Mexico: One Plate at a Time
Season 12: Bayless' Best Ever
Rick Bayless, the beloved chef and restaurateur, seamlessly weaves together techniques, recipes, cultural musings and off-the-wall surprises. Throughout the series, Rick translates his Mexican travel adventures into unforgettable parties from intimate fireside suppers and casual backyard cocktails with friends to big, boisterous bashes for 25.
Where to Watch Season 12: Bayless' Best Ever
13 Episodes
- A Tour of Tacos al Pastor
E1A Tour of Tacos al PastorTacos al Pastor are Mexico City’s most iconic taco, all red chile-marinated pork roasting slowly on a vertical spit and sliced with glistening pineapple into a warm corn tortilla. Rick offers a glimpse of the bustling city’s taco culture, from busy daytime eateries to late-night vendors. No trompo? No problem. Rick makes a version on his grill that will please al pastor purists, then it’s back to Chicago for grill-roasted black cod al pastor. - Chilaquiles, Comforting and Classic
E2Chilaquiles, Comforting and ClassicChilaquiles are served everywhere from the regal downtown restaurant El Cardenal to the hipster haven Chilakillers, chilaquiles are a mainstay of Mexico City menus. Rick's homemade version will be your next favorite "anytime" recipe. - Chocolate and Churros, Breakfast of Champions
E3Chocolate and Churros, Breakfast of ChampionsIn Mexico, golden crispy churros are served with a cup of nourishing hot chocolate, and there's perhaps no better snack in the whole republic. Rick's recipe begins with classic Mexican hot chocolate and ends with churro nibbles showered atop Mexican hot chocolate ice cream. - Beautifully Balanced Ceviche
E6Beautifully Balanced CevicheHow do you improve on ceviche? You don’t. You simply start with the freshest fish possible. Rick shows viewers how three eateries, including a decades-old street stall and upstart vendor making waves in San Juan Market, translate super-fresh fish into beautifully balanced ceviches. In his Mexico City kitchen, Rick makes the case for unfussy classic ceviche. Then he dials it up a notch with recipes for ceviches with coconut and a little booze. - Tried and True TamalesE7
Tried and True TamalesThere are seemingly as many styles of tamales as there are regions in Mexico, each steaming heap of fresh masa flavored in myriad ways. We’ll see the iconic corn-husked versions at the casual Tamales Teresita, as well as the denser, banana-leaf-wrapped Chiapanecos style, sold by a family outside the historic San Juan Bautisa church. Then Rick steps through the classic Central-style tamales, and at home prepares a surprising sweet corn tamal. - Choosing Chile RellenosE8
Choosing Chile RellenosAt the serene kitchen at Roldán 37, Chef Romulo Mendoza prepares a perfect chile relleno, the classic battered and fried poblano chile stuffed with pork picadillo. Then it’s off to Pasilla de Humo for Oaxacan-style dried, stuffed pasilla chiles and El Pescadito, a taqueria famous for its deep fried stuffed jalapeño tacos. To ensure at-home success, Rick goes step-by-step through the tricky business of battering and frying chiles for classic chiles rellenos, then takes it to the grill for a lighter, vegetable-filled version in his Chicago backyard. - You Don't Know the Whole Enchilada
E9You Don't Know the Whole EnchiladaWhen you say the word "enchiladas," chances are you are thinking about the saucy, cheesy affairs we all know and love. In Mexico City, you will find a variety of enchiladas, both in the simplest of markets and in the nicest of restaurants. - Always Time for Tacos
E11Always Time for TacosWhether in high-end restaurants or humble homesteads, the corn tortilla is the canvas on which Mexico creates some of its most classic cuisine. Rick shows us three styles in Mexico City — mouthwatering steak tacos al carbon, colorfully garnished bistec tacos a la plancha and stewed tacos de guisado — before stepping through lessons in the perfect at-home masterpieces. - All in for AlbodingasE12
All in for AlbodingasDid you know the humble little meatball has a starring role in the Mexican kitchen? In this episode, Rick sees traditional versions of albondingas in the old-school Bar Mancera and modern versions in hipster haven Cicatriz. There’s even a meatball torta thrown in for good measure. And because sometimes a “best-ever” recipe needs to be something that gets to the table quickly, Rick makes crowd-pleasing versions suitable for weeknight cooking. - Mole is Mexico's Mother Sauce
E13Mole is Mexico's Mother SauceSan Pedro Atocpan is a small town that produces some 60 percent of the mole eaten in all of Mexico, and Rick is pretty much the perfect tour guide to show us around. We’ll see mole in its many mouthwatering forms, including the elegant mole madre at Enrique Olvera’s Pujol. In his Mexico City kitchen, Rick leads a lesson in red mole making. In Chicago, he makes a herbacious mole verde with fish that will make you the hero of the kitchen.
