Colorado Fall, bitches.
Why it works:
Yield: 1/2 Gallon
Time:
Pairing:
Equipment:
Ingredients:
• 3.5-4 lb. pork butt (shoulder)
• 1 TBSP Kosher salt
• 1 cup of water
• 1-1/2 lbs. tomatillos (I recommend getting 2 lbs. in case you get some bad tomatillos).
Masa to thicken
• 5 poblano peppers
• 1 serrano
• 1 yellow sweet onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp of Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp of cinnamon
• tiny pinch of ground clove
• 2 bay leaves • 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp of Kosher salt
• 10-12 corn tortillas
• ½ bunch to 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped.
Garnish
Lime
Avacado
Cojita
Cilantro
Fresh tortilla chips
Instructions: Directions: Prep Your Meat - 0:32 1. Cut 1-1/2 inch slices. 2. Cut out any of the huge chunks of fat and reserve for use later. 3. Cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces and cut out any large chunks of fat. Cut fatty pieces into small sizes. 4. Add meat to a bowl and the add 1 TBSP of Kosher salt and toss to mix well. This will season it well and ensure it stays nice and juicy during braising. 5. Cover in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Utilize Pork Fat Trimmings - 1:52 6. In a Dutch oven, add pork trimmings and 1 cup of water. This will help render the fat and pull out the proteins, which will help create a fond on the bottom of the pot. No heat setting is given in the video. I recommend using high heat to bring the water to a boil and once it boils, lower the heat to medium-high. Keep an eye on it closely if you do – 3:08. You need to boil off all the water. Listen for a sizzle and use your nose to smell as you prep your sauce.
Prep and Roast Your Vegetables - 2:23 7. Husk and wash your tomatillos. I use a paper towel to dry and remove any residual stickiness. Discard any tomatillos that look they were once bug food (this is why I recommended buying a little more than what you need) 8. Wash your poblanos and jalapenos. Cut in half lengthwise. 9. Cut onion into wedges and remove the outer layer of skin along with the tough first layer. 10. On a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, place tomatillos and garlic along with the poblano and jalapeno skin side up. If you don’t have a cookie sheet large enough for the ingredients, just do it in batches. 11. Drizzle about 1 TBSP of olive oil onto the peppers and tomatillos 12. Set your oven’s rack to 6 inches below your oven’s broiler. 13. Broil for about 10 minutes (check on your garlic at about 8 minutes to ensure it’s not burnt and remove if necessary)
Drain Your Pork Fat - 5:51 14. After the water has evaporated and your pork trimming have a nice mallard reaction, remove them with a slotted spoon. Pour off all but 2 TBSP of the rendered pork fat.
Remove Skins from Peppers - 6:18 15. Using several dry paper towels (I find a spoon removes too much flesh), rub off as much of the blackened skin as possible from the peppers. It’s not necessary to remove all of it and some blackened bits will give your sauce character. Optional: Remove seeds from jalapeno. Some poblanos can be spicier than other batches so it’s your call. 16. Remove skins from garlic cloves.
Make Your Sauce - 7:50 17. Add your roasted vegetables and the flavorful juices from the cookie sheet to a food processor and pulse 5-6 times for a chucky salsa. If you don’t have a food processor, a blender works just as well.
Assemble Chile - 9:31 18. Preheat your oven to 325 F 19. Heat your Dutch oven and its 2 TBSP of oil over medium heat. 20. Bloom the oregano, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, and ground clove in the oil for about 30 seconds. 21. Add your sauce, bay leaves, sugar, black pepper, salt and pork. 22. Bring to a simmer, (stir in masa) cover and place into the oven. 23. Cook for 90 minutes. 24. Check your meat. You want the pork to have a slight bit of resistance when poke it with a fork, but not so tender it falls apart. 25. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
Toast Corn Tortillas - 11:32 26. If you have a gas burner, place them on your burner over medium-high heat, about 10-15 seconds on each side depending on your stove. Move around every few seconds. Get a nice little char on the tortilla. 27. Place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm. I use aluminum foil. Get a sheet that is about 2.5 times the length of the tortilla, fold in half and place the tortillas between the sheets and lightly seal the sides and front until all are cooked. Seal tight when done. Tortillas will stay warm.
Serving Your Chile - 12:16 28. Scrape the bits on the side into chile and stir in any fat that has risen to the top. Remove bay leaves. 29. Add ½ cup chopped cilantro and mix. 30. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with corn tortillas.
Plating Instructions
Tasting Journal
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