
Before you get turned off by this edition of Midnight Snack allow me to explain the headline. Years ago I used to eat these wonderful tacos at a Mexican deli in Hell's Kitchen. After working my way through all the humdrum varieties (carnitas, bifteck, al pastor, cecina, etc.), I spied pancita de chivo written on the blackboard.
I asked what kind of meat it was before trying a taco. When the lady told me they were goat belly, I gladly ordered one up, after all I'd never met chivo that was anything less than cravable. When I saw that the tortilla contained blood pudding and god knows whatever other bits of goat innards I wasn't entirely turned off. In fact, my interest was piqued since I enjoy a good black pudding every now and then. When I tasted it, everything changed, for this was no mere blood pudding. It was subltly spiced with cinnamon and hot peppers and utterly delicious.
Fast forward to yesterday when I saw pansa negro de chivo on the specials menu at one of my favorite Mexican spots. When I ordered it, I wasn't entirely sure whether it would be the same meat I'd had in tacos. As it turned out it was. About five tacos worth of goat gutty goodness were sided with some of the best Mexican rice I've ever had. Usually this lackluster rice has a technicolor orange hue and remains uneaten, but not this version. It had just enough achiote to color it and was studded through with bits of fresh carrots and peas, and kept company by some great stewed beans. The whole affair was topped with four or five pickled jalapeños that had been sliced lengthwise.
As you might have guessed from the topic of this post the whole platter proved to be too much for me. Of course when you get it packed up, dump in a bowl and then nuke it, the result looks nowhere near as good as it did in the restaurant. But I can assure you, it hits the spot at midnight with an ice cold Tecate. Let's just hope I don't have any nightmares about chupacabras.








Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-15-2007 @ 2:47AM
bbum said...
WHERE can we find such a delicacy?
Reply
5-15-2007 @ 4:47AM
Angela Pitt said...
I think I'll pass, sorry.
Reply
5-15-2007 @ 10:52AM
Adriane said...
Okay so the spices are there-- whats the base flavor? Is it very irony/minerally tasting? And how about texture? Need the info!
Reply
5-15-2007 @ 11:27AM
Joe D. said...
Adriane,
I wish I could better parse the flavor for you. I wouldn't exactly call it minerally and it certainly doesn't taste "goaty." It tastes much like any other blood sausage, with the exception that it's shot through with succulent morsels of what I presume are bits of goat belly meat. As for texture, it's mostly soft but has the occasionaly chewy bits of innardss. Hope this helps!
Reply
5-15-2007 @ 12:35PM
shmack said...
Joe D.!
For those of us who live in NYC, please let us in on your favorite mexican spots in the city! Thanks!
Reply
5-15-2007 @ 5:33PM
badfrog said...
Ever try goat head tacos? I think they were called cabeza de pastore. Good but a little crunchy from some cartilage, probably in the lips or cheeks. I had a couple of extra beers and persevered through. Not a big fan of blood pudding, but I'm going back to Sonora in August and I'll look for these.
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5-15-2007 @ 5:44PM
marijane stafford said...
Joe -- I congratulate you for championing any kind of blood pudding. I grew up in South Tx in a german community, & "Blutwurst" was one of our staples when I was growing up -- I love it to this day, & really enjoyed the "black pudding" that was served on the breakfasts while I was in London. Unfortunately, Negro de Chivo has never appeared on any of the Mexican menus in my area -- but I will keep looking for it, with anticipation!!!
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