Mexican Pacholas are ground beef and pork mixed with a super flavorful chile seasoned paste, then pressed into patties as thin as tortillas. A traditional dish from Central Mexico, these flash fried Mexican meat patties will win your heart.
I happen to think these Mexican ground meat patties, deeply flavored with chiles and spices, are my Mexican cuisine “find” of the decade. Unique and fun, we became pacholas fans after the first bite.
In Mexico, pacholas are made by combining meat with local seasonings, then ground and rolled out on a metate, a large slab of volcanic rock with a rolling pin called a metapil. Which is made of similar material.
For those of us who don’t own a metate, we’re in luck, because we can use pre-ground meat and season it accordingly. Use your food processor to combine the spices and your hands to mix the meat. A tortilla press does the work to flatten the meat and a heavy skillet to flash fry the patties.
This recipe is adapted from Pati Jinich’s latest cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Kitchen.
Let’s take a look at these no bun burgers.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef and Ground Pork.
- Diced Onion.
- Panko Bread Crumbs.
- Dried Chile Peppers, Pasilla and Arbol.
- Cream.
- Egg for binding.
- Spices: Salt, Cinnamon, Mexican Oregano, Cloves, Nutmeg.
Ingredient Substitutions:
Several of the ingredients that I used were substitutions because that’s what I had on hand. Examples are:
- Bread Crumbs: The original recipe calls for saltine crackers. Use ½ cup or 10 to 12 crackers.
- Dried Chile Peppers: I had pasilla chile negro and chiles de arbol on hand. The original recipe calls for dried ancho peppers. Guajillo dried peppers are commonly found in American markets and will also work well here.
- Cream: You can also use milk.
- Oregano: Mexican oregano is preferred for this recipe, it’s peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don’t have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.
Step By Step Instructions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions.
- Step 1: Snap off the top of the dried chile peppers and empty out the seeds. Cover them with water and in a small sauce pan, simmer of medium low heat until softened. About 10 – 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove to a food processor.
- Step 2: Add onion, bread crumbs, cream, eggs, chiles and spices to food processor. Grind into a paste.
The result is a beautiful, rich red paste that you’ll now mix into ground beef and ground pork.
- Step 3: Using your hands, gently toss the paste into the ground beef and ground pork in a large bowl until well combined.
- Step 4: Roll the meat into lime sized meatballs.
Tip: Hands are always the best tool for mixing meat for meatballs or meatloaf. Using a large spoon will crush everything together, creating a tighter mix, which can cause the meat mixture to be dry and too dense in texture. You want these pacholas to have a springy texture once cooked.
- Step 5: Line the bottom of a tortilla press with plastic. A plastic grocery bag that’s been cut works good here. Place a meatball on the plastic and top with another piece of plastic bag. Gently press down to make a patty that is somewhere around ⅛ – ¼ inch thick.
- Step 6: Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a drizzle of oil. Once the oil is hot, carefully lay the thin patty of meat into the skillet. Cook for about two minutes and then turn and cook the other side until browned. Place the cooked patty onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Continue with the remaining meatballs.
Tip: If you don’t have a tortilla press, place one meatball between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the patties to ⅛ inch thick. They don’t have to be perfectly round.
Variations
- Want to make these pacholas even spicier? Add about ½ teaspoon red chile flakes to the ground meat mixture.
- Want to make pacholas smokier? Add ¾ teaspoon chipotle chile powder.
- Serve with the salsa of your choice. A standard Mexican Restaurant Style Tomato Salsa is good here. Try this Chipotle Black Bean Corn Salsa, or if you like a sweet salty combo, this Mango Pico de Gallo is a great choice.
Storage
- This recipe makes about 16 patties for 5 – 6 servings. If you want to freeze half of the meatballs, place them in an airtight container, a freezer safe quart baggie works well here. Gently press the air out of the baggie and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and cook the patties according to directions.
- Store any leftover cooked patties in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator. A microwave works very well to reheat the next day. Cook an individual patty for 30 – 45 seconds on high.
Tip: Prepare the meat mixture up to 24 hours ahead for maximum flavor. Store in the refrigerator covered.
And if you’re looking for even more Mexican recipes, don’t miss my Mexican food category. You’ll find lots of great recipes, including the most popular on my site for Hatch Green Chili.
Related Recipes
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Mexican Pacholas
Equipment
- Tortilla Press
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 Dried Pasilla Chile Peppers stemmed and seeded. Or dried ancho chiles.
- 2 Dried Chiles de Arbol Stemmed and seeded.
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs or crushed salteen crackers. 10 – 12 crackers.
- 3 tablespoons cream or milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup sweet onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cloves stems removed and discarded
- ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano or marjoram
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound ground beef lean
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
- salsa for serving
Instructions
- Snap off the top of the chile peppers and empty out the seeds. Cover them with water and in a small sauce pan, simmer on medium low heat until softened. About 10 – 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove to a food processor.
- Add chopped onion, bread crumbs or saltines, cream, eggs, chiles and spices to food processor. Grind into a paste
- Using your hands, gently toss the paste into the ground beef and ground pork until well combined. Let the mixture sit uncovered for 30 minutes. This will allow he flavors to blend.
- Roll the meat into lime sized meatballs.
- Line the bottom of a tortilla press with plastic. A plastic grocery bag that's been cut works good here. Or use a produce bag or ziplock bag that has been cut to roughly cover the tortilla press. Place a meatball on the plastic and top with another piece of plastic. Gently press down to make a patty that is ⅛ – 14 inch thick.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add about a tablespoon of oil.
- Remove the top sheet of the plastic. Pick up the patty from the bottom, using the plastic, invert it onto your palm. Remove the plastic and transfer the patty to the hot oiled pan, just as if you were laying down a tortilla, being careful not to let the patty fold when it hits the pan.
- Cook each patty one at a time for about two minutes and then turn and cook the other side until browned, about 2 – 3 minutes more. While the patty is cooking, prepare the next meat patty. Place the cooked patty onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Continue with the remaining patties.
- Serve immediately with the salsa of your choice.
Video
Notes
- Want to make these pacholas even spicier? Add about ½ teaspoon red chile flakes to the ground meat mixture.
- Want to make pacholas smokier? Add ¾ teaspoon chipotle chile powder.
- Serve with the salsa of your choice. A standard Mexican Restaurant Style Tomato Salsa is good here. Try this Chipotle Black Bean Corn Salsa, or if you like a sweet salty combo, this Mango Pico de Gallo is a great choice.
Nutrition
Mexican Pacholas … They’re what’s for dinner.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of pacholas! But they look terrific — or certainly this recipe does. Really, really fun and interesting dish. Thanks!
Well these are certainly new to me, I’ve never herd of pacholas but they do sound good.
Tried this recipe and it was over the top delicious.
I’ve never heard of these. they’re like meat tortillas, spicy meat tortillas. Looks relatively easy to make and quite tasty. I love being inspired to do something new. Thanks!
These sound very interesting Chef and I’ll give them a try. I like the idea of the chipotle powder but will omit the Chiles de Arbol for our low heat eaters.