Tag: Latin American
Oaxacan Short Ribs
Oaxacan Short Ribs
This recipe for Oaxacan-style boneless beef short ribs focuses on a slow-braised, rich chili sauce (mole or adobo base) that results in fork-tender meat; perfect for tacos, quesadillas, or served with rice and beans. The flavor of the sauce consists of dried smoky chilies, chocolate, onions, tomatoes, and garlic. I turned my leftovers into tamales.
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless short ribs or 4lbs bone in short ribs
- 2 tbsp lard
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cinnamon stick
Oaxacan-Style Sauce
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 guajillo peppers seeded
- 3 ancho peppers seeded
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 2 cups tomatoes diced
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tbsp achiote paste
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp vinegar
For Serving
- corn tortillas
- limes
- white onion finely chopped
- cilantro finely chopped
- beans
- Mexican rice
Instructions
- Soak the dried chilies in boiling water for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt lard in a large oven-safe pan over medium high heat. Season and add in the short ribs.
- Brown on all sides for 12 minutes.
- Purée all of the sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the short ribs. Cover and place in a 300° oven for 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove from the oven and place on the stovetop uncovered over medium low heat. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Pork Belly Carnitas
Pork Belly Carnitas
Recently, I’ve been eating a lot of pork belly in taco form. Instead of just browning it until crispy, I wanted to prepare it like carnitas. Typically, carnitas is pork shoulder simmered with lard, then browned. Since there is a lot of fat in pork belly, I omitted the lard. Most of the fat rendered out of the belly, allowing it to brown in its own fat. The belly was nice and crispy, but still tender.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork belly cut into small cubes
- 2 cups water
- salt to taste
Tacos
- vegetable oil
- corn tortillas
- white onion finely chopped
- cilantro chopped
- hot sauce
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Bring the water and pork belly to a boil in a sauté pan. Simmer for 1 hour on low.
- Increase the heat. Cook off all the water. Season with salt.
- Turn the heat to medium low and brown the pork belly until crispy; about 10-15 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
Mexican-Style Grilled Chicken Hearts
Mexican-Style Grilled Chicken Hearts
Chicken hearts are such an underrated organ. They’re quite tender and fairly inexpensive. They might be hard to find in regular grocery stores. The best place to find them is at Mexican or Arabic ethnic markets. These hearts are citrusy in flavor with a little heat from the ancho chili powder. They grill up in about 10 minutes and are great as the protein on tacos.
Equipment
- metal skewers
- chimney starter
- charcoal
- charcoal grill
Ingredients
- 1/2 orange juiced and zested
- 1/2 lemon juiced and zested
- 1 lime juiced and zested
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp ancho chili powder
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb chicken hearts
Chicken Heart Tacos
- corn tortillas
- cilantro chopped
- white onion finely chopped
- you favorite hot sauce
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the chicken hearts for 4 hours.
- Place 10 chicken hearts on each skewer(you get about 40 hearts per lb).
- Start the charcoal in a chimney starter until they turn gray. Pour into the grill in a single layer and place on the grill grate. Place the skewers directly over the charcoal.
- Grill the hearts for 5-6 minutes a side.
