Pati, voice-over: The State of Yucatn is a tapestry of Old World Maya culture weaved with New World Spanish traditions.
Today I'm buzzing around the City of Man, known as the last Mayan kingdom, to taste a rare honey held sacred by the ancient Maya, and the endangered bees that produce it refused to let me go emptyhanded.
You guys have to see this.
Pati, voice-over: Jos and Ftima live like the ancient Mayans, sustainably utilizing every inch of their backyard for crops and livestock.
They're treating me to a modern dish cooked with ancient methods underground-- smoky ribs marinated in honey.
Pati: Whoa.
[Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Then in my kitchen, I'm finding new ways to unlock the ancient magic of honey with my honey habanero rice with peas... Mm.
Mm.
Mm mm mm.
Pati, voice-over: the perfect side for my sweet lime and honey-roasted chicken with broccolini...
I get to the broccolini, this is insane.
Pati, voice-over: and then a sweet, refreshing honey, lemon, and basil agua fresca.
[Birds chirping] [Child shouts] [Speaks Spanish] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Super sweet.
Woman: [Speaks Spanish] Yeah.
Pati: [Speaks Spanish] So breathtaking.
Male announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... Male announcer: La Costea.
por sabor!
Men: Avocados from Mexico Female announcer: Stand Together, helping every person rise, more information at StandTogether.org.
[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Female announcer: Here, the typical arroz con pollo or not.
Unfollow la Receta.
Mahatma Rice.
Female announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.
[Car horn honks] Pati, voice-over: Sometimes it feels right to start at the end, in this case, the last Mayan kingdom.
[Bells clanging] [Distant dog barking] The magic town of Man was once the home of the powerful Tutul-Xiu Maya, one of the last kingdoms to submit to the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.
Today the descendants of the ancient Maya are still preserving their traditions... some as sweet as honey.
Woman: [Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Doa Eliza is the owner of Lool-H, an apiary run by women who produce honey from an endangered species of bees sacred to the Maya-- the melipona.
Pati: [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Buuelos are sweet, puffy, golden-fried fritters.
Pati: [Speaking Spanish] All: S.
Woman: [Speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
[Speaking Spanish] [Buzzing] Pati: So there's a little window in each box, and there's the bee guardian that starts looking out.
[Speaks Spanish] Eliza: [Speaks Spanish] Ah, you guys have to see this.
This is so cool.
Pati, voice-over: In the wild, melipona bees build hives in hollowed-out logs, but here, they're kept in small, wooden boxes called jobones.
Ahh... Wow.
[Speaking Spanish] S.
So it's very different from the normal bees, and they store the honey in these little, like, pockets.
Pati, voice-over: The Maya hold the bees sacred for their healing energy.
[Speaking Spanish] Heh heh heh.
Pati, voice-over: This is where I should tell you they don't have stingers.
Super sweet, gentle tickle.
[Buzzing] [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Pati, voice-over: Harvesting their honey is a delicate process.
Uh-oh.
[Speaks Spanish] Yeah, yeah.
[Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Instead of straining a honeycomb like the common bee, a dropper is used to extract honey from their pots.
Que rico.
Que bonito.
[Speaks Spanish] Muy bien.
[Speaks Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Before eating the buuelos, the bees and their honey must undergo a ceremonial blessing.
All: [Speaking Spanish] Eliza: [Speaking Spanish] Ahh... [Speaking Spanish] Mm.
Mm.
[Laughter] Mm.
Mm.
[Laughter] [Speaking Spanish] [Laughter] Pati, voice-over: The honey is like nothing I've ever tried.
It is more citrusy, floral, and runny than common honey, but it's also infused with love and care from a culture that has honored this endangered bee for millennia.
Juju, so it's gonna be our honey-covered meal.
What are we making?
We're gonna make honey habanero rice with peas.
We're making sweet lime-roasted chicken, and then we're gonna make a lime, lemon, basil, honey agua fresca.
OK. Pati, voice-over: The first step is to roast some ingredients to make a marinade for the chicken.
So I have a preheated comal, so we want to add the garlic.
OK, with this [Speaks Spanish] peel on.
With the skin... OK. and then we add the chile de rbol.
[Speaks Spanish] You want to heat it over, like, medium heat.
I don't know if you've ever tried a lima, sweet lime.
No.
I don't think I've ever tried them.
No?
Yucatn has its own citrus.
Like, they have bitter orange, sweet lime, all kinds of citrus that we don't know, and in Mexico, this is a limn.
Limn, yeah.
[Speaking Spanish] And it's really different from the lime and the lemon.
Mm.
Mm.
It's just sweet, Mm.
doesn't taste sour at all.
Uh-uh.
When people can't find the lima, I think they can mix lemon with lime.
Ah, as.
Uh-huh.
OK, so now if you help me, squeeze more de la lima, or sweet lime, because we need 1 1/2 cups.
While you do that-- [Speaks Spanish] I just want to pick up the chiles.
Oh, did you smell the chile?
Then I'm gonna pour more stuff here in the blender, so I have a third of a cup of olive oil because, yeah, let's put the 1 1/2 cups here.
[Speaks Spanish] OK. Tengo 3 tablespoons of honey, so nice and thick and sticky.
Then we're gonna use a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar.
So you know how we love oregano.
Yeah.
This is oregano from Nuevo Leon.
Look at the leaves.
Like, how small are they?
Yeah.
This is oregano from the Yucatn.
Wow.
Look at the size.
Yeah.
Juju, smell it.
Let me see.
To me, the Yucatn one smells like flowers.
It smells like dried roses.
See?
Yeah.
It's, like, super floral, and what about that one?
This one smells, like, more earthy, I feel like.
Yeah, so let's add the oregano.
We're gonna toast it a little so that it will release its flavor, so we just want to, like, do it for a little, just until it smokes and it toasts a little.
Let's take off the garlic.
Yeah.
As we let it cool a little, we can add the salt and the pepper, so let's add a teaspoon of black pepper, and I like it coarsely ground.
Yeah.
So we're doing one tablespoon of salt, which is 3 teaspoons.
3 teaspoons.
Yeah.
And then we're gonna peel the garlic cloves.
They cook off super fast, and the peeling is so easy.
It's so satisfying.
So satisfying.
OK, so let's drop it in here.
OK, so we're gonna puree these OK. until super smooth.
So imagine, like, the chicken's gonna bathe in this... Yeah.
It's so good.
so I'm gonna separate, like, 3/4 of a cup to a cup of this marinade because we're gonna roast the chicken and we want to pour the sauce over it halfway through.
OK. So we have a 3-to-4-pound whole chicken, gonna put it here so that we can cut it.
Mila smells the chicken.
Mila smells the chicken.
Ha ha ha!
Mila, go over there.
Go over there.
So what you have to do is remove the backbone.
Pati, voice-over: Now let's spatchcock the chicken.
[Speaks Spanish] Just have to do it with determination... Yeah.
and then you go all the way through to the end on both sides of the back.
OK, so we did the backbone... Yeah.
and then you have to make a little cut between the breast bone plate, so just, like, a small crack, see...
So that way you can break it?
because that way, when you flip it and you press into it because you want to flatten it, you're gonna hear it crack.
Yeah.
[Crack] Yeah.
[Speaks Spanish] So by doing this, it will help the chicken marinate evenly, cook evenly.
OK, so now you can take that off if you want.
I'm gonna put the chicken here, and then when you roast, you want to tuck the wings in the back... OK. so that the tiny, little wings don't burn, and then we're gonna pour this.
OK. Me?
OK. T.
S.
All over?
All over.
Cover all the chicken.
[Speaks Spanish] Mm-hmm.
OK?
Yeah?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
We're gonna start roasting it on the other side.
OK, so we want to cover the other side, too?
Yeah, so we want to cover the other side like that.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Todo.
If you wanted the chicken to soak more flavor, you could marinate it for up to 24 hours.
You just put plastic and put it in the fridge.
So now let's wash our hands.
Yep.
OK. OK, so we have the oven at 425.
Mm-hmm.
We're gonna roast it for 25 minutes.
I'm gonna add a cup of chicken broth just to give it more juice, and then this is gonna go in the oven.
Pati, voice-over: The versatility of honey is endless, but a family in Man is using it in a way I've never tasted before by combining an ancient method of underground cooking with a modern recipe--smoky ribs marinated in honey.
Jos: [Speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.
Mm-hmm.
Pati, voice-over: A pib, or underground oven, is a vital part of Yucatecan culture dating back centuries.
It's a labor-intensive process but results in tender, smoky dishes that are incomparable in flavor.
Pati: [Speaks Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Jos and Ftima live like the ancient Mayans, sustainably growing about 70% of what they eat, a concept known as Solar Maya.
Every inch of their half-acre backyard is used for cultivating fruits, medicinal herbs, and raising livestock.
[Bird squawking] Pati: [Speaks Spanish] Child: Las plantas.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Jos and Ftima grew up living off the land and wanted the same for their kids, so they started getting serious about planting 5 years ago.
Now they have 40 different types of food trees, 8 kinds of animals, and even offer experiences for the public.
Ftima: [Speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Mm.
The aroma of the ribs is following me everywhere I go, slow-cooked for 4 hours underground with honey, spices, and bitter orange.
Pati: [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Even the salsa has a touch of honey.
Mm.
Mm.
Mm mm mm.
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Jos: [Speaks Spanish] Ha ha ha!
[Camera shutter clicks] Pati: [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Ha ha ha!
Pica.
[Speaking Spanish] Jos: S.
[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: While the chicken's in the oven, let's start the base for the honey habanero rice with peas.
On a heated comal, toast one habanero, two cloves of unpeeled garlic, and an eighth of a white onion.
Once they've charred and softened, peel the garlic and chop everything.
Add vegetable oil to a pot over medium heat and throw everything in it.
Pati: [Speaking Spanish] I'm gonna add 3 cups of chicken broth... OK. so it's like adding more flavor.
Now, you could do water.
Yeah, but, like, it always tastes better with chicken broth, huh?
Always tastes better with chicken broth, and I'm adding a tablespoon of honey.
Yeah.
OK, so I'm adding a teaspoon of salt.
OK.
So it's boiling, now you add the rice.
All of it?
Yeah.
All of it, two cups of jasmine rice.
OK, so I mix a little bit?
OK, and then mix it... and then I'm gonna add a few sprigs of cilantro into the broth... [Speaking Spanish] OK. Pati, voice-over: Add 1 1/2 cups of peas.
And then you just stir.
Mm.
and then... [Speaks Spanish] OK, so now that it's boiling, we cover it, Cover it.
and then you reduce the heat to low.
Pati, voice-over: And let it cook for about 15 minutes.
OK, so we need to take the chicken out.
OK. Oh, beauty aqu, so now we're gonna flip them.
[Speaking Spanish] [Speaks Spanish] Wow.
I wanted it to be perfect for you.
[Speaking Spanish] OK.
I like to put a lot.
You want it super packed.
OK.
So now we're gonna pour the marinade we had reserved.
Muy bien.
And now it's gonna go in the oven for another 20 minutes.
OK. [Chickens clucking] Pati: Mm.
You know... [Speaking Spanish] Bueno.
Uh-huh.
[Speaking Spanish] Mm-hmm.
Pati, voice-over: According to legend, Man will be the only place in the world left with water, and an old lady in the cenote, or water cave, will sell you some, but with a little catch.
[Speaking Spanish] Ay.
[Speaking Spanish] Ha ha ha!
Pati, voice-over: My babies are all grown up, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but I'm dying to see where this old lady may be.
So at the end of the world when there's no more water to drink, this is where you come, and you can hear the bats.
[Wings flapping] Did you see the bat?
Did you see the bat?
[Wings flap] Pati: Whoa.
Juju: Whoa.
Looks so good... Looks so good.
and you can see all the broccolini absorbed all, like, the marinade.
It looks so juicy, no?
Looks so good.
OK, so we have to let it cool before we carve it, like 5 minutes... OK. so it's the perfect amount of time to make an agua fresca.
Pati, voice-over: This agua fresca starts with one cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice in a blender.
Add the juice of 3 lemons, then an entire lemon and lime chopped, rinds and all.
So we just want to make sure that there's no seeds.
Pati, voice-over: Finally, one cup of honey...
So good.
Pati, voice-over: one cup of fresh basil... pureed until smooth.
Strain.
Pour it into your prettiest pitcher.
Add 3 cups of water.
Serve over ice...
There's something about the bubbles that satiates my thirst.
Pati, voice-over: and top it off with mineral water or Mineragua.
Want to try?
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Salud.
Salud.
Muchisimas bubbles.
Mm.
Mm.
So good.
Yeah.
Usually, I was gonna say, I don't really like the bubbles, but with this, it tastes really, really good.
OK. You ready for the chicken?
Yeah.
OK. Let's do it.
We got to cut it, right?
Yeah.
It smells so good, and then it's so easy to break it apart.
Ves?
Yeah.
OK. How can we make it more delicious and more pretty?
OK. Should we do the rice first and then the chicken on top?
Yeah.
OK. Mm.
I'm excited to eat the rice with the chicken.
Me, too.
Beautiful.
What piece do you want?
This is for you.
You go first.
No.
You go first.
Um, I think this piece is best for me.
OK. That looks beautiful.
Oh, that's perfect.
And let me get some broccolini.
Yeah, como all.
Uh-huh.
Ah, Juju, that is so beautiful.
OK. Ready?
Wow.
It's so tender.
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Shall we try some with the rice?
Yeah.
Rice and chicken.
How is it with the rice?
Mm.
Mm.
Mm.
Oh, my God.
Mm.
The rice is-- The rice is insane.
The rice is insane.
So I wanted to get juicy and charred at the same time on both the broccolini and the chicken.
Did we accomplish?
Yeah, and all, like, together, it's, like, the perfect level of spice.
Mm.
It's, like, a little spicy like you feel it, but it's not overpowering at all.
Mm.
Mm.
Fuego.
Mm.
As I'm trying the different things, I'm like, "This is my favorite.
No.
Now this is my favorite.
No."
I get to the broccolini, this is insane.
It's insane.
Hmm.
Wow.
Pati: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com and connect.
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.
Male announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... Men: Ay Ay ay ay Male announcer: La Costea.
por sabor!
Men: Avocados from Mexico Female announcer: Stand Together, helping every person rise, more information at StandTogether.org.
[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Female announcer: Here, the typical arroz con pollo or not.
Unfollow la Receta.
Mahatma Rice.
Female announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.
Male announcer: Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.
Passport
Follow Us