Recipe Manuscript

Guisado De Chiltepete

Name: Guisado De Chiltepete
Prep time: PTPT45M
Cook time: PTPT1H15M
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 kg pork shoulder or chicken pieces; 1 tbsp salt; 3 large tomatoes (400 g); 1 medium onion (150 g); 4 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp lard or vegetable oil; 1–2 tbsp dried chiltepín (or chili pequín) crushed; 500 ml chicken or pork broth; 50 g stale bread; 2 whole cloves; 5 cm cinnamon stick; 1 tsp dried oregano leaves; 100 g chorizo sausage (if using chicken); 50 g green olives; 50 g pickled chili peppers (jalapeños or similar)

"Chiltepete Stew"

1900

From the treasured pages of Mexican Cooking Notebook of Traditional and Original Mexican Recipes

Unknown Author

Age of Gastronomy (1800 - 1900)American Intermediate Lunch Dinner

Original Recipe • 1900

Original Manuscript(circa Age of Gastronomy, 1800 - 1900)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

Guisado De Chiltepete

"de carne de puerco ó de gallina se le quitan las venas se embarran de sal y se echan en agua para que se desflemen y se les está quitando la agua por un rato se pica jitomate y si se quiere el jitomate asado y pasado en el metate se pica cebolla en cuartos y ajo rebanado se fríe la carne y allí se echa el recaudo y el chiltepete molido y ya que esta frito se le echa su caldo y se le muele un pedacito de pan frito y su clavo y canela y se le echan unas hojitas de oregano y si es de gallina se le echa chorizos y se adorna con aceitunas y chiles en vinagre."

English Translation

"For pork or hen, remove the veins, spread with salt, and soak in water to remove the strong flavor, changing the water several times. Chop tomatoes (you may roast them and mash on a grinding stone if desired), cut onion into quarters, and slice garlic. Fry the meat, then add the tomato mixture and ground chiltepete pepper. Once it is all fried, add broth, grind a piece of fried bread into the mixture, add clove and cinnamon, and a few oregano leaves. If using hen, add chorizo. Garnish with olives and pickled chilies."

Note on the Original Text

This recipe is typical of historical Mexican cooking instructions: written in a continuous narrative, without measured quantities, detailed timings, or precise order. Early recipes assumed a certain level of practical kitchen knowledge and improvisation. Spellings reflect regional and phonetic tendencies ('chiltepete' for 'chiltepín'), and terminology is simple, focusing on visual and textural cues—'fry until golden', 'add a bit of bread'—rather than scientific accuracy. These recipes invite adaptation, creativity, and personal touch.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Mexican Cooking Notebook of Traditional and Original Mexican Recipes - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Mexican Cooking Notebook of Traditional and Original Mexican Recipes (1900)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Unknown

Era

1900

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A delightful journey through the flavors of Mexico, this notebook brims with both traditional and original recipes—from sopa de chile to sangria—inviting you to savor the vibrant tastes and inventive spirit of Mexican home cooking at the turn of the century.

Kindly made available by

University of Texas at San Antonio

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This lively and rustic recipe comes from an early 20th-century Mexican notebook, written around 1900. At this time, home cooks recorded treasured local and family recipes in notebooks, often handed down through generations. The selection includes both everyday dishes and festive foods, and Guisado de Chiltepete is a perfect example of the fusion of indigenous ingredients—like chiltepín chili—and European influences, such as pork, bread, and olives. The recipe reflects Mexico's culinary diversity at the turn of the century, combining native flavors of the North (chiltepín chilies are a Sonoran staple) with Spanish-introduced ingredients. This dish, like many others in the notebook, is designed for home kitchens and vivid family meals.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

Cooks of the era would have used a heavy clay or iron cazuela placed over a wood or charcoal stove. Tomatoes and chilies were traditionally roasted on a comal (flat clay or metal griddle). The crushed and combined ingredients would often be processed using a metate—a traditional grinding stone—or a large mortar and pestle (molcajete). Knives for cutting meat and vegetables, wooden spoons for stirring, and clay or tin serving dishes were common. Today, a cast iron pot, food processor, and stove top make the recipe accessible for the modern cook.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

45 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 15 mins

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

2 lb pork shoulder or chicken pieces
1 tbsp salt
3 large tomatoes (14 oz)
1 medium onion (5 oz)
4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
1–2 tbsp dried chiltepín (or chili pequín) crushed
2 cups chicken or pork broth
2 oz stale bread
2 whole cloves
2-inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
3.5 oz chorizo sausage (if using chicken)
1.75 oz green olives
1.75 oz pickled chili peppers (jalapeños or similar)

Instructions

To prepare Guisado de Chiltepete in the modern kitchen, begin with about 2 pounds of pork shoulder or chicken pieces.
Trim away excess veins and fat from the meat.
Rub the meat with 1 tablespoon of salt, then soak it in cold water for 20-30 minutes, changing the water once or twice to draw out any excess blood or bitterness.
Dice 3 large tomatoes (about 14 ounces).
For greater flavor, roast the tomatoes over a flame or in the oven before mashing them with a mortar and pestle or food processor.
Slice 1 medium onion into quarters and thinly slice 4 cloves of garlic.
Heat 2 tablespoons of lard or vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan.
Remove the meat from the soaking water, pat dry, and fry until golden on all sides.
Add the tomatoes, onions, and garlic to the pan, and continue to fry, stirring frequently.
Stir in 1–2 tablespoons of ground chiltepín (or substitute with dried crushed chili pequín if unavailable) to taste, and fry briefly with the rest of the ingredients.
Add 2 cups of chicken or pork broth to the pan.
Separately, fry a 2-ounce piece of stale bread in oil until golden, then crush it with a mortar and pestle.
Add this to the stew to thicken it, along with 2 cloves (whole or ground), a 2-inch stick of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves.
If using chicken rather than pork, add 3.5 ounces of sliced chorizo sausage at this stage.
Simmer the stew until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
To finish, garnish with a handful of green olives and pickled jalapeños or other chilies in vinegar.

Estimated Calories

500 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Preparing the ingredients, including trimming and soaking the meat, takes about 30 minutes. Roasting and chopping tomatoes, prepping onions, garlic, and bread, and getting everything ready adds around 15 minutes. Cooking the stew and letting the meat get tender takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Each serving is about 500 calories, and the recipe makes 6 hearty servings.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.