Spicy, Smoky Ancho Pork Braise
It is braise season
Michelle and I have done it again...this week’s recipe is an ancho pork braise we cooked up a few weeks ago. The active cooking time on this recipe is short, and as with every braise the low and slow cooking method takes a long time but ultimately produces the most flavorful result.
This recipe makes 8-10 meals.
Active Cooking time: 30 minutes Braise time: 3-4 hours Total: 3.5-4.5 hours
Ingredients
7 dried ancho chilies
3 dried chipotle peppers or 1.5 tsp crushed chipotle flakes
4-8 dried Thai chili, depending on desired spiciness
Soaked in ~2 cups warm water
~4lb pork butt (preferable) or pork shoulder
~2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 Tbsp Adobo seasoning (plus some more to taste)
Cracked black pepper
1 large yellow onion, cut in large chunks (~1-inch pieces)
7 cloves garlic (1/2 head)
2 tsp celery seed
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 chicken bouillon cube
14 oz crushed tomatoes
3 bay leaves
Enough water to cover braising meat
Preparation:
Soak your ancho, chipotle and Thai chilies in 2 cups of warm water. Set aside while you prepare the meat.
Coat the pork butt with 1 tsp kosher salt plus 1.5 Tbsp Adobo seasoning.
Pour about 2 tbsp of neutral oil into a dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot over medium to medium-high heat.
Starting with the fatty side down, sear each side of the pork for a few minutes. This will likely require you to hold the meat with tongs, pressing the meat down to form a deep brown crust.
Once the meat has color on each side, remove it onto a plate and set it aside. Turn down the heat a bit to a medium/medium-low.
Add onions first, cooking until they begin to turn translucent. Add garlic, celery seed, cumin, and pepper. Cook until the onions become softer and more tender. Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits.
Add the softened peppers and their water into the dutch oven. Break down the peppers a little, but not too much. You’ll take them out and blend later
Crush your bouillon cube into the liquid, then add 14 oz of crushed tomatoes and 3 bay leaves. Stir well and return the meat to the dutch oven
Add just enough water to cover the meat.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees, and keep the meat on medium/medium-low heat on the stove with the lid off while the oven heats. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper, and other seasonings.
Put the dutch oven in the oven for two hours.
After two hours remove the dutch oven from the oven. Take the meat out and place it on a plate.
Remove the bay leaves, then use an immersion blender to blend the chilies, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and liquid. Or, pick out the chilies, onion, garlic, and tomatoes and place in a blender with 2 ladles of the sauce. Blend this mixture until perfectly smooth and transfer back into the dutch oven.
Place the meat back into the dutch oven and return to cook in the oven for 1-2 hours until the meat shreds apart easily.
Remove some liquid if desired, then shred the meat and serve as tacos, sliders, nachos, or over rice.
Photos:
enjoy and tell us what you think!!
Michelle and Kareal