My mom remembers that when she was younger, her mother, Mamá Irene, used a molecajete on a regular basis to make her food. That idea seems so foreign to me, a child of the microwave era. Even so, people who use molecajetes maintain that the salsas are better. Naturally, I had to have one.
What I didn’t realize is that “molecajete” translated from its Aztec roots to english, means this: “ancient Mesoamerian device that looks cool but is a bitch to clean.” Molecajetes take a lot of elbow grease to prepare before you can use it. Molecajetes are made out of volcanic rock or stone (black and grey molecajetes, respectively shown above), and have a porous texture. They need to be “cured” or seasoned prior to use.
I use cast iron skillets, so I thought this meant something easy like cleaning it thoroughly and baking it at a high temperature. A process that could be completed in a single day.
Oh, how wrong I was.
To properly cure a molecajete, you need to thoroughly wash it out and grind rice into it. Over. And over. And over, again, until all the grit is removed and you can safely enjoy guacamole without fear of chipping a tooth.
When I first starting this process. I thought by grinding the rice, you were trying to make the surface smoother. After the fifth time doing this, I quit.
A year later…I had a cooking epiphany! I found this YouTube video, which explained to me that the goal is to not make the surface smoother, but to remove dirt. It also gave me the game-changing tip: use a pressure washer and skip all the hard work.
Giddy with newfound hope, I went to my local car wash as the video instructed, only to find that my car wash mixes in soap with their water. Undeterred, I went back home and rummaged up an actual pressure washer from the back of my garage. I thought it was broken, but I tested the pressure with my hand and it was definitely strong enough.
It sure did the trick! I could see the dirt streaming off it. The black molecajete was the one I started to cure last year, and washed it with a regular hose. Even so, this time around, I saw even MORE dirt come off with the pressure washer. I simply rinsed until the water ran clear. I did the same for my newer molecajete (the grey one).
To make EXTRA sure that my molecajetes were clean and prepped, I had my daughter clean them out. (Well, for goodness sake, I wasn’t going to do it again!) She used a little rice and water to keep the rice from flying everywhere. Using the pestle and a little elbow grease, she ground in the rice to the entire surface of the molecajetes. 
Not oncce, but twice. (Two separate days, drying out the molecajetes in between.)
Once I felt that they were clean, I ground some garlic into them to really “season” the surface. Even at this point, I didn’t want to use them just yet.
I rinsed and dried them one more time before using.
Now, I can say I have two seasoned molecajetes.
I’ve used my grey one a couple of times for my Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. After each time, I simply rinse under hot water and air dry. I look forward to using the other one too.
I have to wonder, though, if my grandmother was alive today, if she just wouldn’t use a regular blender?
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