Best Mexican Lunch in LA: La Flor de Yucatan

The culinary delights of La Flor de Yucatan’s cuisine are made of an exquisite blend of flavors, both Mexican and European. The burst of Yucatan spices and tender slow-cooked meats definitely provides a different Mexican experience for most pallets. After just winning LA’s Best Mexican Lunch, we caught up with Annie Burgos, Owner of La Flor de Yucatan, and even snagged the family recipe to their famous Chirmole.

What provides the inspiration behind your menu?

My dad is from the Yucatan Peninsula so every dish is made from family recipes that have been carried down for generations. We’ve been in business now for 46 years and all our original recipes still ring true today.

What is your most popular entree?

Our Cochinita Pibil consists of suckling pork meat marinated with achiote and sour orange juice, wrapped and baked in banana leaves and served with pickled onions. It definitely is a sell out and one of our most mouthwatering entrees.

How can we get a taste of La Flor de Yucatan at home?

One of our most famous dishes is the Chirmole also known as Relleno Negro. This savory black soup can easily be found at many street food stands and restaurants in the Yucatán. The most striking feature of the soup is its distinctive black color, which is from the use of black recado, a paste made from charred peppers, annatto seeds and spices.

Here’s how to make it:

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Recado negro

• 2 Whole Chickens
• 1 head finely chopped garlic
• 1 whole diced onion
• 1 diced sweet pepper
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• Water
• 5-6 whole allspice or 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 sprig of epazote or 4 epazote leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 small bricks of black recado (available at La Flor de Yucatán)
• 1/2 small brick red recado (available at La Flor de Yucatán)
• 1 banana pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 ounce flour dissolved in ¼ cup of warm water

Dressing:

• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 finely chopped chile dulce yucateco, or green bell pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove
• salt & pepper to taste
• ½ small brick black recado
• 3 finely chopped hard-boiled eggs (chop whites and yolks separately)
• 1 raw egg
• 1 sprig epazote, finely chopped

Prepare:

Clean and cut the chicken in quarters, trimming the excess fat then place the pieces in a large pot with the bay leaves and epazote and enough water to cover.

Place all the remaining ingredients for the recado negro in a blender, except for the flour, and purée in separate batches, adding just enough water to make a smooth paste. Bring the water with the chicken to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes, covered. After 30 minutes, add the recado negro and cook for another 30 minutes until the chicken is tender, adding water as needed to cover the chicken with the recado negro. Slowly stir in the flour and cook for another 10 minutes. Then, remove the chicken from the pot and pass the recado negro through a sieve to remove any pieces not liquefied, setting it aside. When the chicken is cool enough, shred it by hand into thin strands of meat.  

Dressing:

Mix the shredded chicken with the chopped onion and chile dulce and minced garlic, then add salt and pepper to taste. Mix the chicken well with the raw egg, then add the cooked chopped egg whites and the epazote. Form a loaf using cheesecloth with the mixture on a long plate and sprinkle the chopped egg yolks in the center of the loaf. Wrap and bind the loaf in cheesecloth and cook it in the recado negro in a pot at medium heat for an hour.Unwrap the loaf of chirmole, and serve in thick slices with the stew in a bowl.

What can we expect from La Flor de Yucatan in 2017?

Our guests have been requesting more of the restaurant type of feel at our location and this is something we are hoping to accomplish in 2017. We hope to bring in more seating and hopefully expand to another location as well. We also will be expanding our catering business for weddings and large events.

Congratulations, La Flor De Yucatan! Think they deserve the top honors of winning The Single Best Lunch in LA? Stay tuned to see if they receive the top honor!