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Chipotle Peppers
The Mexican state of Sinaloa, on Mexico's west coast, facing lower Baja across the Gulf of California, is known to some as the birthplace of such notables as the great ranchera singer and actress Lola Beltrán, or maybe of the onetime LA Dodgers pitching ace Antonio Osuna. Chilorio makes a great filling for tacos or enchiladas, but it's also good by itself, maybe with some rice and a little salad on the side. Like most long-cooked meat dishes, chilorio tastes better reheated the second day.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or loin, cut into 3 or 4 large pieces
- ½ cup white wine vinegar
- Salt
- 4 ancho chiles
- 2 dried chipotles
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ small onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup bacon fat or lard
Directions
Put pork pieces into a large saucepan with a lid. Add cold water to cover, and then add vinegar and 2 or 3 generous pinches of salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, when boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for about 2 hours, or until pork is very tender.
Remove pork from the water and set aside to cool. Do not discard cooking water.
While pork cools, soak the ancho and chipotle chiles together in the cooking water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Reserve 1 cup of the water and discard the rest. Cut off the chile stems, then cut open chiles and scrape out and discard seeds and membranes. (Wear rubber gloves or wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after handling chiles.)
Put chiles, reserved cooking water, oregano, cumin, onion, and garlic into a blender and purée.
When pork is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers or 2 forks.
Heat the bacon fat or lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then fry the pork, in batches if necessary, until crisp and brown.
Drain pork on paper towels, discard cooking fat, and wipe out skillet. Return pork to skillet, mix in sauce, and heat through over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Chilorio, Mexican Pulled Pork
“What is that incredible smell?” asked a friend as he walked in the door. I pointed to the stove where shredded pork was simmering in an earthy, spicy sauce made from ancho and guajillo chiles and said, “It’s chilorio. Mexican pulled pork.”
Now, you would think that the first time I would have had chilorio would have been in Texas, but instead it was in Midtown Manhattan. There was a taco stand in the basement of an office building and on its limited menu was chilorio, or Mexican pulled pork, as it was described.
Curious about what constituted Mexican pulled pork, I ordered one of the chilorio tacos and discovered that it was tender strands of pork that were a little spicy and a little sweet. It was rich and flavorful and went quite nicely with a creamy green salsa.
A little research lead me to discover that chilorio is from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, which is in the Northern part of the country. After trying it in New York, I occasionally started seeing it offered on Mex-Mex menus back home in Texas, and all reports were that it was a fine dish worthy of being included on the Texas table.
When I went in search of a recipe, I discovered in Pati Jinich’s book, Pati’s Mexican Table, that the method to making this was as if you had taken a batch of carnitas—tender, crisp, and lightly sweet from a splash of orange juice—and then given them a bath in a sauce made rich and earthy from anchos, guajillos, and garlic. If you ever wondered what would happen if you crossed carnitas with asado, chilorio would be the result.
You can serve chilorio on its own as a proper main dish, but I prefer to tuck it into warm tortillas, and then top it with salsa, cilantro, onions, and a crumble of Cotija cheese. It’s a terrific dish to serve on game day, though it also makes for a good weeknight dinner, especially since the leftovers heat up nicely if you choose to make it ahead of time.
Chilorio takes a while to cook but after it’s done, it’s very well suited for feeding many folks. Plus, as it cooks your home will fill with an incredible aroma, which will make it all the more welcome when it’s finally done. People will ask, “What’s cooking?” and you can tell them, chilorio—Mexican pulled pork.
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What is Chilorio?
While most people are familiar with guacamole and enchiladas, many will ask you “what is chilorio?” Like most Mexican pork recipes, it’s a shredded pork dish that is then fried in lard and cooked in a chile sauce. To make chilorio tacos, simply spoon some of the meat onto a soft tortilla and top it with salsa, cilantro, onion, or beans.
Follow this video to get started making your own Chilorio Tacos.
A true chilorio Sinaloa recipe requires you to boil the meat for an hour, the most time-consuming part of most Mexican pork recipes, but while the meat cooks, you can prep the marinade and salsa. For homemade chilorio recipe, you’ll need guajillo and ancho chiles, and while they’re common staples in Mexican grocery stores, you may have to do a little searching to find them at home. With their bold flavors, there’s nothing that can truly be substituted for them in a homemade chilorio recipe. Dried chiles won’t go bad, so if you find them, take enough for a couple Mexican recipes.
To serve chilorio Sinaloa tacos, you’ll need flour tortillas. You can also top them with extra cilantro, onion, or beans, so it’s good to have those on hand as well. Once you get the hang of making it for your family, save the recipe to be used at a later date when you can impress friends with your authentic Mexican meal. The minute your guests taste it, they will be asking, “What is chilorio and how can I make it?”
Chilorios
Place rinsed meat chunks in an extended heavy pot. Barely cover with the orange juice and water, add a teaspoon of salt and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil bring the heat down to medium and let it simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until most liquid has cooked off and the meat is thoroughly cooked and has rendered most of its fat.
Meanwhile, remove stems from chiles, make a slit down their sides and remove their seeds and veins. Place them in a bowl, cover them with boiling hot water and let them sit and rehydrate for about 15 minutes. Place chiles and 1 1/2 cup of their soaking liquid in the blender along with the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, cumin, black pepper, vinegar and puree until smooth.
Once the meat is ready, place it in a bowl along with any remaining cooking broth. Once it is cool enough to handle, shred it with your hands or using two forks.
In the same pot, heat corn oil over medium heat. Pour in the chile sauce and let it season and simmer 4 to 5 minutes. Toss in the shredded meat along with any of its remaining cooking broth. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it cook, stirring often, until the meat has absorbed most of the chile sauce, which will have thickened, seasoned and changed color to a much darker tone. It will take around 20 minutes. Salt to taste.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas on the side. If you wish, spoon chilorio on tortillas and roll them into burritas. They are wonderful with refried beans and avocado or guacamole on the side as well.
PATI ’S MEXICAN TABLE : Mocorito, The Land Of Chilorio
Above: Pati goes with Victoria to visit her sister, Fabiola, who just happens to live right down the street and specialize in another Sinaloan classic, jamoncillo — a soft, sweet candy that is made only of sugar and milk.
Founded in 1594, Mocorito is a quiet, colorful colonial town known for one of Sinaloa’s most beloved recipes: a slow-simmered pork dish called chilorio. On this episode, Pati visits the home of Victoria Gonzalez, a cook known for having one of the best chilorio recipes in town.
Then Pati goes with Victoria to visit her sister, Fabiola, who just happens to live right down the street and specialize in another Sinaloan classic, jamoncillo — a soft, sweet candy that is made only of sugar and milk.
Photo credit: Courtesy of American Public Television
On "Mocorito, The Land of Chilorio," Pati goes with Victoria to visit her sister, Fabiola, who just happens to live right down the street and specialize in another Sinaloan classic, jamoncillo — a soft, sweet candy that is made only of sugar and milk.
Back in her kitchen, Pati perfects her own version of chilorio and dresses up a classic local cookie with sugar crystals and dulce de leche.
Pati's Mexican Table - Mocorito, The Land of Chilorio - Episode Trailer
Mocorito is a quiet, colorful colonial town known for one of Sinaloa’s most beloved recipes: a slow-simmered pork dish called chilorio. Pati visits the home of Victoria Gonzalez, who is known for having one of the best chilorio recipes in town.
Visit Pati Online:
Connect With Pati:
Pati Jinich is on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and you can follow @PatiJinich on Twitter. #PatisMexicanTable
PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE Season 8 - Sinaloa, Mexico's Breadbasket - Official Trailer
PATI'S MEXICAN TABLE Season 8 will transport us to a region of Mexico largely unseen by the outside world. Stretching along northern Mexico’s west coast — from the majestic Sierra Madre mountain range, to the small towns sprinkled along the beaches of the Pacific, and through fertile farmland between natural rivers and man-made dams — Pati will crisscross the state of Sinaloa, considered Mexico's breadbasket.
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Recipe: Chilorio
Chilorio, a slow-cooked carnitas recipe with a delicious ancho chile sauce, hails from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It is a perfect recipe for leftovers – if you have a busy week ahead, make this on this weekend and enjoy it all week long. Chilorio will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, so feel free to make plenty and the whole family can have some. If you are on an autoimmune diet, just stop this recipe before adding the sauce and enjoy the carnitas!
Type of dish: Dinner
Equipment: Cooking pot, blender
Servings: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds pork butt with its fat, cut into 2 inch chunks (If you have a larger piece of 8 pound pork butt or a smaller piece of 2 pound, simply double or halve the recipe as needed. An 8 pound pork butt will give you a great week’s worth of leftovers!)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- juice of 3 oranges
- 6 ancho chiles (dried Poblanos)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- salt to taste
- 1 cup chile soaking water after soaking the chiles
- lettuce for serving, along with other vegetable sides or garnishes such as avocado, salsa, grilled onions, etc.
- In a large, heavy cooking pot, place the pork chunks, and toss them with the salt and 1 tsp dried oregano. Squeeze in the juice of the oranges.
- Cover the pork just barely with water, or to have fun and be authentic, you can experiment with using lard instead of water. I’m keeping it simple with water for this recipe.
- Bring the pork to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium low and allow the pork to cook until much of water evaporates, the pork has rendered its fat, and the meat is fork tender. Stir occasionally during the cooking process, and leave the pot uncovered during cooking. Cooking time will be about 2 or more hours.
- Remove the meat from the pot, let it cool, and shred it with two forks, or chop it with a chef’s knife.
To make the chilorio sauce:
- Remove the seeds and stems from the dried ancho chiles and break or cut them into pieces. In a glass or ceramic bowl, place the chiles and then cover with hot boiling water (or extra hot cooking liquid from the pork if there is a lot left over.) Let the chiles soak for 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a blender, mix the garlic, apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp oregano. Add the chiles and 1 cup of their soaking water. Blend to form a thick sauce.
- In a skillet, add a TB or two of lard or rendered fat from the pot in which pork was cooked, and prepare to mix in the chilorio sauce with the shredded pork. You may not need to add the entire batch of sauce add spoonful by spoonful until you get the meat thoroughly covered with the sauce, but not to the point that the skillet is soupy. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until the pork is dry and the meat has absorbed the flavors. Stir frequently to prevent sticking to the pan.
- Serve on a lettuce wrap with guacamole, pico de gallo, or other vegetables of choice.
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2 Comments
Great looking recipe, but why skip the sauce for an autoimmune condition? It looks like lots of good spices, antioxidants etc in there, but clearly some of those are antagonistic for auto immune case -can you elaborate on that?
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Chilorio Recipe - Recipes
This recipe is typical of the State of Sinaloa in Mexico. This meat recipe is frequently used to prepare the famous Culiacán tacos. This very easy mexican recipe is simple to prepare but you have to plan ahead because of the long time it has to cook it is good for both children and adults alike. Although this meal is a little fatty, this recipe can be eaten in Mexico on regular or festive days alike!
Boiling the chiles, at Step 3 of this procedure.
Recipe for the Chilorio Sinaloense
Ingredients for 4-6 people:
* 1.5 lb. Pork shoulder meat, cut in medium sized cubes
* 1 cup water
* 5 Pasilla or ancho chillies, cleaned and seeded
* 5 cloves of garlic, shelled
* 6 tablespoons lard, or oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1/3 cup white vinegar
* 1/2 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1. In a pot over the stove, boil the meat with just enough water to cover it, for 3 hours in the oven (200-250 degrees F), until you can shred the meat easily.
2. Once the meat has slowly cooked this way, remove the pot from the oven, drain the meat and allow to cool once luke-warm, shred the meat with a fork.
3. After this, cook the chiles in the pot with 2 cups hot water, cover and leave for 15 minutes, until they are soft.
4. Put the cooked Chilies in the blender along with the water they cooked in, the garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, vinegar and blend, pulsing until we get a sauce that we reserve for later use.
5. After this, in the pot heat up the lard over low heat setting, mixing for about 10 minutes, once hot add the shredded meat to it. Mix with a wooden spoon with the heat turned off allow to cool down a little bit.
6. Add to the meat and lard mixture the chile sauce we blended earlier, and season with salt cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, until all the aromas have blended together and the sauce has become thick and the meat taken a dark brown color.
Delicious when served with real corn tortillas, avocadoes and refried beans on the side.
Shredded Pork in Ancho-Orange Sauce (Chilorio) from 'Pati's Mexican Table'
Carnitas make for one of the best taco fillings: slow braised pork, shredded and then crisped up before serving, is perfect unadorned in a warm corn tortilla. But what if you're looking to take it up a notch? In Pati's Mexican Table, Pati Jinich presents a different version of braised and shredded pork, this time fancied up with orange juice and a fragrant, tangy ancho chile sauce. With a generous pour of apple cider vinegar, the finished dish tastes almost like Mexican pulled pork—and I wouldn't consider that a bad thing.
Why I picked this recipe: Carnitas are one of my favorite taco and burrito fillings, so it was a no-brainer to try this chile and citrus-laced take on shredded pork.
What worked: Ancho chiles and oranges are a match made in heaven tender pork shoulder makes it all the better.
What didn't: I needed more like an hour of simmering time on the pork to turn it tender, so I added about 1/3 cup more water and juice to the pot to keep things going. Don't clean out the pot once you've cooked the pork the rendered fat and juices left behind will help flavor the sauce.
Suggested tweaks: Jinich offers the suggestion to prepare the sauce with braised chicken instead of pork, should you prefer poultry. Be sure to use bone-in, skin-on pieces (preferably dark meat) to keep things moist, tender, and flavorful.
Reprinted with permission from Pati's Mexican Table: The secrets of real Mexican home cooking by Pati Jinich. Copyright 2013. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.
Slow Cooker Jackfruit Chilorio
The amazing Jeni from Thyme & Love is helping me out this week with another guest post. Jeni has done a guest post for me before, you have to try her delicious tequila truffles. Jeni has recently added a travel section to her blog that is worth visiting. There's a vegan guide to Boston and vegan eats at Walt Disney World. Thank you for always having my back Jeni!
I’m excited to be writing another guest post for Dora! My name is Jeni and I blog at Thyme & Love, a Vegan food and travel blog. When Dora reached out to me last month about sharing a recipe with you, I immediately started to brainstorm some Vegan Mexican recipe ideas.
One of the first recipes that came to mind was Chilorio, a popular recipe from the state of Sinaloa, in the North of Mexico. Chilorio is traditionally made with pork, but for a vegan version jackfruit replaces the meat. Lately I have been loving jackfruit. I think that it makes a wonderful plant-based meat.
In traditional Chilorio recipes, the pork is simmered in an ancho chile and orange juice puree. One of my favorite ways to cook jackfruit is in the slow cooker. It is just so easy and doesn’t heat up the kitchen.
After the jackfruit has simmered in the slow cooker for 3 to 4 hours, I like to shred the jackfruit and cook it for another 30 minutes to an hour.
Traditionally, flour tortillas are served alongside Chilorio. I didn’t have any hand, so I served it with corn tortillas. I like to top my tacos with avocado slices.
This Slow Cooker Jackfruit Chilorio is:
Naturally gluten-free
& Oil-free
Flavorful plant-based dinner
Not too spicy
& Easy to make!
Tortas de Chilorio
Reprinted with permission from 'Nopalito' copyright 2017, by Gonzalo Guzman with Stacy Adimando. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Yield: 6 sandwiches
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
1¼ pounds boneless pork shoulder (pork butt), cut into 4 equal pieces
¼ medium green cabbage, shaved into thin strips
6 t eleras or French rolls
1½ cups (12 ounces) shredded Jack cheese
1½ cups (12 ounces) f rijoles p inquitos r efritos or store-bought refried pinto beans, warmed
For the Adobo for the Chilorio:
3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 dried pasilla chile, stemmed and seeded
2 dried mulato chiles, stemmed and seeded
Leaves from ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
¼ cup lard, rice bran oil, or canola oil
1 to 2 jalapeños, stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 large or 4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed
Directions
1. Make the pork: Season the pork all over with salt. Place the pork in a small pot and add enough water just to cover season the water with salt and add half of the onion, the garlic, and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook until the meat is very tender, about 1 hour. Drain the meat and discard the liquid. Shred the meat into thin pieces (you will have about 3 cups). The pork can be made in advance and refrigerated up to 2 days.
2. Meanwhile, make the adobo. In a small heatproof bowl, cover all of the dried chiles with boiling water let sit until softened, about 20 minutes. Remove the chiles (reserve the soaking water) and add to a blender with the vinegar, parsley, garlic, oregano, cumin, and a generous pinch of salt blend until a very smooth paste forms, adding a little of the soaking water only if needed to help blend.
3. In a small pot, heat the lard until hot, then stir in the adobo (be careful, as it may splatter). Turn the heat down to very low and let cook, stirring occasionally, until darkened and aromatic, about 10 minutes. Stir in the shredded pork and cook for 5 minutes more to heat through. Taste and adjust the salt as needed (you can also add a little water or some of the soaking water if needed to slightly thin the consistency).
4. In a small blender or molcajete , quickly make the salsa jalapeño: Add the jalapeños, tomatillos, and salt and blend or grind until relatively smooth.
5. Thinly slice the remaining piece of white onion. In a medium bowl, mix the sliced onions and shaved cabbage with the crema and a pinch of salt, and toss to coat.
6. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the rolls in half and place cut side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the top half of each roll with ¼ cup (2 ounces) of the Jack cheese, then bake the rolls until the cheese is melted and the bottoms are toasted, 6 to 8 minutes.
7. Cut the avocados into quarters, then thinly slice. Spread ¼ cup of the refried beans on the bottom half of each roll. Divide the pork among the rolls (about ½ cup each), then drizzle each with some of the salsa jalapeño to taste. Top with the sliced avocado and the cabbage slaw and serve.
