Recado rojo and negro — Yucatecan spice pastes

Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Mayan culinary tradition adapted with Spanish spice trade ingredients after the conquest.

Recados (from the Spanish recado, a seasoning, message, or errand) are the flavour pastes of the Yucatán — concentrated spice mixtures rubbed onto meats before cooking or stirred into soups and stews. Three canonical recados define Yucatecan cuisine: Recado rojo (achiote paste) — the most important, used for cochinita pibil, pollo pibil, and poc chuc. Made from ground annatto seeds (Bixa orellana), dried Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander seed, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, and naranja agria juice. The annatto provides both vivid orange-red colour and an earthy, slightly astringent flavour. Commercial versions (El Yucateco brand) are widely available. Recado negro — a paste made from charred chile (chile negro), burnt spices, tomato, and tortilla — deep black in colour and intensely smoky, used for relleno negro (turkey in black sauce). This is Yucatáns equivalent of mole negro. Recado blanco — white paste for pollo en escabeche, using no chiles; spiced with cumin, oregano, and garlic.

Recado rojo has an earthy, floral, slightly astringent flavour from the annatto, warm spice from cinnamon and cumin, and citrus brightness from naranja agria. It is unique in world cuisine.