Jalisco Style Mexican Food

POZOLE ESTILO JALISCO (JALISCO-STYLE HOMINY)

Steps:

• Cut open cascabel chiles and remove seeds.
• Heat oil in small skillet over low heat; add chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place in bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
• Before using, drain chiles and discard water; remove stems and remaining seeds.
• Place nixtamal in colander and rinse thoroughly.
• Place in Dutch oven or heavy lidded pot and add water.
• Slice one onion and add to pot with garlic cloves.
• Bring mixture to boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours.
• While the corn is simmering, place tomatoes in pan of boiling water and cook 2 minutes.
• Drain and allow to cool, then slip the skins off.
• Place peeled tomatoes and chiles in blender,puree and set aside.
• Remove excess fat from pork and cut into large chunks.
• When nixtamal has cooked 1 1/2 hours, add pork, tomato-chile mixture and salt.
• Cover and simmer gently another 1 1/2 hours.
• Chop two remaining onions.
• To serve, ladle pozole into large soup bowls.
• Arrange lettuce, serrano chiles, lime wedges and oregano in separate bowls, and crisp tortillas in basket or bowl.
• Add garnishes to pozole and squeeze in lime juice as desired, serve with tortillas.

JALISCO STYLE ENCHILADAS - ENCHILADAS TAPATIAS

Steps:

• Cut 3 of the roasted poblano chilies into strips and reserve them for the enchilada filling.
• Place remaining chilies, tomato, onion and garlic; puree in blender or food processor, adding water as necessary.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the tomato-chili puree and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the milk, cream, tequila if using, and salt to taste.
• Cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
• In a skillet, heat just enough oil to soft-fry the tortillas until soft.
• Drain on absorbent paper or paper towels.
• Dip each tortilla in the sauce; place it on a plate and place on each one a few avocado slices, some crumbled cheese and a few reserved chili strips.
• Roll moistened tortilla around the filling.
• Place rolled tortillas on plates, top with sauce and garnish with shredded lettuce and sliced radishes.

JALISCO PORK

Steps:

• Pound pork evenly to 1/4-inch thickness (between plastic wrap is good).
• Blend paprika, chili powder, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt, and rub over all sides of pork.
• Rest meat for at least one hour, refrigerated.
• Cut pork into 3-4 serving pieces.
• Pan-fry meat in the oil on both sides, until cooked to your liking.
• Drain meat and season with additional salt (if desired) and lime.
• Serve on warm tortillas with salsa, guacamole, and sliced fresh chiles (if desired).

GREEN SALSA, JALISCO STYLE

Steps:

• Peel and rinse the tomatillos. Heat a griddle or a small nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the tomatillos and broil, turning often with a spoon, until the skins are blackened and the tomatillos are very soft, do this over low heat so that they don't burn. They wont all be ready at the same time, so remove the ones that are ready before the rest. Set aside.
• Add the chiles to the griddle, turning the over constantly, until they darken, again being careful not to burn them.
• Remove the chiles and put them in a blender with the tomatillos, the garlic, the water and the salt. Puree just until no large pieces remain, it should have some texture. Taste before serving and adjust the salt to your taste. If it comes out too hot you can always add more tomatillos.

BIRRIA DE RES TACOS (BEEF BIRRIA TACOS)

Steps:

• Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add guajillo, ancho, and arbol chile peppers; boil for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow peppers to soak until cool. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Rinse meat and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Line a heavy cast-iron grill pan or griddle with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on top. Grill until tomato skin is burned on all sides and begins to peel, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine soaked chile peppers, cooked tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, 2 teaspoons black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and salt to taste in a blender. Pour in reserved 1/4 cup of chile water; blend until smooth.
• Strain chile sauce through a mesh strainer and pour over the browned meat in the Dutch oven, turning roast so it is completely covered with sauce. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven.
• Bake, basting meat every 45 minutes with the sauce, until birria begins to fall apart, 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and bake uncovered until birria is crispy on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, warm tortillas on a griddle. Fill each tortilla with birria and top with chopped onion and cilantro.