Postmodern Provisions - Pynchonian beer tacos
Published by Reblogs - Credits in Posts,
(Credits: Far Out / Wikimedia / Jarritos)
Postmodern Provisions: a perfect ‘beer’ taco dish fit for Thomas Pynchon
Wed 10 April 2024 14:45, UK
Since James Joyce and his labyrinthine masterpiece Ulysses, novelists have found artistic satisfaction in befuddling readers. In Malcolm Lowry’s case, confusing text helped convey autosadistic inebriation and peyote intoxication, but for the American postmodernist Thomas Pynchon, complexity is used primarily to challenge the reader and reward patience with a sense of accomplishment.
Pynchon made his first notch on the literary bedpost in 1963 with his debut novel, V., a sprawling and enigmatic tale that foreshadowed the audacity and challenging nature of his later works. Now navigating the latter half of his 80s, Pynchon’s consummate legacy is supported by nine critically acclaimed novels, a scattering of novellas and a selection of non-fictional essays.
His most recent novel was 2013’s Bleeding Edge, a historically savvy dreamscape set 12 years prior that ruminates on the horrors of September 11th and the looming spectre of the internet. Characteristic of Pynchon’s oeuvre, the story is dense, convoluted and entertaining but also indirectly rhetorical.
In 1973, Pynchon’s career reached a rarely disputed peak with the release of Gravity’s Rainbow. A tantalising tour de force of postmodern fiction, the story defies the conventions of storytelling, weaving together themes of paranoia, technology and philosophy in a psychedelic brushstroke of wordsmithery. For this outing, Pynchon travelled back to the mid-1940s to focus on the German military and track down the mysterious weapon system, Schwarzgerät.
As one can imagine, during his active years, Pynchon could usually be found at the typewriter whipping up a literary storm. Bookish types immersed in manuscripts, scientific concepts and historical documents often find very little time for gastronomical immersion, opting for simple sustenance, but Pynchon made an exception when it came to Mexican food.
Throughout his literary canon, Pynchon frequently mentioned Mexican cuisine, betraying one of his biggest weaknesses. You drop a plate of tacos under this wordsmith’s nose, and he’s putty in your hands. Perhaps the only food and drink item mentioned more frequently was the universal favourite of the creative writer: alcohol, more specifically, beer.
You might recall the Lupitas in Against the Day, where customers could pile their "lunch pails or paper sacks with chicken tortas, venison tamales, Lupita’s widely-known brain tacos, bottles of home-brewed beer".
Fellow writer Richard Fariña also documented his close friend’s insatiable appetite for tacos in his posthumously published book Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone. "We moved into the midway and bought tacos and beer," he remembered. "Pynchon coming to life with the tacos, not having had any Mexican food in a couple of weeks…"
The recipe below celebrates Thomas Pynchon’s favourite food and drink all in one tasty package. It’s best served alongside a copy of Gravity’s Rainbow and an ice-cold case of Coronas. Enjoy!
Thomas Pynchon’s perfect ‘beer’ taco dish:
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boned, skinned chicken thighs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup Mexican beer
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 chipotle chile
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- Soft taco shells
- Pickled shallots
- Cilantro
- Cotija cheese
- Lime wedges
Method:
- Start by heating two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Make sure the chicken is dry by patting it with paper towels, then season it with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook until it’s lightly golden, but don’t let it cook through entirely; around three minutes should do. Once done, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining one tablespoon of oil and heat it over a medium flame. Saute the onion until it turns slightly translucent, approximately two minutes. Add the cumin, chile powder, and garlic to the skillet, allowing them to cook for another two minutes.
- Pour chicken broth into the skillet, making sure to scrape off any browned bits of onion stuck to the bottom of the pan. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully pour this mixture into the slow cooker. To this, add beer, tomato paste, chipotle chile, cinnamon stick, and star anise.
- Set the slow cooker to high and let it cook for three hours. After this time, uncover it, and use a fork to break the chicken into smaller pieces. Then, cover it again and let it cook for an additional hour.
- Once the chicken is done, remove it from the braising liquid. Fill taco shells with the chicken and garnish them with shallots, cilantro, and cheese. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the tacos and serve with your choice of beer.