Ay Dios Mio! 6 Mexican Hangover Cures
The Day After is every "festive" holiday's ugly doppelganger, lurking onto the scene as soon as the partying calms down, ready to make everyone miserable. But Cinco de Mayo's Day After doesn't have to be so bad. In fact, Seis de Mayo can be its own kind of celebration—not of Mexican drinks (although we have plenty of those), but the wide world of Mexican hangover food!
Like all Mexican cuisine, the go-to hangover cure varies from region to region—even the same dish is given different twists depending on what part of the country you're in. Whatever you choose, whether or not it cures your resaca (or crudo, which is the more typical Mexican word for a hangover), it will taste good.
1/6MENUDO
Mexico's most famous hangover cure is this labor-intensive soup of beef tripe floating in a spicy, garlicky broth. It often comes with a side of tortillas (to further sop up all the booze still stuck in your system), and is a standard weekend special at many Mexican restaurants, even in the US. There are some regional variants, though: in the north of Mexico, people tend to add hominy (i.e. unground tortilla corn) to their menudo, and in the northwest, you're more likely to see miserable people hunched over a bowl of menudo blanco, which leaves out the red chiles. Tripe soups are actually famous around the world for their hangover-curing properties, but it's hard to say whether that's because of some culinary logic (to cure an unsettled stomach, eat stomach!) or because of how long it takes to cook off-cuts into edibility. Since making a pot of menduo can take all day, it was also a traditional party food, where the whole family would come hang out while the soup bubbled--and a giant vat of party food quickly turns into a giant vat of hangover food, once the next morning rolls around.And if you were wondering, no: the Puerto Rican boy band has nothing to do with this menudo. If this were the 90s, we could say that the only thing they have in common is that they're both wildly popular, but these days, the hangover cure probably has more fans (and if the hangover's bad enough, screaming fans, too).
(Credit: Flickr/rocor)
2/6Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs
Take some lightly fried tortillas, cook them in salsa, and throw eggs, cheese, and beans on top, and you've got chilaquiles: the Mexican hangover cure for the sufferer on the go. Greasy carbs, spicy sauce, and some kind of eggs are the basis of most American hangover cures, too, and chilaquiles aren't really all that different from the hugely popular Israeli hangover warrior, Shakshuka. This dish is so easy to make that there aren't regional variants as much as family recipes, but we're partial to the recipe our test kitchen came up with (the paprika and honey are nice touches).
3/6BIRRIA DE CHIVO
This goat stew is the favorite hangover cure in Jalisco, the Mexican state also happens to be the birthplace of tequila (so we're guessing they know what they're talking about). The broth for birria is made with dried, roasted peppers, and, like menudo, it's also served at big celebrations. Goat meat can take a while to cook, so this is not ideal for whipping up on a bleary morning, but that's why restaurants exist.
(Credit: Flickr/The Masa Assassin)
4/6MICHELADAS
Somehow, just adding something spicy and savory to alcohol can transform your worst hangover enemy into a helpful friend. It worked for Bloody Marys, and it works for micheladas--basically just beer with lime, hot sauce, and some salt added (our recipe adds some tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce, too). A Mexico City bartender interviewed by El Mexicano, a Mexican newspaper, dismissed the michelada as a real hangover cure, but said that it was a good thirst quencher. His recommendation skewed a little stiffer, though--something called "La Piedra," made of vermouth, tequila, and anisette. Que fuerte!
(Credit: Danny Kim)
5/6LECHE DE TIGRE
You might have heard of this as the Peruvian national hangover cure, but it's also popular in Sinaloa, the coastal Mexican state north of Jalisco. Peruvian Tiger's Milk is just the citrus-y marinade left over from making ceviche, with all the salt, seasoning, and fishiness picked up in the process. The Sinaloan version is a little different: you put shrimp broth in a cup, throw in chopped red onions and cucumbers, and finish it off with a few (or more) dashes of hot sauce.
(Credit: @OrXataCocina)
6/6POSOLE
West of Mexico City, in the states of Guerrero and Michoacan, the classic corn, meat, and chili stew is the hangover cure of choice. Green posole, made with tomatillos, is the traditional way to go in Guerrero, while Michoacanos prefer their posole red (like our recipe for posole), but you can't really go wrong. Seriously—BA editor Carla Lalli Music managed to improvise a non-standard seafood version on the fly, and it turned out great.
(Credit: Ditte Isager)
