{"id":86570,"date":"2025-07-23T18:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T18:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/86570\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T18:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T18:15:21","slug":"ancient-mexicans-ate-their-enemies-in-this-tamal-which-you-can-now-order-in-dallas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/86570\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Mexicans ate their enemies in this tamal, which you can now order in Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture this: A tamal that weighs as much as 50 pounds.<\/p>\n

Called \u201czacahuil,\u201d the giant food comes from the northeastern Mexican region of La Huasteca. <\/p>\n

It can be up to about 3 1\/2 feet long, according to L\u00fa Ferreira. She\u2019s a native of La Huasteca and a regular customer at El Catr\u00edn<\/a>, one of the few restaurants in Dallas that makes the dish.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, it is wrapped in a leaf from a plant called papatla, but here people make it with banana leaves and it works,\u201d Ferreira said.<\/p>\n

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Nowadays it is eaten at large gatherings, like parties, weddings, quincea\u00f1eras and baptisms, but its origins are more than 600 years old \u2014 and rooted in revenge. <\/p>\n

\"JennyJenny Garcia (center) reaches for a large portion of pork to place into a traditional batter while preparing a large portion of zacahuil, a huge tamal, which has a long history dating back to the Aztecs. The restaurant, at 835 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Dallas, prepared the food on June 27 before it was placed into an oven to cook overnight to be served the next morning, June 28, 2025. Also pictured are El Catrin Restaurant owner Anselma Betancourt (left) and Maria Gonzalez (background right).(Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to know zacahuil originally wasn\u2019t huge solely so that it could be a shareable dish. It also needed to fit entire human body parts. The dish\u2019s origins date back to the 1400s, when an envoy of Emperor Moctezuma, who ruled the great Tenochtitl\u00e1n, was executed, dismembered and cooked in a tamal after being accused of raping young people in Huasteca. Enemies and other criminals faced a similar fate.<\/p>\n

Today, the filling has (obviously) shifted, with chicken, turkey and pork being the most common stuffings. El Catr\u00edn sticks to pork. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt had a cruel origin, but now we eat it during happy moments,\u201d said Ferreira. \u201cWhen we find it in a restaurant like this, it takes us straight back to our homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where to eat zacahuil in Dallas<\/p>\n

The walls of El Catr\u00edn, on Jefferson Street in the heart of north Oak Cliff<\/a>, are packed with more than 50 paintings featuring Mexican motifs and characters. They range from singers, such as Juan Gabriel and Vicente Fern\u00e1ndez, to popular wrestlers and actors from the golden age of Mexican cinema, such as Pedro Infante and Mar\u00eda F\u00e9lix. <\/p>\n

The Mexican restaurant\u2019s decor draws customers in, as does its food, with memories of home.<\/p>\n

\"AnselmaAnselma Betancourt, owner of El Catrin restaurant, right, works with staff member Jenny Garcia as the two prepare zacahuil, a huge tamal, with a long history that dates back to the Aztecs. The restaurant, at 835 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Dallas, prepared the food on June 27 before placing the dish into an oven to cook overnight until finished the next morning. (Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor)<\/p>\n

Anselma Betancourt, who opened El Catr\u00edn 11 years ago, draws especially from the Mexican food of Veracruz, a cuisine rich in tropical flavors and family recipes. Veracruz is part of La Huasteca, where zacahuil originated.<\/p>\n

For Betancourt, preparing zacahuil starts with the corn, the basis for any good tamal. <\/p>\n

\u201cI cook the corn with lime,\u201d she explained, \u201cAnd once it\u2019s cooked, we wash it and take it to the mill so that it comes out as it should: crushed, not finely ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, it\u2019s mixed with chile and meat before folding it into banana leaves and steaming it for several hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe add raw meat so it releases its juices and flavor into the corn,\u201d said Betancourt. \u201cBut the real secret is in the corn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA serving of zacahuil, a huge tamal, which has a long history dating back to the Aztecs, is garnished before being served to customers at El Catrin restaurant. The staff at El Catrin, at 835 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Dallas, prepared the food on June 27 before it was placed into an oven overnight to cook. (Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor)<\/p>\n

Betancourt said zacahuil is eaten in markets everywhere in La Huasteca. She learned to make it by watching people cook it in their stalls. That was decades ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am very proud that people like it and are trying something that reminds them of their town because we are so far away,\u201d Betancourt said.<\/p>\n

El Catr\u00edn is at 835 Jefferson Blvd., Dallas. El Catrin Restaurant.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"D-FWD-FW Sabores logo(The Dallas Morning News)<\/p>\n

This story is part of D-FW Sabores<\/a>, a series dedicated to finding authentic Mexican cuisine across North Texas, dish by dish, region by region.<\/p>\n