These tasty little treats start with homemade ‘tortillas’ that are topped with pulled chicken (marinated in bitter orange and achiote paste), lettuce, tomatoes, ‘pickled’ onions, avocados and jalapeños.
The ‘tortillas’ are made with corn ‘masa’, to which a small amount of wheat flour, salt and water are added. The resulting dough is kneaded, the hands continually dipped in water, until it is able to form a small ball without cracking.
kneading the masa dough
The ball is placed onto a tortilla press and squished. Note that the press is covered with saran wrap to keep the dough from sticking. If this doesn’t work, or if you don’t have a press, then the little tortillas can be formed by hand, the old-fashioned way…
ball of masa dough in a tortilla press
In the meantime prepare the chicken by butterflying the breasts and marinating in a mixture of bitter orange and achiote paste for an hour or even overnight. Then cook in a frypan until done, and shred with your hands (once it’s cooled of course)!
chicken in achiote/bitter orange marinade being fried
The ‘pickled onion’ is also prepared ahead of time. First a purple onion is julienned. Then, in a shallow bowl, the onion is marinated in a mixture of bitter orange, Mexican oregano, salt and white vinegar for at least an hour or so.
marinated red onion
When you are ready to go, deep fry the little ‘tortillas’, which should puff up and turn slightly golden. Once each batch is done, place on paper towel to remove excess oil, and then put in oven to keep warm.
the salbutes puff up when deep-fried
To serve, top the warm salbutes with a few pieces of romaine lettuce, shredded marinated chicken, wedges of tomato, avocado, marinated red onion and a ring or two of canned jalapeño.
salbutes served!