♪ Pati, voice-over: In searching for hidden gems in new cities, I sometimes let my nose be my guide.

Today, I'm in the city of Linares, Nuevo León, an official magic town nestled in the heart of orange country, where I'm following the smoky aroma of Texas-style barbeque to the grill of Luis Rivas.

He's preparing his award-winning Mex-Tex.

Pati: So, to eat these tacos, you first have to find the taco.

Man: Yeah.

Pati, voice-over: Afterwards, I'm invited to his family's orange farm for a massive carne asada with his family and grilling friends, who show me how it's done in the north.

Pati: I've never seen this!

Tortillas right on the coal!

Pati, voice-over: Then, the sweet smell of dulce de leche has led me to the original makers of one of Mexico's most beloved candies--Glorias.

The Pope has tried the Glories!

♪ Pati, voice-over: And in my kitchen, I'm making a recipe inspired by Luis' friends that will have you begging for seconds.

Who would have thought to put arrachera in the fried rice?

Pati, voice-over: A honey-glazed pork belly arrachera and shrimp fried rice.

And the "Yay" to the "Yum"-- the pork belly.

♪ Doesn't stop!

Mmm!

Ha ha ha!

♪ Mmm!

Man: I am going to give you a secret.

Yes.

I love secrets.

Pati: Mmm.

Mmm...mmm!

It's like nothing I've tasted before.

Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table is brought to you by... [Singers singing in Spanish] Man: La Costeña ¡por sabor!

Woman: Traditional recipes, authentic flavors, and ingredients.

A taste of México in 90 seconds.

SOMOS--food from the heart of México.

♪ Singers: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ Woman: FUD brand meats with traditional Mexican flavor.

Woman: Stand Together-- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

Woman: Here, the typical arroz con pollo...or not!

Unfollow la Receta.

Mahatma rice.

Woman: King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our Masa Harina at KingArthurBaking.com.

["Nationwide" theme playing on guitar] Man: Cozilumbre--cookware, bakeware, and kitchenware for cooking up tradiciones in your cocinas.

♪ Man: Gobierno de Monterrey.

♪ Pati, voice-over: Meandering through the traditional colonial architecture of Linares, I'm led by a smell that's not so common in Mexican magic towns-- Texas-style barbeque.

I know!

Si, si, si!

Yeah.

Oh, to crouch!

So, I love it how in Mexico, we have all these catchy nicknames for our food, no?

Yes.

We love nicknames for people.

Pati, voice-over: Luis Rivas' year-old restaurant is quickly becoming a local hotspot with its melt-in-your-mouth smoked brisket fused with traditional Mexican flavors.

Pati: So, the tacos agachados are traditionally made with what kind of meat?

Ah!

Picadillo.

Picadillo, which-- this is the ground meat that's cooked Mexican style, but you're putting-- you're Texasanizing-- Yeah.

Mexican tacos.

I love it!

So, it's not Tex-Mex.

No.

It's Mex-Tex.

Mex-Tex.

But I have to tell you, Luis, I must have this bite [continues in Spanish].

OK. Good?

It...tastes very, very smoky-- Mm-hmm.

very, very bacon-y.

Mm-hmm.

Delicious!

W-what's that bacon smoky flavor?

Is it from the way you smoke it?

Luis: Yeah.

Mmm!

It's just falling apart in my mouth.

Yeah.

Pati, voice-over: Luis is no ordinary weekend grillmaster.

In fact, he came within reach of beating the Texans at their own game in achieving something no other Mexican has before.

So, you won...

Which prize?

The third place?

By a Mexican.

Yes.

You're that proud!

Look at that smile!

Yeah, fortunately.

That's amazing!

Is it the first time a Mexican?

That's a--so you decided to bring Texas barbeque here.

Yeah.

And now we're putting it in the tacos.

OK, show-- Walk me through making the tacos agachados.

Pati, voice-over: His tacos agachados are my kind of delicious mess, and it starts with exactly 8 tacos, not 7.

Ha ha ha ha!

Pati, voice-over: The deep-fried tortillas are smothered in refried beans, stuffed with juicy brisket and covered under a mountain of toppings.

Uh-huh.

Ha ha ha!

OK, so-- so to eat these tacos, you first have to find the taco.

Yeah.

I found my first taco, and it's a beautiful taco.

Look at this.

♪ Mmm.

Mmm.

Oh, my gosh!

It's like meat and potatoes-- Mm-hmm.

in a taco.

It's refreshing.

It's cute.

It has so much flavor.

You taste a little bit of the lard in the potatoes and the tortilla.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, wow.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Pati: So, after you won and you could bring the barbeque to Nuevo León, why did you choose Linares?

Yeah.

♪ Pati, voice-over: To more fully understand Luis and his love of cooking, he's invited me to his family's nearby orange grove for a proper carne asada.

OK. Pati, voice-over: Linares is located in Mexico's citrus region known as the orange belt.

Despite the dry desert climate, the deep water table makes this area ideal for growing citrus.

Pati: Ah!

30 years old!

60 years old!

Pati, voice-over: The farm has come full circle in the Rivas family.

Luis' father and grandfather both worked here as youngsters.

Pati: Si!

Mmm, mmm.

Pati, voice-over: Carne asadas are so much more than just grilled meat tacos, especially in the north.

It's the weekly centerpiece of family life.

But today's is even more special because Luis has invited his chef friends from all over Nuevo León.

There's all these nuances about carne asada people don't know, and here you have a very important community of, like, [indistinct] here and Nuevo León are like... right?

Luis: Yeah, part of-- it's part of tradition, so if you're from Nuevo León, you're into [indistinct] carne asada.

Yeah.

That's a--a basic.

Pati, voice-over: First, Luis teaches me how to make a traditional cabrito on a spit.

Baby goat is a meal of historical significance to Nuevo León dating back centuries.

[Pati and Luis speaking Spanish] OK, so we have... Luis and Pati: Oregano.

Pati: And I didn't know that oregano was such a big deal in Nuevo León, that it grows-- that's new to me.

Pati, voice-over: While the cabrito cooks, Luis' friends have prepared some traditional northern machacado-- scrambled eggs with dried beef.

Mmm, mmm.

This is crazy delicious!

Pati: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Mmm!

Mmm!

Mmm!

Man: Ha ha ha ha!

In lard, like fresh lard.

Pati, voice-over: Then a chicharrón, shrimp, and bacon-fried rice.

This inspired the recipe I'm making for you later in my kitchen.

Man: Si.

Oh, my God.

It is so--like it has everything about the fried rice that you love... That's what [indistinct].

The rice and how the grains are so separated, but then, yeah, the chicharrón in the carnitas, and oh, my God... Pati, voice-over: After 2 hours over the fire, the cabrito is finally ready to taste, but not without heating the tortillas the northern way.

Pati: I've never seen this!

Tortillas right on the coals!

So, would you say this is the iconic dish of Nuevo León?

Yes.

Or one of?

Or the?

Yes, the one.

Pati: Look at this taco.

This is so worth the wait.

And I know why people here are so proud of this.

Man: Yeah.

Simple, delicious.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

Gracias.

♪ Pati, voice-over: I don't think I've eaten so much chicharrón in my life as I did in Nuevo León.

They love the chicharrón, and they have incredible pork belly.

And I'm gonna make for you a honey-glazed pork belly arrachera and shrimp fried rice.

Now, does that sound good?

Well, it's outrageously delicious.

So, I'm gonna start by making a brine for the pork belly.

3 cups of water... 1/3 of a cup of honey.

A lot of the honey from Nuevo León is made from the orange blossoms, from the orange tree.

The honey there is so delicious.

And then, 1/4 cup of salt.

I have 1 pound of pork belly, and this piece of pork belly is so beautiful.

Now, pork belly comes from the belly of the pig, and it has the skin, all of the fat, and the meat.

The beauty is in transforming this into something that's really tender where the meat will be really soft and the top will be very crispy.

[Splashing] While my brine cools, I want to make my rice.

So, I have my saucepan set over medium heat.

I'm gonna add a little bit of safflower oil, about 2 tablespoons; 1 1/2 cups of long-grain white rice.

I'm gonna stir this here for a second.

And I'm not seasoning this with onion or garlic or anything.

I'm just adding my homemade chicken broth, which is really tasty.

So, 3 cups chicken broth go in here.

[Sizzling] I'm gonna add about a teaspoon of salt.

As I wait for this to start bubbling, I want to cover my pork belly with a brine, and it's gonna just sit in here covered in this water with honey and salt.

This really helps the pork belly get incredibly irresistible.

You're gonna let this sit anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.

And because I want to make this the best it can be, I have one in the fridge that's been sitting there for 24 hours.

I'm gonna let it come to room temperature before I put it in the oven.

I am going to add 1 cup more water because the pork belly really benefits from cooking really low, and it's like really wet heat.

So, I'm gonna cover it with aluminum foil.

[Foil crinkling] Meanwhile, give my rice a stir... cover... and then reduce the heat to a lowest possible heat, and then the rice can cook in peace for about 12 to 15 minutes.

And I'm gonna put my pork belly in the oven at 300 for 2 hours and a half so that the fat really melts into the meat and the skin on top begins to crisp.

And then I'm gonna remove the foil and let it continue cooking there for about another 1/2 hour so that the skin on top can really crisp.

[Timer ticking] ♪ And the rice is ready, and you know it because there should be no liquid at the bottom of the pan.

Look how fluffy it is.

If you don't fluff it immediately, it will clump up.

Pati, voice-over: Now it's time to make the sauce, but first, I need something sweet.

♪ I've been eating Glorias since childhood.

The soft caramel-y candies made from milk and sugar are everywhere in Mexico, but there are lots of copies and only one original, Marqueteria la Guadalupana, and they make it the same way they have since 1943.

Pati, voice-over: Maria Luisa, who goes by Muñeca, or Doll, is the grandchild of Natalia [indistinct] Nuñez, who adapted the recipe from an existing candy called [indistinct].

She created her own version, wrapped them in the signature red cellophane, and sold them around town.

She just needed a name.

Ah!

Ahh!

Pati, voice-over: So, Glorias were born and quickly became famous worldwide.

The Pope-- Uh-huh.

has tried the Glory!

Pati, voice-over: Maybe the candy is blessed.

I'm selling candy now.

Pati, voice-over: Let's be honest.

the Glorias sell themselves.

It smells like custard.

Pati, voice-over: The process starts by mixing milk and sugar in a copper pot and stirring for about 2 hours until it's the perfect consistency.

Ah!

Pati: So, here is a couple of hours, here it's thickening.

You need to stir a little more in here.

He can't stop stirring or it'll smoke and stick.

And at this point, the--the mixture is leaving a trail in the bottom.

But, oh, you can see the bottom.

See?

Muñeca: Si.

Pati, voice-over: Then, the mixture rests for about a day in the same room where Muñeca's grandmother used to sell them.

Pati: This has peanuts, cranberries... Ah!

Dried papaya!

Sounds so delicious... Oh, my God!

I love the thought of that.

Pecans and coconut.

I'm like in a candy toy store.

♪ Pati, voice-over: So, Muñeca's teaching me to make the Glorias.

This looks so irresistible.

It looks like fudge.

It's just gooey, sticky, but still soft and malleable, and then she drops it into the ground pecans.

Mm-hmm, just like that.

So, this is called the heart of the Gloria, which has the bigger pecan.

♪ Mm-hmm.

♪ Mmm...

Delicious.

They're so good and so sweet and so irresistible.

[All laughing] And now I'm gonna make the sauce that's just gonna bathe the entire dish.

1/4 cup of soy sauce, and then it's 2 tablespoons of natural rice vinegar.

So, this is not the seasoned one.

This is the unseasoned, or natural.

1 tablespoon of honey.

This is gonna give the sauce a delicious sticky, glossy consistency.

3 tablespoons of the adobo sauce from the chipotles in adobo sauce.

I'm gonna zest an orange.

You want to get the color of the zest, but you don't want to get the pit or the white part 'cause it's very bitter.

And then I'm gonna cut the orange in half, and I'm gonna squeeze the juice right in here.

♪ I'm adding a teaspoon of the pequin chilies, a tablespoon of finely chopped ginger.

So, if my recipe calls for a tablespoon of ginger, what I really mean is a super, copious, generous tablespoon of ginger.

You can do 1 to 2 serrano chilies or jalapeños.

And I'm keeping my seeds in.

And last thing I want to chop is 3 garlic cloves.

So, adding this in here.

I have the rice, I have the sauce, but I'm gonna make an omelette.

I'm just gonna quickly scramble 3 eggs.

I'm gonna add salt and pepper to the eggs.

♪ Have my pan set over medium heat.

Then I'm gonna add safflower oil here.

I'm gonna add about a tablespoon, and I'm gonna let that heat for a second.

So, I'm gonna add my eggs to my hot pan, also move the edges of the omelette to the center.

Just push the edges and whatever hasn't cooked.

That was pretty.

You just want this to cook just for a couple of seconds because I don't want this to overcook and become rubbery.

Once it can release, and then I'm gonna cut it into bite-size pieces.

I think one of my favorite things from any fried rice is the egg.

So, I'm gonna set this aside... and we're almost there.

I'm gonna take out my pork belly.

♪ So, now I'm upping the oven to 400, and I'm gonna give it like 20 to 30 minutes until the top really crisps.

But, as you can see, most of the fat has melted into the meat.

Now we're gonna crisp it up.

I am going to cut some scallions.

I'm removing the bottom, and then I'm removing the dry tops.

So, we're gonna use all this... for the rice.

And 8 scallions, and I'm gonna use the white and light-green parts for the rice, and I'm gonna use the darker parts, which are crunchy and fresh for the garnish.

♪ So, I'm gonna set this over high heat.

I'm gonna get my pork belly out.

This pork belly is perfection.

I have all the pork belly rendered fat, which I'm gonna pour in here, which I'm gonna use to cook my fried rice.

And it's fat that has the flavor of the salt, of course, and the honey!

It's a beautiful thing!

I'm gonna add 2 to 3 tablespoons... and then, I'm gonna quickly, quickly season my arracherra, or skirt steak.

The salt and pepper... [Sizzling] And I want to take it out the moment that it's browned on all sides and just cooked through.

I don't want to overcook it.

So, here's my meat.

Now I'm gonna add a little bit more of that pork belly fat, And now I'm gonna season my shrimp with salt, pepper.

♪ [Sizzling] While that's happening, I'm gonna cut my pork belly into pieces.

I said the omelette was my favorite part of the rice.

I'm, like, changing my mind right now.

[Crunch] [Sizzling] And this is ready.

I'm gonna get my shrimp out.

Who would have thought to put arrachera... in the fried rice?

Thank you, Luis!

So, adding more pork belly fat, and I'm reducing the heat to medium.

I'm gonna add my vegetables-- diced carrots... my fresh peas... and my scallions, asparagus, salt and pepper.

[Sizzling] So, one more minute, and I'm raising my heat again right before I add my rice.

I'm gonna mix this up, make a little bit more room in the center, And why not?

A little bit more fat.

And remember that super, super yummy sauce?

And now...no more fat, no more fat.

I'm kidding!

Ha ha ha ha!

Adding the shrimp and the meat... and the "Yay" to the "Yum"-- the pork belly.

Omelette.

It just smells orange-y and it smells bacon-y, and I smell the pork belly and fresh from the chilies and the orange, too.

You ready?

Because I am super ready, 'cause yum.

Scallions on top... a little of the pequin chili.

♪ Yum.

♪ Mmm... You have to make this Nuevo León inspired fried rice.

I just can't describe.

And I need to say "Thank you, Luis" to you and your friends for welcoming us, for the inspiration, and for sending me the chili pequins.

Speaking of Luis, I can't leave his carne asada without trying one last treat.

What happens when you combine a famous candy with a famous influencer and wrap it up in a quesadilla?

Woman: If you Google it-- "Quesadilla con Gloria"... Ohh!

So, Alma turned viral with something that people used to eat here for decades?

Pati, voice-over: The quesadilla con Gloria is made with the original Glorias and melted cheese wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.

You can grill it right next to the meat at your carne asada.

Then it's covered in dulce de leche and sprinkled with chopped pecans, abundant in Nuevo León.

♪ It feels so good.

Ha ha ha!

It does!

Have you tried it before?

No!

♪ Pati: Mmm!

Mmm.

Alma: What do you think?

It's like salty and sweet.

Mmm!

♪ It's...it's like a pan de dulce.

Alma: Mm-hmm.

It's almost like a grilled empanada.

Luis: Mm-hmm.

Pati: No?

[Alma speaking Spanish] It's--yeah!

It's like a Mexican style, savory cheese and sweet crepe.

Luis: Mm-hmm.

Smoky flavor a bit.

Alma and Pati: Mmm... Pati, voice-over: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com.

And connect!

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... ♪ Man: La Costeña ¡por sabor!

Woman: Traditional recipes, authentic flavors, and ingredients.

A taste of México in 90 seconds.

SOMOS--food from the heart of México.

♪ Singers: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ Woman: FUD brand cheese with traditional Mexican flavor.

Woman: Stand Together-- helping every person rise.

More information at StandTogether.org.

Woman: Here, the typical arroz con pollo...or not!

Unfollow la Receta.

Mahatma rice.

Woman: King Arthur Baking Company.

Find out more about our Masa Harina at KingArthurBaking.com.

["Nationwide" theme playing on guitar] Man: Cozilumbre--cookware, bakeware, and kitchenware for cooking up tradiciones in your cocinas.

♪ Man: Gobierno de Monterrey.

Man: Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on Public Television.

♪ ♪