Braised Pork With Tomatillos Recipes

BRAISED PORK WITH TOMATILLOS

Steps:

• In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast coriander and cumin seeds until aromatic, 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet. Crush seeds using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle; set aside., Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof Dutch oven, brown roast in oil on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add tomatillos and onion to the pan; saute until tomatillos are tender and lightly charred. Add the garlic and crushed spices; cook 1 minute longer., Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Stir in 8 cups broth and return roast to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 350° until pork is tender, 3 to 3-1/2 hours., Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil; slowly whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan, 15-20 minutes. Serve with pork.

TOMATILLO-BRAISED PORK LOIN WITH HERBY WHITE BEANS AND BACON

Steps:

• Heat the broiler. Lay the whole tomatillos and serranos on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4 inches below the broiler and let roast until the tomatillos are softened and splotchy black in places (the skins will split), about 5 minutes; your goal is to cook the tomatillos through while they roast, which means they'll change from light bright green to olive green on the top side. With a pair of tongs, flip over the tomatillos and chiles and roast the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes or so. Set aside to cool. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Separate the onion into rings and, on a similar pan or baking sheet, combine them with the garlic. Place in the oven. Stir carefully every couple of minutes, until the onions are beautifully browned. (They're going to look wilted and translucent, even have a touch of char on some of the edges.) The garlic should feel soft and be browned in spots. The total roasting time will be about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. In a food processor, place the onion-garlic mixture and the serranos, and pulse until moderateley finely chopped, scraping everything down with a spatula as needed to keep it all moving. Scoop the mixture into a large bowl. Without washing the processor, coarsely puree the tomatillos with their juice, no need to peel off their darkened skin or cut out their cores. Stir them into the chiles. Stir in enough water to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Stir in the cilantro. Taste and season highly with salt. Taste again and, if you like, add just enough sugar to take the edge off the bright tanginess of the tomatillos. If you are planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour it into a bowl and it is ready, or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days.;
• In a medium saucepan, combine the beans with 3 cups of water and the herbs and bay leaves. Partially cover the pan and bring to a good rolling boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the beans very gently (still partially covered) until they are tender, about 1 hour (if you simmer them gently enough, they won't begin to fall apart before becoming thoroughly tender). Add more water if the beans ever begin peeking up above the surface of the water. While beans cook, in a 6 quart Dutch oven cook the bacon slices over medium heat, turning them occasionally, until thoroughly crispy. Remove to drain on paper towels, and when cool, crumble. Tip the Dutch oven slightly, spoon off most of the fat that collects, and add it to the simmering beans. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. If your pork loin roast is in 2 sections that have been tied together, untie them. Sprinkle the meat liberally with salt. Heat the Dutch oven over medium-high until quite hot. Lay in the pork and brown thoroughly on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Pour in the salsa and nestle in the epazote if you it. Cover the pot and place it the oven. Cook until the pork registers about 150 degrees on a meat or instant-read thermometer; the meat will feel rather firm (not hard) to the touch, and cutting into the center will reveal only the slightest hint of pink. The total cooking time should be about 45 minutes. Remove the epazote and set the pot aside uncovered. When the beans are tender, season them with about 1 teaspoon salt, let stand for a few minutes for the beans to absorb the seasoning, then drain off their cooking liquid. Remove the pork to a cutting board, add the beans to the pork pot, set over medium heat and season with salt. Slice the pork, laying the slices slightly overlapping on a warm serving platter. Spoon the beans and sauce around the meat, sprinkle everything with the crumbled bacon, garnish with herb sprigs and carry to the table.

TOMATILLO PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Place rice into the bottom of a Dutch oven; add water, tomatoes, onion, green chile peppers, ancho chile peppers, chicken bouillon, oregano, and cloves. Place roast on top of the rice mixture; season with salt and pepper. Pour salsa verde over roast. Cover Dutch oven.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 6 hours.
• Discard pork bones and ancho chile peppers. Shred pork and return to Dutch oven; stir. Transfer pork mixture to a serving plate using a slotted spoon, draining well.

TOMATILLO PORK BRAISE WITH PICKLED CHILIS (PUERCO EN SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Scoop the tomatillos into a slow cooker and spread them in an even layer. Scatter on the garlic, jalapenos and half of the cilantro. Sprinkle evenly with 1 ½ tsp salt.
• In a large bowl, combine the pork and Worcestershire sauce, mixing until the cubes are well coated. Distribute the meat over the tomatillo mixture. Cover and slow cook on high for 6 hours.
• With a pair of tongs, remove the pork to a bowl. Tip or ladle the sauce mixture into a blender and add the remaining cilantro. Cover loosely and blend until smooth; return the mixture to the slow cooker. Stir in the drained beans, taste and add salt as necessary; Stir in a little water if the sauce has thickened beyond the consistency of a light cream soup. Add a little sugar if the sauce is too tart. Return the meat to the pot, let everything warm through and serve.
• Variations:.
• This dish can be cooked in a Dutch oven instead of the slow cooker. In a medium large (4 to 6 quart) heavy pot or Dutch oven, layer the tomatillos, flavorings and meat as described above. Cover with the sauce, set the lid in place and braise in a 3000F oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours, until the pork is completely tender. Complete the dish as described above.
• The beans can be replaced with potatoes or small sweet turnips (cut into wedges) or carrots (2 inch lengths cut into sticks). Toss them with a little salt and place them on top of the sauce ingredients before layering in the pork. Take them out with the meat while you finish the sauce.
• Add a big handful of spinach to the blender when pureeing the sauce; a few Tbsp of Mexican Crema or heavy cream works magic on this spinach enhanced sauce. Epazote may be used in place of the cilantro.
• This dish is perfect made with 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Or replace the pork shoulder with 1 inch pieces of beef chuck; double the cilantro and use 2 poblanos. The beef will benefit greatly from browning before slow cooking.
• Either brown the cubed pork in a little oil in a single layer in a large skillet, or spread it out on an oiled baking sheet (with sides) and slide it close up under a broiler. Slide the browned meat into the slow cooker.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH TOMATILLOS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to pot, skin side down and cook, without disturbing, until skin has rendered most of the fat and is a nice golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (You want it to be very deeply golden brown so that it stays nice and brown as it braises.)
• Using tongs, flip the chicken and continue to cook until nicely browned on the other side, another 5 or so minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board, leaving all the fat and golden bits behind. Add smashed garlic and half of the sliced onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatillos and half of the jalapeño and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and add chicken back in, skin side up (they will not submerge all the way; that's fine). Simmer, uncovered, until tomatillos have completely broken down and the sauce has thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add hominy and continue to cook until flavors have melded and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (it should be looser than tomato sauce, thicker than soup), another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine radish, remaining onion, remaining jalapeño and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
• Serve each piece of chicken with sauce spooned around. Top with radish mixture, some cilantro and tortillas alongside for sopping up all the goods.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATILLO SAUCE AND BRAISED FRUIT

Steps:

• Rub chicken with salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.
• Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add onion to pot; sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic and chipotles; stir 1 minute. Stir in tomatillos and cinnamon stick; return chicken pieces to pot. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Add pears, apricots, and cherries and simmer until pears are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to serving dish; sprinkle with chopped green onions and epazote, if desired. Serve with warm tortillas.