>> Pati Narrates: There's a lot of talk about borders these days.

The city of Tijuana sits right on the border of the United States.

The only thing that separates it from San Diego is this wall.

With over 10,000 people going both ways everyday, this is one of the busiest border crossings in the world.

People come from all over Mexico and Latin America in search of something new, something better.

Some cross the border, but others find opportunity right here in Tijuana.

And when people move, they bring their food, and that's the beginning to my favorite kind of story.

In my kitchen, the border experience is an inspiration.

First I'm going to recreate one of Mexico's most popular tortas, sweet and succulent carnitas piled high on a crusty bread, and then drowned in delicious sauces.

The bread is so happy right now.

The Torta Ahogada.

Then, Juju helps me with a little something sweet, one of his favorites with a Mexican twist, Banana Bread with Dulce de Leche Caramel.

Mmm.

It's so good.

♪ ♪ >> Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: ♪ epic music plays ♪ >> La Costeña.

Taste that transcends.

More information at mexicorico.com Over 40 years, bringing authentic Latin American flavors to your table.

Tropical Cheese.

>> Coronado Dulce de Leche Caramel, proud to support Pati's Mexican Table.

♪ Avocados from Mexico >> The Ministry Of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries And Mexbest.

>> Tio Pepe is the founder and owner of Tio Pepe's - >> Pati: Tio Pepe has been a local favorite since 1994, and from the sights and sounds of the kitchen, I can see why.

Tio Pepe started with a food cart, and over 20 years grew so popular that he needed a bigger space to feed people.

Today, his restaurant is right across the street from his original stand, and is always this crowded.

>> He hails from Guadalajara which is far from Tijuana.

>> Pati: Tio Pepe came to Tijuana with a dream and some recipes, and luckily for Tijuana, one of those recipes was this beauty, a very traditional sandwich from Guadalajara, The Torta Ahogada.

If you're hungry, I'm sorry.

It all starts with the bread.

>> Oh my gosh.

Okay, I'm sorry, I need to, I need to.

Mmm, mmm!

>> (in Spanish) Tasty.

>> The Torta Ahogada, which translates to "drowned torta" is a crusty sandwich that's made only in this bread.

To that salty, crusty bread, carnitas.

Oy, oy!

Look at this.

It's pork that's cooked mostly with nothing but lard and salt until it caramelizes.

And now, here's where the magic happens.

The Torta Ahogada is drowned in two sauces: first, a tomato sauce.

Then, a spicy sauce.

That's why it's so important the bread is crusty, 'cause it's soaked and has to withhold the sauce.

>> Mmm, mmm!

>> (in Spanish) It's good?

>> (in Spanish) Delicious!

It's so deliciously messy and crunchy and overflowing and it's just - ah, I'm dying!

From Guadalajara, Tio Pepe brought the famous Torta Ahogada, but living in Tijuana, he created new recipes that he thought locals would love.

The biggest hit?

The César Chávez, named after his favorite Mexican boxer.

>> Why the Chávez taco?

>> Pati: The Chávez is carnitas on a corn tortilla with cheese - super tangy cheese, salty, very creamy, and right onto the carnitas.

Standing in the kitchen, it occurs to me that Pepe's is not just a Guadalajara story anymore.

His food is constantly evolving.

His cooks and customers are from all over Mexico - Oaxaca, Jalisco, Sinaloa, and they bring their own traditions.

Pepe adapts, this is Tijuana.

>> Chávez is special.

>> Mmm, mmm!

Now I don't know which one I like more.

He came from Guadalajara with a dream and a torta.

Tijuana embraced him and his food.

What does Tijuana mean to you?

>> Oh, I love that!

Tio Pepe says that Tijuana is the city of everyone.

>> Tortas Ahogadas are so huge in Mexico that people will drive all the way to Guadalajara just to have one.

The first thing you need to know about Tortas Ahogadas is that they're stuffed with irresistible carnitas.

You hear the word carnitas, you know what you're talking about.

We're gonna start with lard, and I have a cup of lard.

That's why carnitas are carnitas.

So here I have pork butt, boneless, that I cut into about 2 to 3 inches, and I'm gonna season it with 2 teaspoons of salt, some black pepper.

I'm gonna brown the pork pieces in the melted lard.

What we want to do in this first step is create a crust, and you can see how it's browning so beautifully, and the lard that's already tasty is starting to melt with the same fat of the pork that's rendering into the lard, so that's doubly flavored lard, so that's why carnitas are so delicious.

As this continues to brown, I'll season 1.5 cups of milk, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt, and this is gonna be the braising liquid.

1/4 of a white onion, and we're gonna puree this until completely smooth.

(blender whirs) >> So we have the carnitas that are now deliciously crisp on the outside, and now I'm gonna add the milk.

The milk is gonna make the meat even more tender and juicy.

It smells really delicious in here.

I am going to reduce the heat to medium-low and add a couple bay leaves.

Now I'm gonna cover and let this cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the carnitas will be completely falling apart by then.

Being right there at the border, and just seeing how these two amazing cultures connect and interact, that of the United States and Mexico, reminded me so much of my kitchen.

I'm constantly trying to share with my boys the dishes I love from Mexico, but I am also trying to join in everything that America has to offer.

So now I'm adding the Mex in the banana bread, and making it a Dulce de Leche Caramel Banana Bread.

I mean, my boys love this, but I love it!

So we have 2 ripe bananas that I mashed, and now we're gonna get the batter going.

We're gonna add a stick of unsalted butter, and start beating it until it gets soft and a little fluffy.

I'm gonna add 1/2 a cup of white sugar, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2.5 cups of flour that I'm gonna mix with 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Then I'm gonna add my dry ingredients to the mix little by little so it doesn't jump all over the place.

Now this is what you want to end up with.

Now we're gonna take about 1/3 of the batter because we're making 2 different flavored doughs.

This is going to be the Dulce de Leche Caramel batter, and this is gonna be the banana bread batter.

Just wait until you see this bread come out of the oven.

It is irresistible because it has, like, double banana power 'cause I'm adding so much banana.

Now we're gonna mix this.

(mixer whirs) >> I already greased these loaf pans with butter, and I'm gonna add the banana, and now we're gonna make the dulce de leche caramel batter, and I'm going to add 1/ 2 a cup of this cinnamon flavored dulce de leche because cinnamon and banana, yum.

Mmm, mmm, mmm!

And I'm gonna add 1/4 cup of boiling water which is a trick to making your batter super moist and gooey.

All of those attributes are great in desserts.

I'm just adding this on top of the banana batter layer.

The dulce de leche batter is, mmm!

This would be amazing in a milkshake or ice cream.

I'll put this in the oven which is at 350 degrees for an hour.

>> Pati: In Tijuana, there's one very defining feature of life on the border here.

The wall.

A visit to the wall is filled with a range of emotions.

After 20 years in the United States, I feel rooted in two countries, two worlds.

For me, the wall is a reminder that as Mexican Americans, we are doubly blessed to inherit so much from these two incredible countries.

But we're also responsible for making not one, but two countries proud, and despite this wall between them, there's a deep and evolving relationship that continues to enrich the lives and kitchens of both sides.

To learn a little more about life on the border, I'm meeting up with someone who grew up on both sides of the wall.

Alex Zaragoza is a local writer and journalist.

Should we taste everything?

>> You know what.

>> Pati: For Alex, like me, a trip to the taco stand is part of the job.

She writes about food, life and the multi-cultural experience of living on the border.

>> Oh my gosh, yeah.

>> So you were born American to Mexican parents, and then you moved to Tijuana, and now you're an American Mexican in Tijuana.

>> Yeah, and when you're from the border, it's a very different experience.

The house that my mom lives in now in Tijuana, you look out the kitchen window, and the border is right there.

That presence is always there, the wall is always there.

It's that constant reminder of your existence being questioned.

>> What do these two places have in common, and what do they have different?

>> It's just like a mix.

For example, when my mom and dad came to Tijuana, they bought their land and started building the house.

The house that they built looks like a stucco Chula Vista house, it's an American home 'cause to them a sign of accomplishment, a sign of making it, was to be American.

>> What has been the role of food in this experience?

>> Food for me in my experience has been a big way for me to introduce people to Tijuana without them being afraid and to help them understand it's a city with amazing offerings.

It makes me happy to see that people are appreciating what we have and what we have to offer.

>> Pati: About 30 minutes south of Tijuana in the town of Rosarito, these hearty, mouth-watering, unbelievably satisfying tacos are drawing people from both sides of the border.

Tacos El Yaqui is a local legend.

It's become so famous that half the customers here come from California.

This is a busy, busy place, and this is the cutest baby!

>> It seems that eating these tacos keeps you handsome and young like these guys.

It's like the Rosarito fountain of youth.

Felipe Nuñez could almost pass as an off-season Mexican Santa, but his greatest gift to the world is wrapped in a tortilla.

Flank steak, Tacos Perrones.

But Tacos El Yaqui may not even be here if not for Felipe's pursuit of the American dream, and actually, his failure to achieve it.

>> Pati: Felipe's plan was to go North to the United States, the land of opportunity, where he would make a lot of money, send it back to his family, maybe start his own business, and basically live happily ever after.

It didn't exactly work out that way.

>> So he didn't make money there.

He says he still hasn't made money.

Felipe's heart was always in Mexico, so he put his dishwashing days behind him, settled here in Rosarito, and opened a taco stand.

>> Pati: America's loss is Mexico's gain, and the lines here prove it.

>> I'm so hungry right now.

Look at this!

Mmm.

I'm gonna cry it's so good.

Felipe's American dream never came to fruition, but as fate would have it, his tacos are so good America has come to him.

>> Okay, this really is a border story 'cause most of his clientele during the summer drives from the U.S. just to eat his perrones.

>> Tortas Ahogadas translates to "drowned torta", and it is drowned in not one, but two sauces.

The first sauce is just a seasoned tomato sauce, not spicy at all.

So the story goes that a man was making his tortas, these really delicious crusty sandwiches, and he happened to drop them in a tomato sauce.

He ate it and loved it so much, Torta Ahogada came to be.

So we have 1.5 pounds of roma tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, 2 whole cloves, 1/2 a teaspoon of dried marjoram and 1 teaspoon oregano, and I'll chop and add about 1/4 cup of white onion, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, and then I'll just puree this until completely smooth.

(blender whirs) >> Okay.

Mmm!

So it smells nicely seasoned, but really raw, we have to cook it, so I'll add about 1 tablespoon of oil, this is the classic Mexican technique of seasoning the sauce.

I need a spoon and the lid 'cause it's gonna start splashing in one second.

Gonna add 2 cups of chicken broth because this needs to be a very thin sauce.

Now because one sauce is never enough to drown a torta, I'm gonna make the spicy salsa.

I'm gonna toast 7 - 8 chiles de arbol.

So the first sauce is gonna soak the torta, and then the spicy sauce is rich with the smokey charred taste of the chile de arbol, and it has vinegar so it's very tangy too, and I just want to toast them until they change color.

Then for this spicy sauce, it is also tomato-based, but it uses a different technique.

I'm gonna add 4 whole ripe tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves and cover them with water and I'm gonna bring them to a simmer until they're cooked and mushy.

The carnitas have been cooking for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and now we need to finish them off with 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of sugar.

Some people add soda, some sweetened condensed milk, simple syrup, and I think this is the most charming way.

So this is going to cook for another 5 - 6 minutes, and it's going to just completely caramelize.

The carnitas are now so tender, you can look at the meat, it's just coming apart.

Come over so you can see!

So it has that caramel coating, and it's so soft because it cooked with that seasoned milk.

I'm gonna try a piece.

Mmm, mmm!

This is so delicious.

I mean just listen to it, brown sugar carnitas, they're irresistible.

So the carnitas are ready.

See how easy I can break them apart?

This is gonna be perfect.

Now back to the spicy sauce, and we have the chiles de arbol that I already toasted and I'm adding them in here.

The pound of tomatoes, the garlic cloves that also are ready and cooked, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar, and this is what distinguishes this spicy salsa.

It's really tart, and brightens up the torta.

1/2 teaspoon of salt, and then we're gonna puree this again until smooth.

I'm gonna add a 1/2 cup of white chopped onion.

It smells really spicy already (laughs) I think if there's someone in this family who rivals my love of spicy food, I think it's Juju.

(blender whirs) >> Are you ready to smell this?

Oh boy.

So (coughs) I mean, really hot.

I'm gonna add another tablespoon of oil, and add the sauce.

It is spicy and super jumpy, and then it's just gonna simmer here for a couple of minutes.

We have everything we need for a torta ahogada, we have the two sauces, the carnitas, the crusty bread which I need to toast a little bit so - (bread crunches) >> Yes, that's what you need, that crusty.

One for me, and one for Juju.

So I'm gonna put this in the oven and get my banana bread out too.

I'll let that cool, I just need somebody to eat with me.

Juju, are you ready?

>> Uh-huh.

>> We're gonna make the drowned tortas.

You tell me when to stop, okay?

>> A bit little more.

More.

Mmm.

>> So you know what you do now?

You don't eat the carnitas, you close the torta and drown it with this sauce.

>> Mmm.

>> Mmm.

The bread is so happy right now.

It's soaking up all that sauce.

Who can take more heat, you or me?

>> Me.

>> What!?

>> (Juju laughs) >> Never.

>> It's so good.

>> It's so delicious!

The bread has absorbed all the fat from the carnitas, and the carnitas are caramelized and just coming apart in there.

>> And it's not too spicy where you need water, but it's spicy.

>> I can totally see why people drive to Guadalajara to eat these tortas.

>> Mmm.

It's so moist!

I feel like this is a representation of our home and kitchen because it mixes Mexico and the U.S., dulce de leche from Mexico, and banana bread feels so American.

So do you feel we succeeded in doing like a Mex-Americana banana bread?

>> Mhmm.

>> We crossed borders!

>> Pati: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit patijinich.com, and connect!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

>> Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: ♪ epic music plays ♪ >> La Costeña.

Taste that transcends.

More information at: mexicorico.com A tradition of authentic Latin flavors and family recipes.

Tropical Cheese.

>> Coronado Dulce de Leche Caramel, proud to support Pati's Mexican Table.

♪ Avocados from Mexico >> The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Mexbest.

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