Central and Northern Mexico. Gorditas de chicharrón are closely associated with Mexico Citys mercado street food culture; flour gorditas are characteristic of the northern states.
Gorditas (from gordo — fat, plump) are thick masa discs, stuffed before or after cooking, and prepared by two methods depending on region: comal-cooked gorditas (Northern Mexico, especially Chihuahua and Durango) are thick pockets cooked on the comal until firm, then split open and filled like a pita; deep-fried gorditas (Central Mexico, especially Mexico City markets) are formed from masa, sealed around a filling, and fried in hot lard until golden and crisp. The comal gordita is associated with northern flour-influenced masa preparations and often uses a blend of masa harina and wheat flour; the fried gordita is entirely corn masa. The filling is inserted into a comal gordita by slitting the edge while the masa is still warm and inserting chicharrón prensado, picadillo, frijoles charros, or rajas con queso; the fried gordita contains its filling internally, sealed before frying.
A fried gordita has a crisp, golden exterior with a tender masa interior — the textural contrast with the filling is the defining eating experience.
Comal gorditas: masa must be slightly thicker than for sopes (approximately 1.5cm) and cooked on medium heat until the exterior is firm and dry before splitting Fried gorditas: lard temperature 175°C — too cool produces greasy, undercooked gorditas; too hot burns before the interior cooks The slit in comal gorditas must be made while still warm — cooled masa cracks rather than splitting cleanly
A gordita filled with chicharrón prensado (compressed pork cracklings braised in salsa) and topped with salsa verde and crema is one of Mexico Citys definitive street food experiences For northern-style flour gorditas, use a 3:1 ratio of masa harina to wheat flour — the wheat gives elasticity while the masa provides corn flavour
Over-filling fried gorditas — the excess filling prevents a clean seal and leaks into the lard during frying Splitting comal gorditas before they are fully cooked — the interior masa is raw and will collapse
Rick Bayless, Mexico One Plate at a Time; Pati Jinich, Treasures of the Mexican Table