Guero Cooking

I'm feeling good about being in the kitchen again, but still want to do more.  I want to get dirty, make a mess, really do some damage, and just cook all day long to make really good food.  A guest is coming over and I'd hate to disappoint.

The menu is going to be slow fried pork ribs for carnitas, papas y chorizo, escabeche de cebolla, multiple salsas, guacamole, and various tortilla products.  Just going for really good, soulful flavors.

Country style pork ribs.The only work I need to do ahead of time is to put a rub on the ribs and try to get some flavor penetration.  I rub the ribs in oil, so the flavoring works faster, and also adheres better.  Then cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano get rubbed into every inch.  It's a messy job-- just what I'm looking for.

I put the pork away and leave the kitchen with an itch.  Really want to do something else, but it's still early in the day.  Can never start a pickle too early, so i get to work on the escabeche.

I start by slicing a red onion as thinly as possible-- no cross cuts.  They go in a pot, which is then filled with water to cover.  Boil for a minute.  I've been known to do less, since I enjoy the pungency of red onion, but a minute should bring them to a pleasable level for most audiences.

Drain immediately, leaving the onions in the pot.  Season generously with salt, pepper, a handful of halved garlic cloves, oregano, and marjoram if accessible.  Pour in a third cup of apple cider vinegar, then cover with water.  Bring to a simmer for a few minutes, then pour everything into a non-corrosive container to cool.  This goes straight to my windowsill for now, as the residual heat would spoil most neighboring foods in the fridge.

Still want to do more work, but it's still early.  Before I can think of what to do, the door buzzes.  The guest of honor is here!  You may remember him from such adventures as the Chocolate Souffail, and as the lead, "someone," in Independence.  He's back for the one thing he ever really wants from me, salsa, so I decide to work on that next.

I whiz through a couple pounds of comparis, onion, and jalapenos.  Garlic is the only thing left.  The only other person in the residence, walks over, and comments, "You're really good at that."  Thanks, I do this all the time.  Slice-- straight through the finger nail.  Did I mention that he may also be remembered as the person who said 'watch out,' 10 seconds before my car accident in January?  It's a painful job-- just what I'm looking for.

The dish is finished with salt, pepper, oregano, cilantro, lime juice, and olive oil to coat.  In an hour or so it's going to be really good.

The bridge between pork ribs and carnitas.After little debate, the decision to eat as soon as possible is made.  This means the pork is coming out of the fridge and into the slow fry.  Step one involves melting two pounds of lard into my dutch oven.  Smells terrible at first, but improves greatly with an open window.

The process takes an hour-ish for three pounds of ribs.  Have to turn them every so often, especially if any part isn't completely submerged.  For the last 10 minutes of cooking, I'll jack up the heat to get a deep color on the pork.  The oil will then splatter, and get on the floor along with nearby civilians.  It's a dirty job-- just what I'm looking for.

While the pork is slow frying, I start the [traditional] salsa verde, which will be a cooked salsa, and require time to do so.  Quartered tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, and diced onion brown in a pot.  Basic seasonings accompany, followed by a few spoonfuls of lard from the burner next door.  After five minutes, I pour chicken stock in to barely cover, turn heat to low, and cook until the pork is done.  No blending will be necessary as the tomatillos break down in this process.

Guacamole.Next, I prepare the guacamole, kind of.  Since avocados oxidize, I prepare all the other ingredients in a bowl, then mash the avocados in right before serving.  Super finely diced shallot, juice of two limes, little on pepper, heavy on kosher salt, cilantro, and olive oil all go into the serving bowl.  When the time is right, the avocado will show up.

The final dish to prepare is the papas y chorizo, or potatoes and chorizo.  The first step is cooking and rendering the fat from Mexican chorizo, which is a raw product, unlike Spanish and Portuguese chorizo. 

After the sausage is fully cooked, remove it from the pan, but leave the beautiful, orange-red drippings.  Saute onions slices in the pan, to pick up the oil and any fond that was left.  After a few minutes, add diced par-boiled red skinned potatoes to the skillet (forgot to write about this step a few paragraphs up).  It's important to use a waxy potato, like one used in potato salad, that will hold it's shape for this dish.  A potato from the mashing class will just make a mess-- however, whipped chorizo potatoes can be very enjoyable.

Carnitas.Finally, it's time to pull the pork from the lard pool.  I let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Not only will this aid in moisture retention, but the product will be easier to shred, especially if using bare hands.

I start the shredding with utensils, but don't make great progress.  There is no tool that can perfectly separate meat from cartilage and bone.  The salsa wound has [kind of] stopped bleeding, so it's time to use hands.  I rip into the ribs, not realizing that they've barely cooled.  I make much better progress this way, but it burns-- just what I'm looking for.

Now every dish is complete, and it's time to eat.  We pile our plates full of the rich fatty carnitas, with bits of crispy bark interwoven; the light and acidic tomato salsa to cleanse palettes; creamy salty guacamole with a bright lime accent; the token starch accompanied with the world's best sausage; and then topped with the warm and spicy salsa verde.  We happily dine, forgetting the escabeche de cebollas are still in the fridge.  Another great night at the dinner table-- which is just what I'm looking for.

Zoom zoom zoom. Works for Bobby Flay, right?

Comments

[Jeff]

So.. did the fingernail give it a more gelatanous texture? ow! just Ow!

I love mexican though. You really know how to bring out the authentic flavorings!

[Aashay Desai]

I'd say "looks good" but you know i wouldnt care for Carnitas. Eh, I mostly just like saying "escabeche de cebollas" out loud.

[Chef E]

I want to cross that bridge! All the things I love, so this is what I want when I visit next spring! I will be there around May, and stop over on my way to St. Louis to visit my son :) That pot looks so familiar too, and funny, no not so funny, but great timing from friend!

[Stash]

The gelatin didn't happen, but the red tomatoes masked the blood perfectly. But I'm really trying with this stuff, a lot of people are starting to get how I enjoy Mexican but don't get into those Bell guys.

Sorry for being pork heavy man. I'll get some veggies going for you this summer.

Liz I can't believe you plan that far out-- at least I'll be ready for it now. The pot is older than I am. The color gives away the decade it's from.

Thankfully I can laugh at myself these days. There was a part of me that couldn't stop laughing at the wound. Besides, it'll look normal again in 4 weeks. :D

[Selba]

What a great dish! The Guacamole looks so good.

[greg]

ohhhhhh! I hope I am the guest! GREG

[Boxxx]

That "guest of honor" sure is lucky.......although i don't know how full of honor they really are....but dude I said it before, and I'll say it again - you sure do know my palette and I thank you for introducing me to the fine blend of spices that you concoct on a regular basis =D