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much.

- Not just of Mexico.

- Well, you really--yeah.

You really see the spirit
of regios in the food.

In your food.

- Yes, yes.
- You know?

It's, like, resilient
and it's creative

and it's innovative
and it's diverse.

And you go,
"Oh, my gosh, where am I?"

And you go, "Nuevo León.

Estamos en Nuevo León."

- Yes, yes, yes.

- People will be like,
"Wow, this is amazing."

But it's really a product
of the people.

Of the people's spirit here,
I think, in this state.

- Yes, yes.
And I appreciate it.

- [speaking Spanish]
Salud. Salud.