Ancho Braised Pork Food

BRAISED PORK IN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Have ready a medium bowl filled with very hot water. In a cast-iron skillet or grill over medium-high heat, toast the chiles until nice and smoky, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Place the chiles in the bowl of hot water to rehydrate for 5 minutes. Drain the chiles.☞TESTER TIP: Reserve the chile soaking water and use it in place of the water called for in steps 2 and 6.
• In a blender, combine the rehydrated chiles with the garlic, cumin, and 1 cup water. Blitz until smooth, then pour the chile paste into a bowl.☞TESTER TIP: There's no need to clean the blender before using it later for the tomatoes.
• On the cast-iron skillet or grill used for toasting the chiles, roast the tomatoes, rotating occasionally, until nice and charred in some places, 7 to 10 minutes. Toss the grilled tomatoes into the blender and blitz until smooth.
• In a Dutch oven or high-sided sauté pan with a lid over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the pork, season with the salt, and cook, stirring often, until the meat is browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to a plate, leaving behind the fat in the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile paste. Add the pork and stir to coat.
• Pour in the pureed tomatoes and 1 cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, turn the heat to low, and braise the pork until tender, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
• Serve the pork in chile sauce with warm tortillas and black beans.

RED CHILE PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• For the braised pork: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds black pepper and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off the heat and let sit until the chiles have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender with the cumin, oregano, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds black pepper and puree until very smooth.
• Pour the sauce back into the Dutch oven, then add the pork and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a steady simmer and cook until the pork is very tender and the sauce is brick red, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, about 1 hour.
• Discard the bay leaves from the pork, then shred the pork with 2 forks. Stir in the apple cider vinegar; taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
• For the masa dough: Beat the lard, baking powder, chile powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and light in texture, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.) Reduce the speed to low and add the masa harina. Once just incorporated, slowly add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and mix until combined, 2 to 4 minutes. Test the dough by placing a 1/2-teaspoon dollop in a cup of cold water--it should float. If not, add the remaining 1/2 cup broth and mix until combined, about 2 minutes more. This will ensure that the masa dough is light and fluffy.
• Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end of a husk, spread about 3 tablespoons of the masa dough down the length of the husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the pork filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing open-end up in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and steam until the dough is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer and cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve with lime wedges if desired.

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

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

SLOW GRILLED ANCHO RUBBED PORK

Steps:

• For the spice rub: Toast the ancho chile pieces over low heat in a dry skillet until fragrant, shaking the pan so they don't scorch. Put the chiles in spice grinder and pulse to a powder. Add the remaining ingredients and buzz again to combine. (Reserve some to sprinkle on the corn.)
• For the pork: Rub the spice mix into the pork and set aside for 1 hour while you prepare the grill. (You can marinate the pork longer under refrigeration, just make sure to bring it to room temperature before cooking it.) Light the coals in a barbecue grill with a cover. When the coals are hot, push them to 1 side of the grill. Rub the pork with some olive oil and season it liberally with salt. Put the pork on the grill away from the coals and place a drip pan underneath the meat. Close the cover and cook, maintaining a medium low temperature, for about 4 to 6 hours, or until the meat shreds easily. Turn the meat occasionally and baste with the drippings.
• For the drizzling sauce: Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth; taste and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the shredded pork.

BRAISED PORK SHANK

Steps:

• For the brine: Bring the water to a simmer in a large non-reactive pot. Turn off the heat and add salt, sugar, coriander, peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic and bring to a simmer. Whisk until the salt and sugar is dissolved, and then let it cool in the fridge or an ice bath until the brine hits a temperature of 35 degrees F.
• Add the shanks to the cooled brine and weigh down with a plate to ensure that the shanks are completely submerged. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• After brining, remove the shanks from the brining liquid to a baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel to dry off a bit. Discard the brining liquid.
• For the braise: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil so that it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven or roasting pan completely. Put some flour in a shallow dish. Add a heavy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and whisk to combine. Dredge the shanks in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add them to the pan. In order to get a nice even golden-brown sear, you don't want to overcrowd the pan. (Do this step in two batches if necessary.) Brown the shanks on all sides, a few minutes per side, then remove to a plate while you sear the rest.
• Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary and thyme with a large pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce by three-quarters. Add the apple cider and reduce by half. Add half the chicken stock and bring the braising liquid up to a simmer. Taste it for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper if necessary. Place the shanks back into the pan; the liquid should go about halfway up the shanks. If it does not, add the rest of the liquid until it reaches the desired half. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the meat is tender, about 200 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer, 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the shanks from the oven and carefully transfer the shanks to another large pan. Then strain the braising liquid over the shanks. Cool them in the liquid overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, reheat the shanks in their liquid. Then remove them to a large serving platter. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the meat.

ANCHO CHILE PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from chilies.
• Tear chilies into pieces.
• Spray a skillet with Pam and heat over medium heat.
• Add chili pieces and cook for 15 seconds, stirring so chilies do not burn.
• Add garlic and cook 2 minutes.
• Add broth- allspice to chili/garlic mixture in skillet.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.
• Let mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Place (cooled) mixture in blender or food processor and process until smooth using on/off turns.
• Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add chili/spice mixture and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in sugar, salt, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and lemon juice.
• Put pork chops in marinating dish or zip-lock bag.
• Pour chili sauce over chops.
• Refrigerate marinated chops for up to 8 hours.
• Spray broiler rack with Pam or prepare grill (spray grill with Pam for easier clean up) for grilling chops.
• Remove pork chops from dish and prepare grill or preheat broiler.
• Spray broiler rack or grill with Pam.
• If grilling, grill for 5-10 minutes each side, basting with marinade.
• Time depends on degree of doneness desired and thickness of chops.
• If broiling, brush chops well with marinade.
• Broiler rack should be 6-inches below heat.
• Broil for 5-10 minutes per side (brush with marinade when turning chops) depending on degree of doneness and thickness of chops.

ANCHO - BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the pork, 3 cups water, onion, oregano, thyme, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaf; bring to a boil then reduce heat to low.
• Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until the pork is tender.
• Discard the bay leaf and drain the pork, reserving 1 cup of the liquid (with onions, etc.) Return the reserved liquid to the pan with the pork and add the ancho chile powder, vinegar, cumin, cloves, sugar and salt.
• Simmer for 30 minutes more or until flavors are blended; serve with rice and top with fresh chopped cilantro.