Arrachera

Arrachera became a named, sought-after cut in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in the 1970s. The diaphragm muscle had long been a cheap, overlooked piece; the popular account credits the Monterrey businessman José Inés Cantú, who around 1973 brought the cut back from the cattle markets of Laredo, Texas, to serve at his Monterrey restaurant. The story goes that to keep his source secret, Cantú coined the name "arrachera" — said to come from the French arracher, recalled from the strap that cinched a saddle to a horse's belly — so that rival restaurants ordering "arrachera" from their suppliers could not identify which part of the animal it was. Whatever the precise truth of the naming, the cut stabilized across Monterrey's asada grills through the 1970s and spread from the northeast to become one of Mexico's most popular grilling beefs.

Cut thin across its loose, ropey grain, arrachera eats tender but with real chew and a beefy, slightly mineral depth that fattier cuts lack. The hard sear over mesquite lays down a charred, smoky crust, while the inside stays juicy and just past pink; the marinade leaves a tangy, faintly limey, garlicky edge. Folded into a flour tortilla off the grill, with a squeeze of lime, a spoon of salsa, maybe grilled onions and a strip of chile, it is the taco the whole northern grill is built around.

Two things make the cut work. First, the marinade: an acidic mix of lime or other citrus with garlic, salt, pepper, and often a little oil and Worcestershire is worked into the meat for several hours, where the acid loosens the muscle's tough connective proteins and the salt helps it hold juice — important because the diaphragm is a hard-working, lean muscle that would otherwise eat chewy. Second, the cooking and the cut: arrachera is seared hot and fast so the thin strip browns deeply (Maillard) without drying through, then — crucially — sliced against the grain, cutting the long muscle fibers into short lengths so each bite is tender rather than stringy. Mesquite or charcoal adds the smoke that defines the northern asada; overcook it and the lean meat turns dry and tough.