Anyone have a good and authentic sope recipe?

Question

My husband is Mexican and keeps talking about sopes. I would like to surprise him by making it for him for his birthday next Friday. I know it has shredded chicken and refried beans but I have no idea what else is involved in making them. I would love a good recipe.

Answer 1

Sopes

- serves 3-4 -

Ingredients

1 cups masa harina

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups water

Black beans

Roast pork

Salsa

Sour cream

Canola oil

Procedure

1. Mix together the masa, salt, and water with your hands until it forms a smooth ball. Add more water if it's too dry and not coming together. Divide into 8 balls.

2. Place a ball in between two 6 inch square pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten with a tortilla press or with a large pot, until about 1/4 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Fold up the sides to create a 1/2 inch or so edge all the way around. Repeat with the other balls.

3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. When it's hot, place one sope in the skillet at a time, flat side down, for about a minute until the bottom firms up. Repeat with the other balls.

4. Pour about 1/2 inch of the canola oil into a small pot. Heat to 350°F. Prick the inside of the sopes a few times with fork. When ready, place one sope in the pot and cook until it browns, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and drain upside down. Repeat with the other sopes.

5. Fill with your favorite taco accessories like black beans, roast pork, salsa, and sour cream. Something as simple as guacamole would work wonderfully too.

I hope this was helpful,Take Care!!! :)

Answer 2

YES!

I just made them tonight.

We loooove sopes.

My husband is from Jalisco.

He says they never put beans on theirs in his town.

(I have tried them with beans and they are way too heavy, but maybe your hubby's town likes them that way...every town is so different down there.)

This makes about 8 big sopes:

Rigo above mentioned (think "ashtray").  Lol..he is right!

However, I do not bother with the raised sides.  They often fall apart when I cook them, and end up without sides anyway.

My husband's family makes them like hockey pucks with wider centers, like a flying saucer, then they cut a shallow cone shape out of the sope's top and discard that top or eat it with butter, then use the thicker base with the cut indentation to fill with the meat, etc.  

I compromise, and cut mine in half horizontally, so I end up with 2 thinner halves.  Because of the baking soda and the depth of the oil, the way they are cooked makes them sometimes just split in half pretty well on their own when pulled gently.

Mix 3 cups maseca with 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 1.25 cups water, or until masa sticks together barely, and still feels a little dry.

Mix 1/3 cup broth with 1/4 tsp baking soda, then pour into the masa and mix with hands until well blended.  Rub 2T lard or crisco between your hands then knead that into the masa.

Roll into about 1/2 cup sized balls (you should get about 8), then flatten them out to about 3/4 inch thick and 3-4 inches wide.

Heat oil about 1/4 inch deep, and cook sopes on both sides (about 8 minutes on each side), until golden brown and firm in the middle.

Drain on paper towels.  When ready to assemble, slice in half, or slice off part of the top...whichever you prefer.

You need to have these things ready to assemble:

1.  Shredded chuck roast (or chicken if that's what you like, but I only use chuck).

2.  Salsa (homemade)...we like with burnt chiles de arbol and garlic blended with tomatillos.

3.  Queso chihuahua or monterrey jack or muenster cheese, grated.

4.  Diced tomatoes

5.  Shredded lettuce

6.  Crema poblana or other mexican type sour cream.

When sope is ready, sprinkle with cheese, then the hot shredded meat.  Spoon some salsa over the meat, then top with diced tomatoes, cream, and a little lettuce.

Yum.  I ate 2 (4 halves) and am totally stuffed.

It is great you are trying to make sopes.  Very few americans know about them, much less try to make them.  It took me quite a while to get the recipe right.

I would really recommend a book to you called "Adventures in Mexican Cooking" by Ortho.  It is out of print, but you can find it on ebay or amazon.  It has a lot of very authentic recipes that will probably make your husband very happy.

Answer 3

Threre isn't one way to make it, as the sope only clearly defines the fried masa disc, and the rest is personal preference.

You can get freshly prepared masa at a hispanic store, or some MaSeCa maize flour at any supermarket with a ethnic section. Prepare the masa according to directions, and make little thick discs with it, with a raised circular edge (Think round ashtray) and fry them in vegtable oil until golden and crispy.

Then top them with refried beans, cheese (preferably queso ranchero), salsa, crema (or sour cream), and whatever you'd want. Like shredded chicken. you can also use beef, or pork. Whatever you want.