PORK PASOLE

Yield: 4 Servings

You have to have a Carnitas Fiesta before making this recipe and you have to resist frying all the pork for Carnitas. Lindsay this is for you, Heather has seen it done often enough. It’s a must do with the pork stock left over after making Carnitas

1 quart Carnitas stock, ( see Carnitas recipe)
8 oz. saved un-fried pork from Carnitas, chopped or shredded
1/2 med. onion, slivered
1 med. carrots, sliced
2 fresh Poblano chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or 2- 4oz.cans of chopped green chilies if need be.
1- 29 oz. can hominy
1-14.5 oz. can plum tomatoes, chopped
salt to taste, if needed

Directions
Place all the ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.
Garnish:
tortilla strips, fried
thinly sliced radish
chopped onions
lime wedges
chopped fresh cilantro
crushed red peppers
Ladle the soup into shallow bowls. Set the garnishes on the table for each guest to serve themselves.

TG
3/10

Carnitas

Translates to “Little Meats”
Yield: 1 kilo Serves 4


Carnitas is Mexico’s beloved and wonderful culinary creation, usually made with pork. This recipe is for those who can’t fine good carnitas on their local restaurant scene. This recipe also is not as authentic as that served at the carnitas meca, Carnitas Uruapan (pronounced ooh-ru-AH-pan) in Tijuana, Mexico.
Carnitas Uruapan, is a great carnitas restaurant where savory pork is cooked up in two big vats (Cazos de Cobre) filled with manteca (lard) out front in the parking lot, until it's falling-apart tender. Inside, diners are served the meat by the kilo (or portion thereof) at long, communal wooden picnic tables to a mostly local crowd, accompanied by mariachi music, along with plenty of Negro Modelos or Bohemias, (dark Mexican beers). It's a casual feast without compare, vegetarians need not apply. People who should know tell me Carnitas Uruapan is Tijuana’s oldest and best carnitas restaurant in TJ. Most taxi drivers at the border know the place.

3 lbs. boneless, skinless, fresh pork shoulder or butt
3 qts. water
1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, quartered
4 celery stalks, quartered
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. whole black pepper
1½ tsp. salt

Cut pork into 2”-3” pieces and place in a large soup pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours or until the pork breaks apart easily. Remove the pork, strain the broth and reserve for Pasole (recipe follows). Discard the solids. Refrigerate the broth and pork until it’s time to Fiesta. Set the table with re-fried beans, Spanish rice, chopped onions and cilantro, salsa and a stack of warm tortillas. Sliced avocado and radishes are also good. Fry the pork pieces until well browned and crisp. Break or shred into bite size pieces, bring the Carnitas on a platter to the table so everyone can build their own tacos. Serve with cold beer and mariachi music.

TG
2/10