The Bold Taste of the American Southwest
Digging into the distinct flavors of New Mexico Chiles, Fire Roasted Meat, and The Sonoran Hot Dog
For years the culinary world has asked the question, does The United States have its own authentic cuisine, or is our cuisine just an amalgamation of the best parts of the rest of the world?
In this five-part series, we are going to attempt to answer that question by taking a deep dive into the vast culinary landscape that is the regional cuisine of the United States and today we are taking a trip to the great American Southwest.
Southwestern Cuisine
The cuisine of the American Southwest is made up of bold and distinct flavors, from red and green chiles to Santa Maria BBQ and the Sonoran hot dog, Southwest cuisine has become a staple in our culinary landscape.
To understand Southwestern cuisine we have to go back and take a look to see where this cuisine began. Southwestern cuisine is similar to some Mexican foods which I wrote about in a recent article called,
How Important is Mexican Food to The United States?
In The United States, we love Mexican food so much that it has become an integral part of what we consider American food. From nachos and quesadillas to tostadas and margaritas we can’t seem to get enough of this spicy goodness. The influence that Mexican food and culture have had on American cuisine has been significantly widespread due in part to Mexic…
We can trace the origins of Southwestern cuisine back to when New Mexico was still part of New Spain and the Republic of Mexico. During this time, the regional ingredients of the Southwest were fairly limited with few imports to supplement food that was grown locally.
Corn, squash, and beans have been staples of North American agriculture ever since ancient man walked this land. These staple ingredients are known as the “three sisters” with the pinto bean being the most iconic and sought-after in southwestern cooking. This staple bean can be served either whole or refried but both styles can be used as a filling for burritos, tacos, tostadas, or any other way you like.
We can’t even mention the cuisine of the Southwest without talking about the Hatch Chile. The ever-popular Hatch Chile is an essential ingredient in southwestern cooking, however, this should not be confused with the New Mexico Chile which is a green Hatch chili that undergoes a fire-roasting process to bring out its spicy robust flavor. Although the New Mexico Chile has an amazing flavor, the green Hatch chili is also a very tasty pepper that can be used similarly.
The term Hatch Chile is kind of a catch-all term that refers to a variety of chiles that are grown in the Hatch Valley in New Mexico alongside the Rio Grande. California’s Anaheim peppers were conceived of and developed in New Mexico so that they could be strong enough to grow properly in central and southern California. They also make a fantastic alternative to the traditional Hatch Chile.
In American Southwestern Cuisine green chiles could be considered their own food group. There is even a version of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that incorporates green Hatch Chiles, I would love to give it a try, would you? After all, green chiles are so ubiquitous in southwestern cuisine that you can basically put them in anything.
The cuisine of Arizona is heavily influenced by the spicy flavors of their neighbor to the south. Their proximity to Mexico reflects the fusion of Native American and Hispanic culinary traditions. The O'odham people are the Native People that inhabited Arizona and cultivated crops like maize and tepary beans around the Sonoran Desert which is located at the base of the Tucson Mountains.
Every region of the United States has its own version of the great American hot dog and Arizona is no different. The Sonoran Dog is an Arizona specialty that is an all-beef dog wrapped in bacon and topped with the iconic pinto beans, buttery guacamole, (thank you Mexico), jalapeno peppers, salsa, or tomatoes, and can be layered with other southwestern flavors such as grilled onions and is traditionally served on a bolillo bun similar to a torta.
The great city of Tucson, Arizona became the first U.S. state to be designated the “city of gastronomy” by UNESCO. That designation right there should show how important southwestern cuisine is not only to the United States but to the world as well.
The state of California has a cuisine all unto its own, but we can’t forget that what we think of as Californian cuisine has its roots in the cuisine of the American Southwest, with a regional favorite being the Santa Maria style of barbeque.
This BBQ style originates in the Santa Maria Valley and developed during the mission era of California when rancheros and vaqueros would throw Spanish-style parties where the local community would feast upon a plethora of meats cooked over an open fire until tender perfection. I would love to go back in time and get myself a slice of some delicious tri-tip.
Colorado’s culinary traditions are similar to the cuisine of New Mexico but with more emphasis on wild game, notably, bison, elk, trout, and the delicacy known as the rocky mountain oyster. We can’t forget that what we now know as the American Southwest was once a part of Mexico. Considering this, we now see that Mexico once had an even more vast culinary landscape of flavors to get lost in.
The cuisine of the American Southwest has been influenced not only by the food of Mexico but by just about every culture that has inhabited it, making Southwestern cuisine a true melting pot of spicy, sweet, and savory goodness that you will only find in this part of the world.
I remain eternally grateful to the culinary traditions of our neighbor to the south.