Recado Rojo
The Quirky Foodster Team
About 1 cup paste
Servings
Ingredients
- Achiote seed (ground)
- oregano
- cumin
- black pepper
- cloves
- cinnamon
- garlic
- and sour orange juice
- blended into a thick red paste
Method
- Grind the achiote seed and whole spices together, then blend with garlic and sour orange juice to form a thick paste.
- The whole spice components (cumin, clove, cinnamon) are typically lightly toasted before grinding.
Origin: Yucatán, Mexico.
Use: A marinade base, most famously for cochinita pibil, where meat is coated in the paste before slow-cooking.
Classic Dishes: Cochinita pibil (slow-roasted, achiote-marinated pork, traditionally wrapped in banana leaf); achiote-based marinades broadly across Yucatecan cooking.
Storage: Keeps several weeks refrigerated, or months frozen.
Variations: The defining brick-red color and mildly earthy flavor come specifically from the achiote seed base — recado rojo without genuine achiote is not considered authentic by Yucatecan cooking standards.
Substitutions: No close substitute given achiote’s essential, defining role; a turmeric-paprika mix approximates the color only, not the flavor.
- Achiote seed (ground)
- oregano
- cumin
- black pepper
- cloves
- cinnamon
- garlic
- and sour orange juice
- blended into a thick red paste
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