Martinez, a native of Chihuahua, opened her eponymous Midtown restaurant in 1987, spawning a nearly a 30-year institution. At the time, her precocious 11-year-old son, Aarón Sánchez, was plotting his own future behind the stove.
While El Paso-bred Sánchez was inspired by his mother’s talents in the kitchen, he “didn’t want to live in her shadow. I needed to be my own person.”
Place the flank steak in a roasting pan and pour the pureed chile sauce over it. Add 2 cups of water, cover with foil, and cook in the oven for 1 hour until the meat becomes flaky. Remove the meat from the pan, shred the meat, and reserve the sauce.