- not just of mexico. - well, you really yeah. you really see the spirit of regios in the food. in your food. - yes, yes. - you know? it s, like, resilient and it s creative and it s innovative and it s diverse. and you go, oh, my gosh, where am i? and you go, nuevo león. estamos en nuevo león. - yes, yes, yes. - people will be like, wow, this is amazing. but it s really a product of the people. of the people s spirit here, i think, in this state. - yes, yes. and i appreciate it. - [speaking spanish] salud. salud. - do you believe in magic? i didn t until oaxaca cast its spell on me.
Nuevo león and texas were once part of the same country ruled by spain and then by mexico. in 1845, the u.s. annexed what would become the lone star state. but the people of nuevo león and texas still have so many shared tastes. nowhere is this more present than in the state capital, monterrey, the industrial hub of the northeast. the locals are nicknamed regios, meaning royals. they are hardworking and ambitious. and when the daily grind is over, just like us texans, they like nothing better than throwing some steak on the grill. [both speaking spanish] cómo estás? mucho gusto. this is every guy i dated in high school.
- hola! - hi, eva. how are you? - good. nice to see you. i ve come 30 miles north of monterrey to meet ranch manager jorge montemayor to collect a cherished ingredient that s been on the menu in nuevo león for thousands of years. so you raise them here and then let them go? - yep. - rancho del puerto, one of the hundreds of ranches in nuevo león, specializes in deer farming. - so we have, like, three or four breeding pens, with 20, 25 does per stud. - mm-hmm. so there s only one man in here? - yeah. - and these are his ladies. - his ladies. - so are they all pregnant? - right now? we hope they are. [laughs] - oh. the deer may be bred in captivity, but then they re freed to roam, just like their ancestors did. there s many stone carvings made
I m in downtown monterrey to meet alejandro gutierrez, founder of the mexican society of grill masters. he s invited me to experience the ultimate nuevo león barbecue. i ve never been to a carne asada in monterrey. - in monterrey? - yeah. [dog barks] - carne asada literally means grilled meat, but it s come to embody a much-loved social ritual. - hola! - [speaking spanish] - this is where everything happens. - hola! today, alejandro s whole family has come together. hola, señora. cómo está? - mucho gusto. - oh, i love that sound! that s my favorite sound in the world. - we call it carne asada, but we don t have to grill meat every time. it s about the gathering, about being together. - the fire unites us. [speaking spanish] this is what happens when you get united by fire.
- yes. - after my nuevo león meat feast, the freshness of this bittersweet concoction is just what i m craving. - oh, my gosh, look at that. this is so soft. [speaking spanish] i mean, you have to cook it a long time. mmm. it s like candy, but not as sweet, even though it has all of that i wanna drink it up. just drink it. the oranges of montemorelos are the jewels in the crown of nuevo león, a reminder that even in the harshest terrain, there are delicious treasures to be found. lowe s knows the first step to motivation is inspiration.