Festive Kitchen · Black Turkey Soup
Relleno Negro
Photo: Krista / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
The soup's jet-black color comes from charring dried chiles until nearly burnt, a technique Yucatec cooks in Orange Walk still do by hand over an open flame.
Turkey or chicken is stewed in a dark, smoky sauce made from charred chiles and recado paste, often studded with hard-boiled egg-stuffed meatballs. Home cooks and small eateries in Orange Walk Town serve it for special occasions.
Why it's made this way: Orange Walk's Mestizo population, descended from Yucatec Maya who fled Mexico's Caste War, kept this Yucatecan dish alive as a signature of the district's festive cooking.
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