Masisa or Macisa

[Doodad]

The Mexican work crew that we have moving our company are guys I know and have been great sources of tasty snacks at lunch. One of the things that surprised me was the incredibly hot guacamore they had for lunch. As hot as any salsa and they all said that was how it was supposed to be made. Dunno, I could not taste anything but peppers and I like both peppers and avocado.

Anyway. The foreman told me about Macisa (his spelling). Little info so far, but it is a posole stew of sorts with varying ingredients. Can someone tell me about this? Language was a barrier as I no habla Espanol except cocina and !%#$%^&*^#@#$@.

[Dakki]

AFAIK, macisa is a cut of meat, so maybe your foreman is talking about a stew made with it?

[Dakki]

A bit of research tells me it's the ham, cut into chunks.

[kalypso]

Maciza is pork from the shoulder. It's closest realtive here in the States is what is labeled pork cushion meat. Pork roast also works for recipes calling for maciza.

I'ts not ham as it is not cured, though pork cushion meat does come from the anterior of the picnic shoulder, around the joint. It may also include parts of the what we call pork butt, which oddly enough, is not the butt, but also the shoulder.

Maciza is pork white meat, very lean, shreds easily and makes great pulled pork sandwiches. It's an extremely versatile cut as it can be made into just about anything from the pozole your workers were eating, to guisados (stews), carnitas, milanesas (cutlets).

In Mexico you can specify "puro maciza" when ordering things like tacos, carnitas, etc. What you get is pure pork, no fat, not skin, no other bits and pieces.

[theabroma]

It's maciza. Ditto Kalypso's post. I have,though, seen it applied to similarly situated cuts of beef, most likely by analogy. Have never seen the term used with either lamb or goat.

And its use with chicken or shrimp would go straight into that great Urban Myth Bin along with shrimp and chicken fajitas.

Regards,

Theabroma