Pati Jinich, voice-over: When Bubba Nevarez received a daunting diagnosis...

In 2013, I got detected with leukemia.

Pati, voice-over: the doctors warned him to quit the rodeo.

A rebellious cowboy, he didn't, and today he and his family are team roping champions, more resilient than ever, and now they rope me into the mix and let me in on some mouth-watering Chihuahua favorites.

Mm.

[Speaks Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Then I get a taste of the other side of ranch life-- [Imitating cow mooing] Pati, voice-over: the cattle business, which wouldn't be complete without a proper carne asada, featuring something I've never tried before.

Pati: So these are desert oysters?

Love it, love it, love it.

♪ Pati, voice-over: Then sink your teeth into Colorado chile short rib volcanes, each bite bursting with flavor and oozing with melty cheese, then topped with zesty chile de arbol guacamole.

I could eat so many of these.

I mean, this is, like, perfection.

♪ [Sizzling] What a feast.

♪ Pati: Mm.

So succulent.

These beans are insane.

[Laughter] Mm.

♪ [Birds chirping] ♪ Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... ♪ Announcer: La Costeña.

!por sabor!

Men: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ ♪ Announcer: Texas A&M International University-- Going beyond borders.

Announcer: Eggland's Best, available in your grocer's egg aisle.

Visit egglandsbest.com.

[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftsmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.

♪ Pati, voice-over: The cowboy way of life is etched into the DNA of Chihuahuans.

♪ In fact, rodeos have their roots in Mexico, stemming from the time of traditions of Spanish cattle ranchers.

Competitive roping is a dangerous dance of skill, speed, and teamwork.

Bubba Nevarez and his friend Alvaro de la Torre and his son Alvaro Jr. are champions.

Pati: For you, this is just another day in the office, which is another day in the office for you, right?

Another day in the office in Chihuahua, yeah.

Every time that I get into the chute or I go to a rodeo, it's like a dream come true.

♪ Pati: Today at their practice area in Meoqui, Chihuahua, Bubba and his friends are showing me the ropes, literally.

After only a 5-minute lesson, they seem to think I'm ready.

Alvaro wants me to ride a horse with them and gather all the cattle-- no, round up the cattle.

I don't even know the terms.

[Speaking Spanish] OK. [Speaking Spanish] See where you sit.

[Speaking Spanish] Man: Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey Pati, are you helping?

Yeah.

Hey, hey, hey!

Ee ee ee.

[Speaking Spanish] Uh-huh.

Entonces ya.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Yeah!

Yeah, Bubba?

Pati, voice-over: Bubba is a first-generation cowboy.

Alvaro and his son Junior are carrying out a legacy of ranching and rodeo excellence that stretches back nearly a century.

♪ [Speaking Spanish] Your son is now a national champion.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: For Bubba, the rodeo transcends sport.

It has given him the strength to lasso his most difficult challenge yet.

In 2013, December 2013, I got detected with leukemia.

It was, like, a huge impact in my life because it made me, like, to do reflections about everything and try to set everything up from new again, and the doctor told me that I needed to quit the horses.

I said, like, "If you take the horses off of me, like, I think that I'm not gonna be getting through this," so after that, I try to ride as much as I can.

I try to rope as much as I can, and I try to enjoy life the most, so I have a lot of love and a lot of respect for the horses because I think that they are way pretty much the engine that keeps me going.

♪ Pati, voice-over: The animals not only keep Bubba going, but are integral to the craft, almost like the extension of the cowboy.

Pati: So you were diagnosed, it was, like, 11 years ago, 2013?

Bubba: Yeah, 11.

Yeah, 2013.

OK. Where are you now?

Enjoying life.

We are still battling it, and we are on the treatment, and we just enjoy every little single part of life and enjoy my friends, enjoy my family, my little baby.

Pati, voice-over: A big part of enjoying the life means fully participating in the other side of the cowboy way-- the carne asada.

♪ Kind of like barbecue in the U.S., carne asada is both the name of the gathering and the grilled meat.

♪ [Speaking Spanish] ♪ Pati, voice-over: Alfonso Rodriguez owns this arena, and he's also a wise sage in the ways of carne asada.

[Speaking Spanish] So usually, you always do sausages, quesadillas, like, charred scallions, like, just to kill the appetite until you throw the carne asada on?

Yes.

[Speaking Spanish] Sí.

Mm-hmm.

Pati, voice-over: The quesadillas are made with queso asadero, a typical regional cheese from local cows.

Bubba: It's, like, another kind of cheese that they make here in Chihuahua, and you can find it very much in the Ahumada area.

Like, when you're driving to Juárez, there's this town where they sell a lot of burritos right there.

You make better quesadillas with asadero cheese.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Cowgirls Paulina Rodriguez and Edna Sepulveda make sure I don't mess these up.

I want to grab a jalapeño.

[Speaking Spanish] Mm.

Pati, voice-over: I'm filling up already and we haven't started the main event.

Now comes the actual carne asada prepared the cowboy Chihuahua way, as demonstrated by Alfonso.

♪ [Speaking Spanish] ♪ [Both speaking Spanish] ♪ Pati, voice-over: I may never learn to rope as good as these guys, but I think I can teach you a thing or two about making something spectacular for your own carne asada.

♪ Colorado chile-rubbed short rib volcanes.

♪ It is not two of us cooking today.

3.

It is 3, 'cause Mila is not moving away.

Did you see where she set herself?

Ha ha ha!

Mila knows we're making ribs.

Oh, yeah.

She can smell it.

Yeah.

She knows this is the good part.

We're gonna make some volcanes.

Colorado chile short rib volcanes with guacamole.

Let's get started with the meat.

Sounds good.

So, for the meat, we're gonna make a super simple marinade.

OK.

So, now I have a comal here that I've been heating over medium-low heat.

You can see these are colorados.

These are guajillos.

It's two ounces, or about 10 to 12 of these chiles.

You want the skin to transform, to become toasted.

[Speaking Spanish] And now I have here some water that I started heating.

So, now the chiles that I already toasted, we're gonna throw in there.

[Coughing] You're standing right in the smoke.

I am!

Can you push the top one into the water?

Yes.

Here.

And now, we want the chiles to hydrate.

It looks so beautiful.

Now we're gonna add garlic.

So, we have how many cloves?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Yeah.

Yeah?

Now we want, like, 3 tablespoons of fresh oregano, but it's tablespoons, like, packed.

OK, so, let's get the blender.

OK.

These we can really puree, you know?

You want to fish the garlic out?

Yeah.

Are we putting that straight in?

In here.

Yeah.

OK. And any of the chiles.

OK. OK. Now gonna add the oregano.

♪ OK. And then we're gonna add some salt.

We're adding, like, special grilling salt, Mm-hmm.

Which is very, very coarse.

Like, look at it.

♪ It's such a beautiful salt.

And then a little bit of the cooking liquid from the chiles.

It's gonna be, like, about a half a cup, OK?

[Blender whirring] And once you turn it on, you can go a little higher.

[Blender whirring faster] And then we don't want it completely pureed.

We want it chunky and coarse and with texture.

So, I think--let's see what it looks like.

Oh, OK.

I love this texture.

See how coarse and chunky it is?

This is actually perfect.

Oh, wow.

So, let me put this in a bowl.

Because we're doing it right away, I'm hoping it'll cool a little here as we prepare the meat, because you don't want to put a hot marinade on a meat or a protein and put it in the fridge and then cook it.

OK, let's talk about this meat, 'cause I don't think you've ever seen it.

OK, these are called flanken style ribs.

So, they're short ribs that are sliced across the ribs, not along the ribs.

These are ribs that are very easy to grill and use and make.

OK, now let's add the marinade.

Just on top?

Everything?

Sí, everything, everywhere.

[Speaking Spanish] We can add it now that it's still hot, 'cause we're about to cook it.

Yeah.

And then like, you keep on adding, and I'll rub everywhere.

That's it!

Rinse my hands.

♪ So, you can do this inside, outside.

You just want to make sure that it's really hot.

Want to add a little oil.

It's gonna smoke more.

[Sizzling] Mm-hmm.

Nice.

We're gonna grill it, like, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

That's it.

[Sizzling] Mm.

Yay.

Yeah.

Oh, my God.

Smell this.

Oh, yeah.

So good?

It's 'cause you have few ingredients, that has.

Like, it looks like there's so much in it.

I know.

But it's just 'cause of different color peppers and-- Now let's add some of that [Speaking Spanish] We're working it.

Let's flip the meat.

Ooh!

Pretty!

And look at the grill marks.

OK, once we flip it, it's really, like, 1 to 2 minutes.

But actually, this is ready, so, let's take this out.

'Cause we want them juicy, right?

Looks so good.

Oh, my God.

So good.

I purposely ate a lot less today because I knew it was coming.

Oh, you did?

They're gonna rest there for a second.

I'm gonna reduce the heat, but we're gonna make the volcanes here.

So, we're gonna take a tortilla, and we're gonna brush it with water.

[Speaking Spanish] Oh, OK. OK?

This is a technique I learned in the north of Mexico.

And then you add it like that.

OK. OK?

[Speaking Spanish] As you continue doing that, I'm gonna talk to you about our guacamole.

The guacamole has two different kinds of chiles.

I'm gonna use a fresh jalapeño and dried chiles de árbol.

But I'm gonna toast the chiles de árbol.

'Cause remember, we want to unlock the flavor and the taste of the dried chiles.

OK, so, we have these.

These are gonna be the volcanes.

Now, these are the usual suspects of a guacamole.

Tomato, onion, jalapeño, cilantro.

But we're spicing it up by adding chile de árbol.

Let's chop.

♪ So, we're gonna add the chile.

OK. You're gonna add the onion.

♪ So, let's get some cilantro.

I don't know.

Like, 5 or 6 stems.

♪ [Speaking Spanish] Someone's taught you well.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

OK. [Speaking Spanish] The chiles de árbol get jumpy when you chop them.

OK, so, now we have jalapeño chile de árbol.

We need lime juice.

OK. Mm.

This is gonna be so tasty.

[Speaking Spanish] OK. Now I'm adding some sal fina, or fine salt.

♪ Oh, that's a lot of salt.

Ha!

OK.

So, now that you have this, we're gonna mash this.

Mash away.

Yeah.

You hold onto the molcajete and then just mash.

[Speaking Spanish] OK, so, now that the tortilla's started toasting, you can see, we can add the cheese.

OK.

This is Mennonite cheese from Chihuahua.

So, now, as the tortilla continues to toast, this is the volcan part.

We need to add 3 avocados that look ripe.

I actually like to do this when I do guacamole.

Like, I cut it into dice in the avocado.

Makes it easier to mash or--yeah.

Yeah.

And now you can mash, OK?

Can you help me?

♪ Mm, mm, mm.

OK. Mash?

Sí, sí, mash away.

♪ I'm gonna keep on adding and you keep on mashing.

Sami, it's so much fun to cook with you.

It's great getting new recipes that I can impress my friends with.

Maybe one day I can come and cook in your dorm.

I would love that.

I mean, my friends would love that, too.

OK, so, we have the guacamole.

OK.

So, now, this is something that I never used to do, Sami.

I never used to add tomato to my guacamole, but for a guacamole, you can't add the seeds or too much of the juices, or it waters it down.

OK, let's add these and now, once you add the tomato, you don't want to continue mashing it.

You want to mix it, 'cause then you have the nice, fresh bites of the tomato.

And these are perfect.

These are ready.

Guacamole's ready.

We just need to cut the meat.

OK.

So, now we, like, grab a flanken.

A flanken rib.

And then I take all the meat.

I like to cut it, like, in small, bite-size pieces.

Ooh, this is so perfect!

Look at the color.

And even the, like, small pieces of fat have so much flavor.

I'm gonna put all the meat here so that we can assemble our volcanes.

[Both speaking Spanish] Yeah, this is the best one.

This is heaven just like this.

Gorgeous!

♪ OK.

I'm gonna eat this one.

♪ Cheers.

[Crunching] ♪ Oh, my gosh.

It's so good.

Mm.

Oh.

It's not that spicy when it has everything else.

Mm.

Mm.

You can taste some super-crunchy parts on the edge, but then closer to the middle, [Speaking Spanish] Like, a little chewy.

Yeah, definitely.

And then the cheese, yum.

The meat has such incredible bite.

And then the guacamole is bright and creamy and, I mean, this is like perfection.

No?

I could eat so many of these.

Mm.

Mm.

Oh, my God.

Mm.

Mm.

♪ Pati, voice-over: It's hard to know what came first in Chihuahua--rodeo or cattle ranching.

♪ The two together are the pillars of cultural and economic life here.

♪ At Alvaro Bustillos's ranch, just outside of Casas Grandes, I'm getting a lesson in cowboy business.

[Cows mooing] [Man imitating cows mooing] [Speaking Spanish] [Laughs] [Pati speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: It's just not the lesson I thought it would be.

Apparently, this is how you talk to cows.

But I guess the man who manages 25% of Mexico's beef exports knows what he's doing.

[Imitating cows mooing] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: Managing the cattle on Don Alvaro's 250,000 acres is the job of Ignacio Ochoa.

But like him and so many others here, this is just life in the north.

[Ignacio speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: The residents here are European crossbreeds.

Alvaro calls them Oreo cows, which have been adapted to the arid Chihuahua climate over generations.

[Alvaro speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] [Pati speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] ♪ Pati, voice-over: Don Chapo is the ranch cook, battling the winds of the open plains and supplying cowboys with sustenance in the field.

♪ Today, he has made us a few cowboy classics.

This is his specialty-- field bread.

[Pati speaking Spanish] ♪ OK, this is, like, strawberry jam?

[Speaking Spanish] Don Chapo's having strawberry.

Alvaro's having orange.

I can't make up my mind, so, I'm having both.

Mm.

[Speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: One tradition that hasn't been lost is eating desert oysters.

So, these are desert oysters?

Pati, voice-over: OK, it's not seafood.

It's bull testicles.

[Both speaking Spanish] [Speaking Spanish] Ah, this makes me so happy.

I love family and I'm with 3 generations of Chihuahua cowboys eating criadillas.

Like, it doesn't get more Chihuahua than this.

[Speaking Spanish] [Pati speaking Spanish] Sweetbreads.

Man: Sweetbread.

[Speaking Spanish] Love it, love it, love it.

♪ Pati, voice-over: I love to keep my crew happy and fed, and they're always down for a little culinary adventure, too.

♪ Next, borreguita a la vuelta y vuelta, literally, lamb round and round.

The cook, who has such incredible rotisserie skills, is nicknamed El Pipo.

[Speaking Spanish] [Both speaking Spanish] You are getting Pipo's secrets.

[Speaking Spanish] You need a ranch like this, like Alvaro, and you need mountains like that, and then you can make your vuelta y vuelta.

[Both speaking Spanish] [Man speaking Spanish] Mm.

[Both speaking Spanish] Melt in your mouth.

It's, like, smoky.

No, no.

This is insane.

So succulent.

♪ Pati, voice-over: Finally, Alvaro Senior let me in on his mother's special recipe-- sweet Colorado chile enchiladas.

Tortillas dipped in a Colorado chile sauce sweetened with piloncillo and layered with Mennonite cheese and white onion.

[Both speaking Spanish] ♪ No.

He knows.

He knows how good this is.

[Speaking Spanish] They're so spicy, sweet at the same time.

[Speaking Spanish] [Both speaking Spanish] It's sweet, spicy, the cheese is a little salty.

[Speaking Spanish] Pati, voice-over: In Chihuahua, the essence of life on the ranch blends seamlessly with the love of family and the richness of the food.

[Cows mooing] And the spots of the Oreos.

[Imitating cows mooing] [Laughter] ♪ Pati: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit patijinich.com and connect.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

Announcer: "Pati's Mexican Table" is brought to you by... ♪ Announcer: La Costeña.

!por sabor!

Men: ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ ♪ Announcer: Texas A&M International University-- going beyond borders.

Announcer: Eggland's Best, available in your grocer's egg aisle.

Visit egglandsbest.com.

[Acoustic guitar plays Nationwide jingle] Announcer: Levenger-- nearly 40 years of craftmanship for readers, writers, thinkers, and doers.

Announcer: Proud to support "Pati's Mexican Table" on public television.

♪