CK wrote:

> Rich McCormack wrote:
>
>>CK wrote:
>>
>>
>>>This recipe was made by the Mayans with wild boar which is still hunted
>>>in the interior of Quintana Roo, but cooks now use the domestic pig for
>>>this tasty soup or hearty main course...
>>
>>Perhaps you meant javelina rather than wild boar. Javelina are
>>native to North and South America. They are similar to wild boar,
>>but because of anatomical differences they are classified in a family
>>of their own, the Tayassuidae Family. Wild boar are members of the
>>Suidae Family and are native to Europe, Asia and Africa.
>
>
> I meant "wild boar". Can you say for certain that no Mayan ever made
> Frijoles con Puerco using wild boar meat?
>
> Who's to say when the first wild boar was released from captivity for
> the pleasure of hunters, or when the first wild boar escaped its pen?
> When that farmer down south saw "Hogzilla", he knew what to do. He shot
> it. It turned out to be part wild boar and part domestic hog.
>
> The boars have probably been running loose for nearly 500 years now.
> The Mayans are still living in Mexico and Central America too.

Perhaps you should have more clearly qualified your statements to
indicate you meant Post-Columbian Mayans and their modern descendants.
"This recipe was made by the Mayans" and "This recipe was made by
the Mayans with wild boar which is still hunted in the interior of
Quintana Roo" seemed to refer to the distant past and indicate you
were writing of the Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Yucatan
peninsula. At least it did to me, sorry if I misunderstood your
intent.

>
> I suppose the Mayans may have also made "Frijoles con Perro", using a
> fat dog instead of a javelina, wild boar, or domestic pig, but you
> would have been offended.
>
> What do you have to say about the recipe itself, beyond arguing with
> the style and the introduction? Does it sound like a main course dish
> you'd want to prepare for guests, or would you want to stick with a
> combination of antojitos?

I'm not a great fan of canned pork and beans and I prefer black beans
over pintos and heartier fare over snacks when I sit down to a meal.
The recipe sounds quite tasty to me...hope you don't mind I saved it
for future reference.

>
> Can you improve on the recipe, or do you just want to snipe around the
> periphery of the thing?
>

Hard to say until I tried it. I would probably sauté the onions
briefly in the lard before adding the water and beans. I would
NOT add anything containing MSG as my wife suffers certain allergic
reactions to MSG I'll not mention in detail only to say it would bring
me nothing but grief. If too much water cooked off, I'd add chicken
broth rather than water. The recipe doesn't mention any preparation
of the serrano chiles, but I assume they would be chopped. When I use
serranos, I like to thinly slice them crosswise into rounds rather
than chop. I also think I would add some chopped ripe jalapeno or
other fresh red chile.

Rich