A new friend, George Gaston posted a very good recipe on his blog about my kitchen staple, the Pork Tenderloin roast. It is so versatile from good ole Southern dishes to Caribbean jerk! That post jogged my memory about two recipes that I have not made in a while. The first is Mexican Carnitas. One of my favorite Mexican main dishes! And the second is Puerco Pibil, a Central American pork main dish. Here is the Carnitas and I find this to be the most authentic recipe I have ever encountered and do Enjoy!!
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Carnitas (Authentic)
Mexican
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder
32 ounce chicken broth
6 large garlic cloves; ground
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, ground in a mortar
2 onions, quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro
Cut pork meat into chunks and reserve the big pieces of fat for other uses. (I leave some fat as it adds flavor). Add pork chunks, broth, garlic, comino (cumin), onion and cilantro to a Dutch oven. If necessary, add water so that the meat is covered.
Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 -4 hours or until meat is very soft and pulls apart easily. (Be careful not to shred meat, needs to stay in chunks). Also, I find that 3-4 hours at 350F. works nice!
Remove the meat carefully from pot and place in a roasting pan. Drain stock, removing onion and solids. Save for other use. Break the meat apart into smaller chunks (don't shred, it needs to stay in chunks).
Bake in the oven at 450°F for about 20 minutes or until the meat is brown and crispy. Heat corn tortillas and serve with desired toppings.
Yield: 6-8 servings
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **
Carnitas (Authentic)
Mexican
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder
32 ounce chicken broth
6 large garlic cloves; ground
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, ground in a mortar
2 onions, quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro
Cut pork meat into chunks and reserve the big pieces of fat for other uses. (I leave some fat as it adds flavor). Add pork chunks, broth, garlic, comino (cumin), onion and cilantro to a Dutch oven. If necessary, add water so that the meat is covered.
Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 -4 hours or until meat is very soft and pulls apart easily. (Be careful not to shred meat, needs to stay in chunks). Also, I find that 3-4 hours at 350F. works nice!
Remove the meat carefully from pot and place in a roasting pan. Drain stock, removing onion and solids. Save for other use. Break the meat apart into smaller chunks (don't shred, it needs to stay in chunks).
Bake in the oven at 450°F for about 20 minutes or until the meat is brown and crispy. Heat corn tortillas and serve with desired toppings.
Yield: 6-8 servings
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **
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| Carnitas with Black Beans & Lime Cilantro Avocado Salad! |
Next on the list... Puerco Pibil! This dish is so good and I hope you enjoy it.
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Puerco Pibil
5 pound pork butt roast
Puerco Pibil
5 pound pork butt roast
--Paste Ingredients:
5 tablespoon annatto seeds
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon peppercorns
8 all spice; whole
1/2 teaspoon cloves; whole
5 tablespoon annatto seeds
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon peppercorns
8 all spice; whole
1/2 teaspoon cloves; whole
--Mix:
2 habanera peppers; seeded, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
8 garlic cloves
salt to taste
5 lemons
1 shot tequila
Method: Cut the meat into 2 inch cubes and place into a zip lock plastic bag.
Mix the paste ingredients into the finest powder you can create, use a coffee grinder if you got ‘em. Mush the garlic into a paste; add the orange juice, white vinegar, salt, juice of 5 lemons, Tequila. Cut the peppers and add them last (be sure to take out the seeds and blend, add the Paste and blend some more till it’s a nice red color.
Add the gooey mixture to your meat, zip it up and throw it into your fridge for a long time a day if possible.
Cooking: Take a huge tray and layer it with the banana leaves so you have a water tight bucket, place in the meaty goodness and layer more banana leaves on the top. Cover the whole tray with tin foil ensuring no heat or steam will be able to escape; this is important as the meat is cooked through steaming. Put it in the oven at 300F for four hours.
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **
I do not have a source here in Tennessee for banana leaves....but just be sure that you seal your roasting pan very well....you need this to steam and is not an open roasting pan preparation. I use heavy duty foil and have great results.
2 habanera peppers; seeded, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
8 garlic cloves
salt to taste
5 lemons
1 shot tequila
Method: Cut the meat into 2 inch cubes and place into a zip lock plastic bag.
Mix the paste ingredients into the finest powder you can create, use a coffee grinder if you got ‘em. Mush the garlic into a paste; add the orange juice, white vinegar, salt, juice of 5 lemons, Tequila. Cut the peppers and add them last (be sure to take out the seeds and blend, add the Paste and blend some more till it’s a nice red color.
Add the gooey mixture to your meat, zip it up and throw it into your fridge for a long time a day if possible.
Cooking: Take a huge tray and layer it with the banana leaves so you have a water tight bucket, place in the meaty goodness and layer more banana leaves on the top. Cover the whole tray with tin foil ensuring no heat or steam will be able to escape; this is important as the meat is cooked through steaming. Put it in the oven at 300F for four hours.
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **
I do not have a source here in Tennessee for banana leaves....but just be sure that you seal your roasting pan very well....you need this to steam and is not an open roasting pan preparation. I use heavy duty foil and have great results.
1 comment:
Bill... you have two incredible pork recipes here. I am definitely going to give them a try.
And thanks for the nod to my pork post. Like you, pork tenderloins are always in the freezer for that good fixable meal.
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