A second of blue flame can change a dish. Flambé is recognized by the flash, but its real effect is on flavor: the alcohol evaporates and leaves the aroma of the spirit. Porfirio’s menu has four flambéed dishes, and none uses brandy or cognac as European tradition dictates. All of them are flambéed with Mexican spirits.
What Happens When You Flambé
The spirit is added to a hot preparation, lit, and the flame burns itself out in seconds. The result doesn’t taste like alcohol: it tastes like the character of the spirit. Mezcal leaves a smoky backdrop; tequila, herbal notes and cooked agave.
New York Aguachile Flambéed with Mezcal
180 g, with zarandeada sauce, avocado, fried garlic, onion and cilantro. It’s the most unexpected flambé, because aguachile is usually raw and made with shrimp. Here the base is a New York strip, and the smokiness of the mezcal connects with the zarandeada sauce. The fried garlic adds a toasted crunch. It’s an ideal starter to share.
Tequila-Flambéed Shrimp
200 g, over creamy poblano chile rice. The tequila gives the shrimp a touch of agave and caramelization, and the poblano rice works as a smooth base. It’s for those who want seafood with more personality than a grilled preparation.
Gran Rib Eye “El Sancho”
1 kg, flambéed with Tequila Tequileño, with baby potatoes and charred onions. It’s the most imposing flambé. The marbling of the rib eye reacts very well to intense heat, and the tequila complements its richness. A one-kilo cut changes the dynamic of the table: it forces you to share, divide and argue over doneness. It’s for three or four people with a good appetite.
Caña de Filete Flambéed with Mezcal
480 g, flambéed with Unión® mezcal, in chicatana butter, with chapulín sauce and potatoes in salsa verde. It’s the flambé with the strongest regional identity. The mezcal gives the lean filet a smoky backdrop, the chicatana an earthy note and the chapulines a tangy, crunchy touch. It’s a cut with Mexican character from start to finish.
A Table with Fire
- To start: the New York Aguachile.
- Individual dish: the Tequila-Flambéed Shrimp.
- To share: El Sancho or the Caña de Filete, depending on the size of the table.
- To drink: the Oaxaca, to stay with mezcal, or the Jalisco, to stay with tequila.
Swapping European spirits for local ones is a way of bringing a classic technique home. The fire lasts a few seconds; what remains is the aroma, the golden crust and the proof that Mexican spirits also have a place in the kitchen, not just behind the bar.
