Kristen's Recipes

Salsa verde (Green sauce)
1 pound tomatillos (known in Mexico as tomate verde), husks removed
4 or 5 whole chiles serrano, depending on your tolerance for picante (spiciness)
1/2 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 medium bunch fresh cilantro, largest stems removed
Sea salt to taste
1 kilo (2.2 pounds) very lean fresh pork butt, cut into 2″ cubes
White flour
Salt
Oil or lard sufficient for frying the pork

In a large pot of water over high heat, bring the tomatillos and chiles (and garlic, if you choose to use it) to a full rolling boil. Boil just until the tomatillos begin to crack; watch them closely or they will disintegrate in the water. Let the tomatillos and chiles (and garlic, if you like) boil until the tomatillos begin to crack. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the cooked tomatillos, salt, and chiles into your blender jar. There’s no need to add liquid at first, but reserve the liquid in which the vegetables boiled until you see the thickness of your sauce. You might want to thin it slightly and the cooking liquid will not dilute the flavor. Set the vegetables aside to cool for about half an hour. Once they are cool, cover the blender, hold the blender cap on, and blend all the vegetables, including the chopped onion, until you have a smooth sauce. Be careful to allow the tomatillos and chiles to cool before you blend them; blending them while they are fresh from the boiling water could easily cause you to burn yourself, the hot mixture tends to react like molten lava in the blender. (Note: don’t ask me how I know this.) In the blender, the boiled and cooled tomatillos and chiles. The cilantro goes in last. While the blender is running, remove the center of its cap and, little by little, push the cilantro into the whizzing sauce. Blend just until smooth; you should still see big flecks of dark green cilantro in the lighter green sauce. Test the salt and correct if necessary. Reserve the sauce for later use.
Pat the 2″ pork cubes as dry as possible with paper towels. Put about 1/4 cup flour in a plastic grocery-size bag. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Melt the lard over high heat in a large heavy oven-proof casserole. While the lard is melting, shake about 1/4 of the cubed pork in the salted flour. When the oil or lard begins to smoke, add the floured pork cubes, being careful not to dump the flour into the pan. Cover the pan. As the pork cubes brown, shake another 1/4 of the pork cubes in flour and salt. Turn the pork cubes until all sides are golden brown. Remove browned cubes to a bowl and reserve. Add more floured pork to the hot lard. You may need more oil or lard as well as more salted flour. Repeat until all pork cubes are well browned. Reserve the browned pork in the same pan, scraping the crispy bits from the bottom. Most Mexican housewives do not flour and brown the pork cubes prior to cooking them in the sauce. I like to prepare the dish this way because the browned flour adds a deeper flavor to the finished sauce. Everyone taste is different, though, and you are of course welcome to tweak the recipe till the finished product is just the way you like it. Add the sauce to the pork cubes in the casserole, making sure that all the cubes are immersed in sauce. Cover and put the casserole into the oven, reducing the heat to 160°C or 325°F. Bake for two hours. Add cooking liquid from the vegetables if necessary to keep the sauce relatively thick but not sticking to the casserole. The pork will be fork-tender and the green sauce will take on a rich, deep, pork-y flavor and color. Serve with arroz blanco (steamed white rice) or arroz a la mexicana (red rice), refried beans, a colorful, contrasting vegetable, and fresh, hot tortillas. Mexico Cooks!’ money-back guarantee: everyone will come back for seconds.

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1½oz. ancho chiles
1½ oz. guajillo chiles
½ c. chicken broth
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
big pinch ground cumin
pinch ground cloves
â…› tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¾ tsp. dried Mexican oregano
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. brown sugar
1½ tsp. salt

3-3½ lbs. country-style pork ribs
2 T. honey

6 (or more) large romaine lettuce leaves
small onion, thinly sliced into rings
2 radishes, quartered, diced, or sliced
fresh cilantro, in sprigs or chopped

Begin by setting a heavy, ungreased comal or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Stem and seed the chiles and rip them open so that they will lay flat. Set them on the hot skillet, pressing with a spatula for just a few seconds, until they start to change color and crackle a bit. They should smell nice and earthy and toasty – but not burnt. Flip over and repeat on opposite side. Remove from skillet and place in bowl. Do this in batches until all chiles have been toasted. Cover chiles with boiling water and set a plate on top to keep them submered; let soak ~30 minutes. Toss the garlic cloves onto the hot skillet and roast until soft and charred in spots, ~10-15 minutes. Let cool until you’re able to handle then, then slip the garlic from its paper skin. Place the garlic in the jar of a blender. Lift the chiles from their soaking water and place in blender with the garlic. Add ½ cup of broth to the blender along with the vinegar and all of the spices. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender jar as needed. Press the puree through a sieve into a clean bowl, pushing down with a rubber scraper to release all of the liquid. Stir in the brown sugar and salt; taste and adjust seasoning as needed. You could make this chile marinade up to several weeks in advance and store it in a jar with a lid in the fridge until ready to use.

Place the ribs in a gallon-size zippered baggie and pour HALF of the marinade over them. Seal the baggie and squidge everything along until the marinade coats the pork. Refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

Combine remaining half of chile marinade with honey; stir until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 325° F. Dump the ribs and any marinade into a large baking or roasting pan. Drizzle ¼ cup of water around them. Cover with foil and bake until tender when pierced with a fork – this could take anywhere from 1-2 hours. Uncover and baste with the liquid in the pan. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes, this will help them develop a good crust. Carefully pour the fat and juices out of the pan. Increase heat to 350° F. Brush the ribs with the chile-honey glaze…really slather it on there…really, use it all! Bake until the ribs are beautifully glazed and crusty on the edges, ~15 minutes.

Lay the lettuce leaves on a serving platter and arrange the ribs over them. Scatter onion, radishes, and cilantro over them. Serve with hot corn tortillas. These ribs are great eaten whole or shredded and stuffed into tortillas to make some tasty tacos.

2 racks (6 lb.) St. Louis-style pork spareribs
16 dried guajillo or ancho chiles, seeded
1 1⁄2 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3⁄4 cup white vinegar
3⁄4 cup orange juice
1⁄4 cup canola oil
16 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
6 sprigs cilantro
3⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
4 cups oak or mesquite chips, soaked in water 1 hour, then drained (optional)
Salsa, for serving (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place ribs in a roasting pan. Place chiles in a bowl and pour 4 cups of hot water over them. Soak until softened, 8-10 minutes; drain, reserving ½ cup soaking liquid. Purée chiles, soaking liquid, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, orange juice, oil, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth; rub mixture over ribs. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Heat a charcoal grill or set a gas grill to high; bank coals or turn off burner on one side. Place soaked wood chips, if using, over coals or in a smoke box in a gas grill. Grill ribs until slightly charred and tender, 1-1½ hours. If the outside starts to burn before the ribs are fully cooked, move them to the cooler section of the grill and continue to cook until tender. Rest ribs 20 minutes; slice into individual ribs. Serve with salsa, if you like.

2 large banana leaves
1/2 cup of Achiote Paste
2 cups of bitter orange juice, or one cup orange juice mixed with one cup of grapefruit juice
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
3 Pounds of boneless pork loin or pork shoulder cut in pieces
1 large red onion, sliced.
3-4 bay leaves
1/2 T. dried thyme
1 T. marjoram
1 T. dried Mexican oregano
1/2 cup oil or lard
1 turkey size oven bag
Salt to taste

Roast the banana leaf, if you bought it from the frozen section of the supermarket, wait until it is completely defrosted. To roast the banana leaf, place it directly over a medium hot fire of you gas stove, it will start changing color and getting some shiny while in contact with the fire. Make sure not to burn the leaves, we just want them to be pliable. Line your roasting pan with the oven bag and arrange the banana leaves overlapping as in the above picture. You can also use aluminum foil instead of the oven bag. In your blender, mix the Achiote (annatto) seasoning with the pepper and bitter orange juice. Add salt. Place the pork meat on the leaves. Pour the Achiote mixture over. And add the oil/lard to give it more flavor. Cover with the sliced onion and herbs. Fold the ends of the banana leaves over the pork. Close the oven bag and cut 3 or 4 slits according to packages instructions. If using aluminum foil wrap tightly . Add about 1 1/2 quarter of water to the roasting pan to create a steaming effect. One time, I forgot to add the water and it still came out great. Bake 2 1/2 hours in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Add more water to the pan if needed. Remove roasting pan from oven and uncover the meat. The meat should be tender. If it isn’t, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. To serve shred the meat and cover with the juice with warm tortillas and habanero sauce.

3 pounds pork short ribs
Vegetable oil for sautéing
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 onion, unpeeled, sliced
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled, crushed with the flat side of a knife
1 large carrot and 1 stalk celery, chopped coarsely
1 bay leaf
1 dried chipotle pepper

A mix of 12 medium-sized dried chilis, such as guajillos, pasillas, and anchos, split open and stemmed and seeded
2 corn tortillas
6 tomatillos, husked
4 cloves garlic

To serve:
8-12 corn tortillas, heated, for tacos
1 bunch cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 small red onion (for quick pickling)
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup of mild vinegar, such as white-wine or cider
salt

In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and turn heat to medium. Using paper towels, or preferably a kitchen towel that will be quickly dropped into the wash, tamp dry the ribs on all sides. (This is key: Wet ribs won’t brown.) Season the ribs on all sides with salt and pepper and add to hot pan, bone side up. Brown the ribs on as many sides as you can. If the pan begins to scorch, turn the heat down. When the ribs are well browned, remove them and set them aside, and turn heat to low. (You may have to do this in batches). Add a cup or so of water to deglaze the pan, which means scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to liberate the flavorful browned bits that accumulated there. Turn off heat. Now arrange the sliced onion, the garlic, the bay leaf, the carrot and celery chunks, and the chipotle at the bottom of a Dutch oven-style pot (heavy) pot with a tight-fitting lid, and lay the ribs over the. Add the deglazing water from the frying pan, and add enough extra water to submerge the a little more than ribs halfway. Bring slowly to a simmer, cover, and turn heat to lowest setting. (You can also place the covered pot in an oven pre-heated to 300 degrees.) Let the ribs simmer for about 3 hours, then check. The meat should be fork tender and falling off the bone. (If it’s not, allow more time.) When the meat is done, turn the heat off and remove the ribs and any meat that has fallen off, setting them aside. (If making the dish a day ahead, wrap in foil and store in fridge overnight. If you’re making it for same-day eating, you can leave them out on a plate, covered with foil.) Pour the hot liquid through a fine strainer, straining out onions, etc., into a large measuring cup or bowl. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least an hour. This will allow the fat to rise to the top and harden, so it can easily get taken out. Defatting the stock in this way will lead to a clearer-tasting, more vivid sauce. Meanwhile, while the ribs are simmering, make the pickled-onion garnish. Slice the red onion thin and place the slices in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the onions until covered, and let them sit in it for a minute or two. Drain the water and return blanched onion slices to the bowl. add a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper, and a crushed and peeled clove of garlic. Add vinegar until onion slices are covered, and set aside.

Now make the sauce. Place foil at the bottom of a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet and place over medium heat. Toast the garlic gloves and tomatillos, turning occasionally, until the garlic has softened and turned black in spots and the tomatillos have blackened a bit and started to split open. Remove the foil from the pan, being careful not to spill the tomatillo juices. Peel the toasted garlic and drop it into a blender or food processor. Dump the tomatillos, juice and all, into the blender with the garlic. Set aside. Now toast the tortillas in the same skillet, until they’ve blackened a bit and gotten dried out. Tear one in half and add it to the blender. Set the other aside. Toast the chilis on the same skillet, maintaining medium heat. Open them flat and press them into the skillet with a tongs, a few at a time, a few seconds each side. Lay them into a bowl and and submerge with hot water for at least 15 minutes. Add the rehydrated chilis—discarding the water—to the blender with the garlic, tomatillos, and tortillas. Give it a heavy pich of salt and a lashing of ground pepper, and blend until smooth. You will probably have to scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula. If the mixture is too dry to blend, add a little water. If it’s to loose and saucy, add a chunk of the reserved tortilla. What you should end up with is a thick and smooth paste.

Now you’ve got a chili paste, ribs that are falling off the bone, and a rich broth. It’s time to bring them all together. Add about the paste to a large pot, and stir in enough broth to make it nice and saucy—not to thick, not too thin. Add the ribs and any meat that has fallen off. Cover, and let the sauce come slowly to a simmer over medium-low heat. When the ribs are heated through, spread all the meat and bone on a platter, and spoon a little sauce over it, reserving the rest to serve at table in a bowl. Garnish with chopped cilantro, pickled onions, a lashing of your best sea salt, and a grind or five of black pepper. Serve with hot tortillas and side dishes—I always think braised greens go well with pork.

1 (5-6 lb.) Pork Shoulder
2 tsp. Cumin
2 tsp. Mexican Oregano
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 Oranges, halved
1 Lime, halved
2 Bay Leaves
1 White Onion, peeled and Quartered
2 T. Sweetened Condensed Milk
12oz. can Mexican Beer
4 C. Water
2 tsp. Salt

For serving: Tortillas, Fresh Avocado Guacamole, Salsa Mexicana

Rinse pork shoulder under cool running water and pat dry with a clean paper towel. Move to cutting board and cut into 2 inch pieces. Cut as uniform as possible. Don’t trim fat; it will render in cooking and crisp the pork in the final stages of cooking. Place pork in heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven and toss with cumin and oregano. Add garlic, 2 orange halves, lime halves, bay leaves, onion, and sweetened condensed milk and pour the beer on top. Cover with water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until pork is fork tender and all liquid is evaporated. Stir more often as liquid evaporates to ensure pork does not stick to the pan. Preheat oven to 425. Once liquid has evaporated, transfer to oven safe dish (unless using Dutch oven) and discard bay leaves, onion, orange and lime. Sprinkle with salt and pour any pan drippings into roasting dish. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and squeeze juice of remaining oranges on top. Serve with tortillas, guacamole and salsa.