Long live the gordita.
Taco Bell killed the gordita.
Walk into a Taco Bell to order a gordita, and what you get will bear little resemblance to the traditional Mexican dish of the same name. At Taco Bell, a gordita is more akin to a pliable pita flatbread, stuffed with the fast food chain’s usual suspects of ingredients— watery tomatoes, shredded lettuce, a sprinkling of cheese, a dollop of sour cream and whatever meat the fast food giant is promoting that day.
Head south of the border, though, and you’ll encounter something completely different. Resembling a corn cake and similar to the arepa, its Venezuelan cousin, a gordita is a classic street and lunch food throughout central and northern Mexico, easily enjoyed thanks to its portable size. The gordita— which translates to “chubby one” or “little fat one”— is a pastry made with masa, the same traditional cornmeal dough used to make tortillas, and stuffed with cheese, meat or other filling.
It doesn’t take much for a tortilla to become a gordita— just pack the masa a little thicker, and you have the basic technique. We’re talking a mix of simple masa harina (a widely available corn flour), water, salt and, if desired, lard. (Why not? Live a little.)
Typically shaped narrower in diameter than a traditional tortilla, it’s not folded over like a taco. Instead the gordita features a slit on one side that cools down the dough disk after cooking while simultaneously creating a pocket for stuffing.
The sky’s the limit on stuffings, with gorditas often sharing the same fillings as tacos— barbacoa, al pastor, carnitas, you name it. What the thicker gordita excels in is encasing typically thicker, saucier stews and preparations than you’d find in a taco, like chicharron con chile, a spicy pork rind stew. The little pocket and thicker disk of masa can withstand and absorb a filling’s juices and liquids, the effect being at once a crisp outer shell and toothsome, savory interior.
One can deep-fry a gordita, creating a crispier outer crust, or it can be pan-fried or heated on an iron skillet, which offers a nice, smoky sear to the whole shebang. Taco Bell may have introduced the word gordita to many people, but there’s nothing like the real thing to get a greater taste of Mexican cuisine beyond tacos and burritos.