Saturday 18 January 2014

Braised Pork Shoulder Enchiladas



I love it when something that you love comes back into my life. An old friend just shows up just because or that book you lent out years ago is finally returned and in the case of this post a taco place near your home closes just to reopen right next to your workplace. Welcome back. Oh how I have missed you. The reintroduction to those Mexican flavours put the wheels in motion and I hosted a Mexican dinner for some good friends. The results: some full bellies and a pretty good buzz by the end of the evening. So what I have done for you is combined the best parts of that meal into a pretty kick ass version of Braised Pork Shoulder Enchiladas. So here we go.



Braised Pork Shoulder Enchiladas to the tune of Tall Tall Shadow by Basia Bulat

The Filling

2lbs cubed pork shoulder
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 jalapeƱo finely diced
1 habenro minced (optional if you don’t like the spicy stuff)
1 bottle of beer (not too heavy)

The Sauce

1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp chili powder
1 cup of water
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups beef stock

Other stuff

Corn tortillas
Cheese of your choice I used a marble cheddar
Sour cream
Chopped cilantro

The Filling

-In a skillet over medium high heat sweat your onions and garlic until soft. Add in your pork and let brown a little. Add in your spices, chilies, and salt and pepper, toss to coat everything. Add in your beer, reduce the heat to low, cover and let it work. Taste and adjust if needed. Remove from heat and let it cool.

The Sauce

-In a sauce pan dump all your ingredients in let cook on low for about an hour if it reduces too much add some more water or more stock if you have it. Taste and season. Remove from heat and let cool. The sauce should be a little on the loose side . (We all have a laugh)

Put them together


-Heat up a skillet over high heat fire in your tortillas one or two at a time to soften them so they can be rolled. They will break otherwise which sucks and is super frustrating. So please avoid that. Add your filling and roll them up. Line the little devils up in a pan, cover with sauce and then cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is all gooey like. Garnish with sour cream and a little chopped cilantro if you have some left and you are done.

Enjoy.