Chef and television host Pati Jinich has been taking viewers on an intimate tour of Mexico for 13 years with her show "Pati's Mexican Table." Each season, she dives deep into a region of her home country; now, she says, "I'm taking you to the places I wanna get to know." So, Season 13 is dedicated to Chihuahua.
The state is Mexico's biggest, stretching from the borders of Texas and New Mexico down to Durango, and it's home to various cultures shaped by natives, colonialism and wars alike.
And while many people don't necessarily think about Chihuahua when considering Mexican cuisine, Jinich says that's a huge misstep.
"Chihuahua is the borderlands," the chef tells TODAY.com while promoting her show and partnership with Gran Centenario Tequila. "There's a lot of influence with the U.S. and there are many things that Mexicans in Mexico City or (the) south of Mexico may say, 'That's not really Mexican,'" she continues, referencing dishes like carne asada nachos and burritos. "But it just comes to show how little we Mexicans know about ourselves."
The burrito? That came from Ciudad Juárez. Beef barbacoa? Another hallmark of the region where "cattle is really king," she says. Flour tortillas? Despite tales of how they're not Mexican at all, these wheat-based vessels have been a mainstay in the country's northern regions for centuries.
Dishes like chile pasado and Mennonite pizza are also staples of the northern state, though you might not know about them unless you've visited the area yourself.
"Regional Mexican food really knows no borders," Jinich says.
Jinich explains there are three prominent groups of people who make up "the main pillars of culture and cuisine" in Chihuahua: Indigenous tribes, Mennonites and mestizos.
While she says "mestizos" i s not a term used on the daily in many parts of Mexico, "in Chihuahua, it is." Jinich describes this population as the coming together of the "old world and new world" -- a marriage, sometimes literally, of those who were on the land prior to colonization by Europeans and those who were there as a result of it. She says they play an important role in the state's culture today.
When it comes to food and agriculture, it's the Indigenous population -- the Rarámuri tribe in particular -- and the Mennonites that have the biggest impact, in her eyes.
"Their food is incredibly unique," Jinich says, adding that the tribe uses a lot of beans, corn and salsa. "The corn they eat in very unique ways. Like they have a soup called 'chacales,' which is made of dried cracked corn and you cook with roasted tomatoes and it's absolutely delicious."
Jinich also lists Chihuahua-style beef barbacoa (barbacoa chihuahuense), "which is very different" from the barbacoa you'll find in other parts of Mexico where it's likely made with lamb or goat.
The chef is insistent that just because it's made differently than in central Mexico, "that doesn't mean it's not authentic." In fact, part of what she's loved so much about filming this season is "being humbled" and getting to learn just how diverse the "authentic" foodways of her country are.
Jinich calls this community "hugely impactful" on both the culture and economy in Chihuahua.
For Jinich, it's the Mennonite cheese -- or queso Chihuahua -- that's the main culinary focus.
"For Mexicans, we adore Chihuahua cheese," she says, remembering the days when she'd see Mennonites come to Mexico City once a month to sell the product. She described a milky cheese in the style of Monterey Jack, and says it's used in a variety of dishes.
"It has personality," she says, adding that it's melty but not overpowering, a little nutty in flavor, and just generally "really soothing."
"The food in Chihuahua is incredibly unique," Jinich says.
"It's very Norteño, cowboy, but not like Texas," she continues. "Carne asadas are a thing, desserts are a thing."
Jinich explains that many sweets in the area are made with wheat: ojarascas and Mexican wedding cookies (polvorones) with orange zest or pecans, "because they grow both."
Additionally, she says, it's common in many tribal areas with a lack of refrigeration to get resourceful.
"They have to rely a lot on what they find," she says. "Like wild greens, which are called 'quelites' in Mexico. They cook them in the most delicious way." She describes adding fresh chiles, tortillas and more.
Aside from the more commonly known foods, Jinich says there are a host of other dishes that you wouldn't necessarily know about unless you spent significant time in the area.
The Chilaca de Anaheim is used a lot throughout the cuisine, and it's a chile Jinich says she "wasn't used to."
"Chile verde on everything," she says -- with cheese, in soups and more -- adding that she appreciates its bright and citrusy qualities.
Jinich says this version is unique to Chihuahua and "doesn't exist anywhere else in Mexico."
It's incredible in tacos, she says.
While the process of roasting or drying peppers is common, it's the combination of the two processes done to the chile verde that has completely blown her mind.
The name translates to "chile of the past": "They roast it, they sweat it, they peel it, and then they dry it again," she recalls. "It gets this flavor -- I don't even know how to describe it. It's kind of licorice with a tint of alcohol ... and then they cook that with meat and sometimes with just tomato and chile verde and onion."
There are so many layers of flavor, she says, "You cannot find it anywhere else in Mexico."
It's a famous item in the region, she says, with a crust that's more bread-like, owing to "something about the northern Mexico wheat."
They top it with a spiced tomato sauce with Mexican chiles, a refried bean sauce, "a ridiculous amount of their Mennonite cheese," then toppings!
"It's the way barbacoa is made in Chihuahua," she says.
In this northern state, the dish made with beef, and instead of being cooked underground in a pit, it's done in a pot over heat. "It's incredibly simple to make, but the flavor is insane," she explains.
She says it has a less gamey taste than the ones made in central Mexico, and adds that the people of the region typically pair it with two salsas -- red and green -- and eat it in tacos or sandwiches.
If you want to bring a bit of the Chihuahuan way into your own kitchen, here are two recipes the chef says will all but transport you:
"There's no celebration without tequila," Jinich says. "There's different kinds for different things. And just like Mexican cuisine, it has its different layers."
"It's the same as learning Mexican regional foods," she says.
Jinich says Gran Centenario has always been a part of her life. "It's the tequila that I grew up with -- that my family and friends as Mexicans in Mexico choose," she explained. "It's the tequila that, when I moved to the U.S. with my husband ... my dad would put it in his luggage and come to my house with, 'Here, I brought you Mexico.'"
She says her favorite is the plata -- "the most basic one" -- but adds that the reposado is "phenomenal," with more nutty flavors.
What Jinich loves, though, is that it goes beyond the varieties many people in the U.S. have come to know, including Leyenda and Cristalino.