What a recado is
Yucatán's tourism ministry (SEFOTUR) describes recados as ground base preparations of ingredients and spices, later used to make other dishes. They're the secret of Yucatecan cooking: with a good recado, the stew is half done.
The main ones
- Red recado: achiote, garlic, peppercorns, clove and other seasonings, brought together with sour orange. Essential for cochinita pibil.
- Black recado: charred dried chile and corn tortilla, which give its color. Used in chilmole, relleno negro and its but.
- White recado: garlic, oregano, pepper, clove, cumin, cilantro, cinnamon and sour orange; several spices are briefly toasted before grinding.
- Steak recado: a thick paste for seasoning meat, escabeches, poultry and soups.
- All-purpose recado: oregano-based; also called spice recado.
Variations
SEFOTUR's recipe book notes that some recados have versions tailored to the dish they're meant for. Every cook adjusts proportions to her own hand and family.
How to buy them
- Markets sell them as paste, in balls or portions.
- Ask which dish each one is for.
- Keep them sealed; the red one stains.
Recados at the market
Valladolid's traditional market, for example, sells the recados used in local cooking, and Mary Tours' Chichén Itzá, Izamal and Valladolid trip ends in that city with time to explore downtown. The trip leaves from the office on Calle 61 in downtown Mérida.
| Recado | Base | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Achiote and spices | Cochinita pibil |
| Black | Charred dried chile and tortilla | Relleno negro, chilmole |
| White | Toasted spices and sour orange | Stews and fillings |
| Steak | Thick spice paste | Meat, escabeches, poultry, soups |
| All-purpose | Oregano | General use |
Fun facts
- Black recado is made with charred tortilla.
- All-purpose recado is oregano-based.
- Some recados change depending on the dish they're for.
Related tours
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Chichén Itzá, Izamal and Valladolid
Four stops in one day, and none of them rushed
from $1,200 MXN per person
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8:00 AM – 8:00 PM · daily
- 8:00 AM Departure from the office — An hour on the road to Izamal. The guide uses the drive to set up what comes next.
- 9:00 AM San Antonio de Padua Convent — The story of the 16th-century Franciscan convent told in its atrium, then free time to walk the yellow town.
- 11:15 AM Chichén Itzá — Guided walk through the Temple of Kukulkán, the Sacred Cenote, the Ball Court, the Tzompantli and the Jaguars and Eagles platform.
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- 3:00 PM Selva Maya cenote — The swim lands exactly when the sun is at its worst. Changing rooms and showers on site.
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- 11:30 AM Chaksikín cenote — Semi-open. You go down between limestone walls painted with Maya-themed murals.
- 12:00 PM Xooch cenote — Semi-open, with a shaft of light that falls straight onto the water mid-morning.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a Yucatecan recado?
A paste of ground spices and ingredients used as a base for other dishes.
Which recado goes in cochinita?
Red recado, made with achiote.
Why is black recado black?
Because of the charred dried chile and tortilla.
Where can I buy recados?
In Yucatán's markets.
