Mexican Braised Pork Shoulder Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, to taste, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. Put the pork in the pot and evenly brown the meat all over, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes; remove the pork to a plate and reserve.
• Turn heat down to medium-high, and add the extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the onions and garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, the oregano, 1 sliced chili pepper and 2 bay leaves and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add the reserved pork back to the pot (the liquid should come about 2/3 the way up the meat) and bring to a simmer. Cover and put the pork in the oven, turning the meat halfway through cooking, until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove the pork from the pot, to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat apart with 2 forks.
• Simmer the braising liquid over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and the lime juice. Add about 2/3 of the shredded meat and stir. Cool the remaining shredded pork and chill for another use.
• While the pork is cooking, prepare the pickled red onions: in a small saucepot, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, teaspoon of salt, remaining chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat. Put the sliced red onions in a small sealable container. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and give it a shake. You may need to lift the lid to release some of the pressure. Every now and then, give it a good shake. Refrigerate to cool.
• To serve, put the chipotle pulled pork on a platter and garnish with pickled onions and pickled jalapeno slices. Serve with shredded cabbage, crumbled cheese and tortillas for wrapping.

Steps:

• Season pork shoulder evenly with coriander, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Add canola oil to a pre-heated dutch/french oven on stove top. once oil is hot sear pork on 1 side for 5 minutes on medium heat (allowing pork to brown by not moving until meat releases from pot). repeat browning on all sides. remove pork and set aside. add onions and pablanos into pot (add a little oil if needed). while veggies are cooking constantly scrap any brown bits from bottom of pot. Continue till onions become translucent. next, add the garlic and continue cooking for 45 seconds. than, add the beer. continue scrapping of all brown bits while beer reduces to 1/4 cup. than add tomato paste; constantly stirring for 1 1/2 minutes. now add the enchilada sauce, water, and jalapenos. mix sauce and veggies till incorporated well. (this can all be done a day ahead and braiseing process can be done later if desired) return pork and let sauce come to boil. cover, and place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 2.5-3 hours (until pork pulls apart with fork). remove pork to cutting board and shed with a fork, removeing any excess fat. taste sauce for heat and add haberno sauce if desired. return meat to sauce. serve with heated tortillas, and shredded lettuce, and cheese. *can use any leftovers for an awesome breakfest by adding pork to scrambled eggs.

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt, then tie each piece so they cook evenly.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the first pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Ditch the fat in the pan and give a few drops of new oil. Repeat with the second pork and remove.
• Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven.
• After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn the pork back over and return to the oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
• Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
• Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pinot Grigio

Steps:

• Put the chiles into a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside. In a large heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil. Generously season the pork with salt and pepper. Brown the meat well on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove the meat and set aside. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, thyme, and bay leaf; fry until softened, about 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits in the pan. Stem and seed the soaked chiles reserving the soaking liquid; hand tear them into the pot. Return the meat to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Top the meat with the tomatoes. Pour in the chili soaking liquid, straining out any seeds, until it almost covers the meat; add water if you need more liquid. Squeeze the orange and lime juices into the pot and add the rinds. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork is very tender. Remove the meat to a platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the braising liquid and reserve.
• Shred the pork. Add some of the reserved braising liquid if the meat is dry. Take a tortilla and place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture on top. Garnish with the avocado, radishes, and Salsa Verde; fold the sides up and serve.
• Put the masa harina in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add about 1 cup warm water and mix with your hands; add more water as needed until the dough comes together. Knead for a few minutes to smooth the dough out. The dough should be firm and springy and should not stick to your hands. Test by forming a small disk, if it cracks around the edges you need more water.
• Place a piece of heavy plastic (like from a garbage bag) onto a tortilla press. Form a 1 1/2-inch ball of dough and place it in the center of the press. Top with another piece of plastic, close the press, and push the lever down to form the tortilla. (Alternately, the dough balls can be rolled between plastic sheets with a rolling pin.) Open the press and remove the top layer of plastic. Carefully peel the tortilla off the bottom plastic and place it onto a hot, ungreased cast iron skillet; cook for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortilla and place it on a clean tea towel; keep it covered to keep it soft and pliable. Continue until you have used up all the dough.
• Yield: 20 (6-inch) tortillas
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon salt. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the tomatillos are soft but have not burst. Add the cooked vegetables to a blender with the cilantro leaves and lime juice. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and process to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust seasoning with more cilantro, lime juice, or salt.
• Yield: 2 cups

Steps:

• Season pork with pepper and salt.
• Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Working in batches, cook pork in the hot oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Return all cooked pork and accumulated juice to pot.
• Season pork with bay leaves, cumin, dried oregano, and cayenne pepper. Stir in fresh orange juice, orange zest, and milk. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is fork tender but not falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove pork from liquid. Skim some fat from the pot to grease a baking dish. Transfer the pieces of pork to the baking dish. Drizzle about 2 more tablespoons of the floating fat over the meat. Season with more salt, if needed.
• Bake in preheated oven until pork is browned, about 15 minutes. Stir pork.
• Turn on oven's broiler. Cook pork under broiler until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

Steps:

• Generously salt and pepper the pork shoulder; let meat come to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Add olive oil to a large ovenproof pan. Sear the pork over medium-high heat until very brown on all sides. Remove pork from the pan; let rest on a platter for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Leaving an even coating, drain excess oil from the pan. Add onions; sweat over low heat until translucent. Return pork to the pan; add remaining ingredients. Cover pan, place in the oven and cook for 2 to 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 140 to 150 degrees F. Let pork rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
• Use as burrito/taco meat or you can serve with vegetables and potatoes.