Yucatecan Turkey in Black Chile Broth (Pavo en Relleno Negro)
Yucatán's jet-black turkey stew: turkey simmered in a broth darkened with recado negro, a paste of chiles toasted until nearly burnt, served with slices of "but," a pork and beef roll with whole egg yolks in the middle.
In Yucatán, the Mexican state on the tip of the peninsula, turkey is still the bird for the big days. The visitor magazine Yucatán Today calls relleno negro a blend of Maya heritage and Spanish influence; in Maya it is boox but', "black filling". The black comes from recado negro, also called chilmole: dried chiles toasted until they are nearly burnt, ground with spices such as black pepper, cumin, achiote, oregano and garlic. The "but" is a big meatball or roll of ground pork and beef with hard-boiled eggs inside.
Yucatán Today says the dish is traditionally made with turkey, and is served at weddings and baptisms and especially in the Janal Pixan offerings for the Day of the Dead. When the writers of the site Yucatan Living were handed a pot of it in 2005, they admitted it looks "like you are eating turkey in motor oil," and then praised it anyway.
Why it works the kitchen science
Burnt on purpose
Chiles toasted almost to black bring smoke, a pleasant bitterness and the inky color, and two hours of simmering softens their edge.
A roll that cooks in the stew
The wrapped meat roll poaches in the broth, giving it pork and beef richness while soaking up the recado; the cheesecloth keeps the egg yolks centered and the roll in one piece.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the turkey in an 8 quart pot. Whisk 1 cup recado negro with 2 cups water until smooth and pour it over the turkey with the epazote, 2 tsp salt and about 10 cups more water, enough to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower to a gentle simmer, set the lid ajar and cook 1 hour.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, make the but: mix the pork, beef, chopped onion, sweet pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup recado negro and the raw egg with your hands until evenly black and sticky. Fold in the chopped egg whites and the chopped epazote.
- Step 3
Lay out a double layer of cheesecloth. Pat the meat into a rectangle about 8 by 10 inches, set the whole yolks in a line down the middle, then roll the meat around them into a log. Wrap tightly in the cheesecloth and tie both ends with twine.
- Step 4
After the turkey's first hour, lower the roll into the simmering broth. Simmer 1 hour more, until the turkey is falling-off-the-bone tender (well past 165°F) and the center of the roll reads 160°F.
- Step 5
While it simmers, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the sliced onion 5 minutes, until soft, add the xcatik chile for 2 minutes, then the tomatoes for 3 minutes.
- Step 6
Lift the roll onto a board to rest. Stir the vegetables into the pot, then stir in the flour slurry and boil gently 10 minutes, stirring, until the broth thickens slightly. Taste for salt.
- Step 7
Unwrap the roll and slice it 3/4 inch thick. Serve the turkey in deep bowls with plenty of black broth and a slice or two of but, with warm tortillas on the side.
Yucatecan Turkey in Black Chile Broth (Pavo en Relleno Negro)
Serves 8 · about 12 cups stew plus one 10-inch meat roll · 2 hr 55 min total
Stew
- 4 lb bone-in turkey thighs and drumsticks
- 1 cup (250 g) recado negro paste
- 1/2 bunch epazote
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 xcatik chile (or another mild yellow chile), sliced
- 2 tomatoes, cut into thin strips
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour, stirred into 1/2 cup cold water
But (the meat roll)
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 small sweet pepper (chile dulce or a small bell pepper), finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup (50 g) recado negro paste
- 1 raw egg
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, whites chopped, yolks left whole
- 1 sprig epazote, finely chopped
- Cheesecloth and kitchen twine
To serve
- Warm corn tortillas
Method
- Put the turkey in an 8 quart pot. Whisk 1 cup recado negro with 2 cups water until smooth and pour it over the turkey with the epazote, 2 tsp salt and about 10 cups more water, enough to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower to a gentle simmer, set the lid ajar and cook 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the but: mix the pork, beef, chopped onion, sweet pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup recado negro and the raw egg with your hands until evenly black and sticky. Fold in the chopped egg whites and the chopped epazote.
- Lay out a double layer of cheesecloth. Pat the meat into a rectangle about 8 by 10 inches, set the whole yolks in a line down the middle, then roll the meat around them into a log. Wrap tightly in the cheesecloth and tie both ends with twine.
- After the turkey's first hour, lower the roll into the simmering broth. Simmer 1 hour more, until the turkey is falling-off-the-bone tender (well past 165°F) and the center of the roll reads 160°F.
- While it simmers, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the sliced onion 5 minutes, until soft, add the xcatik chile for 2 minutes, then the tomatoes for 3 minutes.
- Lift the roll onto a board to rest. Stir the vegetables into the pot, then stir in the flour slurry and boil gently 10 minutes, stirring, until the broth thickens slightly. Taste for salt.
- Unwrap the roll and slice it 3/4 inch thick. Serve the turkey in deep bowls with plenty of black broth and a slice or two of but, with warm tortillas on the side.
Adapted from Yucatán Today's "Recipe for Relleno Negro" (January 4, 2026). Their recipe uses a whole chicken; because they say turkey is traditional, we use 4 lb of bone-in turkey thighs and drumsticks, and the simmering times for turkey (2 hours) and the meat roll in the broth are ours. Amounts are converted from their grams (250 g recado negro is about 1 cup; 25 g flour is about 3 tbsp). Their "seasoning blend" is left out, the salt and pepper amounts are ours, and recado negro is bought as a ready-made paste; we did not develop a from-scratch recado. Doneness temperatures are from USDA FSIS (165°F for turkey; 160°F for ground pork and beef:). Yucatán Today. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Look for recado negro (sometimes sold as chilmole) in Mexican groceries or online.
- Like most stews it is even better the next day. Cool it and refrigerate within 2 hours, then reheat to 165°F.
- Pull the turkey off the bone and fold it into tortillas with a spoonful of broth for the next day's tacos.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Relleno negro is made with turkey. Documented: Yucatán Today calls turkey traditional, while chicken or pork can be used (their own recipe uses chicken).
- The black color comes from burnt chiles. Documented for the color; Disputed for which chiles: Yucatán Today names mainly ancho and pasilla, while Yucatan Living was told the key is chiles de árbol burnt black.
- It is a Day of the Dead dish. Documented in part: Yucatán Today names Janal Pixan offerings, but also weddings and baptisms.
- Relleno negro is a pure Maya recipe. Folklore: Yucatán Today calls it a blend of Maya heritage and Spanish influence.
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