Mexican Name Finder
Main dishSpanishnorthern Mexico

Arrachera

"skirt steak"

Say it

ah·rah·CHEH·rah

Where it comes from

Mexican Spanish arrachera (the diaphragm cut of beef)

What Arrachera means

Arrachera is a Mexican main dish name of Spanish origin meaning "skirt steak". It comes from Mexican Spanish arrachera (the diaphragm cut of beef). It is pronounced ah-rah-CHEH-rah, and it is most associated with northern Mexico.

Etymology uncertain: the word is northern Mexican and its source is undocumented. It names a cut, the diaphragm muscle, not a preparation.

About this origin. The etymology is uncertain, disputed, or the name is a modern brand rather than an old word. The reading above is the best-supported one; food writing repeats stories that the dictionaries do not confirm.

This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: The plated dishes, most named for a cooking method or a place. Cochinita pibil is pork cooked in a píib, the Maya earth oven. Barbacoa gave English the word barbecue. Chiles en nogada is named for the walnut sauce that covers it.

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Arrachera means skirt steak

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