Tag: Latin American
Pernil-Style Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Pernil-Style Grilled Pork Tenderloin
This is the same marinade that would be used on a skin on pork leg or shoulder when making pernil, but on pork tenderloin. It tastes best when marinated for 24 hours. You can use either a gas or charcoal grill. The tenderloin will need to be seared on all sides, then moved to indirect heat to finish the cooking. It will take a total of 15-20 minutes to cook through from beginning to end. 155 degrees is the internal tempature you are looking for. Pull off the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into it. Once it’s sliced, squeeze fresh lime juice over the tenderloin. If you don’t have a grill, you can roast the pork tenderloin in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 small shallots
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 pork tenderloin 1lb – 1 1/4lbs
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Purée all of the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Marinate the pork tenderloin for at least 24 hours.
- Get your grill hot. Place the pork tenderloin over the flames. Sear on all sides.
- Move the tenderloins to indirect heat. Let cook for 15-20 minutes in total. Let rest before slicing.
- Sqeeze lime juice over the sliced pork tenderloin.
Mofongo
Mofongo
Mofongo is a popular Puerto Rican dish consisting of fried mashed plantains with bacon, garlic, and chicharons. There are numerous versions of this dish in Puerto Rico as well as the rest of the Caribbean. This version has the mofongo with a creole shrimp sauce. So shrimp and 2 types of pork. I’m sold. Just a heads up: this recipe isn’t for beginners. There are a lot of steps to making mofongo. It’s actually a huge pain in the ass. It creates a lot of dishes. But it is absolutely worth the time once once you try it. Patience.The shrimp sauce is fairly simple. Sauté the shrimp. Sauté the vegetables. Cook down the tomatoes. Add in chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat, then add the shrimp back in. Cook the bacon. Drain the grease, then add in olive oil and garlic. Cook for another minute, then set aside.When choosing plantains, you want to use unripened ones. They are more starchy and are closer to a potato in flavor and texture. Ripened plantains will be too sweet and taste closer to bananas. They will need to be fried in vegetable oil for 4 minutes a side until crispy. Drain the grease on paper towel and season with creole seasoning.To assemble, mash a little bit of the bacon, garlic, oil, and chicharon together in a mortar. Then add a couple of the plants. Start smashing them with the bacon mix. Slowly start incorporating layers of the plantains, garlic bacon, and chicharon; smashing them into oblivion. Press the mofongo to the mortar to mold it to shape. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can add the ingredients to a food processor and pulse it a few times. Then you can press it into a small bowl to get the dome shape. You can make 1 large one like I did or 2 smaller ones if eating as a side dish. Place a large ladle of the shrimp sauce without any shrimp in the center of a plate. Flip the mofongo over on top of the sauce. Remove the mortar. Place a couple of the shrimp on top of the mofongo. Ladle the rest of the shrimp sauce around the mofongo. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- mortar and pestle or food processor
Ingredients
Shrimp Sauce
- 1/2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 tsp creole seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 large white onion diced
- 1/2 cup green and red bell pepper diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 small tomatoes diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
Mofongo
- 4 slices bacon diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 3 plantains unripened
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tsp creole seasoning
- 1/4 cup chicharon
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
Shrimp Sauce
- Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the shrimp. Season with creole seasoning. Sauté for 2 minutes a side. Remove from the pan.
- Add in the other tbsp of olive oil. Sauté the onions, bell peppers, and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, cumin, and smoked paprika. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Take off the heat. Stir in the shrimp. Set aside.
Mofongo
- Sauté the bacon in a small skillet until crispy. Drain the grease.
- Pour in 2 tbsp of olive oil and the garlic. Cook for 1 more minute and set aside.
- Heat up 1/2” of vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Fry the plantains in batches; 4 minutes a side.
- Drain the grease on paper towel. Season with creole seasoning.
- Take a 1/4 of the bacon and garlic and 1/4 of the chicharon and place in the bottom of a mortar.
- Give them a few smashes.
- Toss in a few of the fried plantains. Mash them with the bacon mix. Start adding in layers of the fried plantains, garlic bacon, and chicharon until they are all mashed together.
- Press the mofongo tight into the mortar to mold it’s shape. Alternatively, if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor, then mold into a dome shape in a small bowl.
- Place a large scoop of the shrimp sauce in the center of a plate.
Salvadoran Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Salvadoran Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Holy shitballs; this chicken is good! Marinated chicken thighs are seared then braised with caramelized onions and white wine. At the end, a couple tbsp of butter are thrown into the gravy, making it ever so rich. I’d drink a highball of the gravy if it wasn’t looked down upon. Quite honestly, this entire meal cost less than $5 to make but tastes like $25. Serve with potatoes.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in skinless
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, paprika, and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Marinate for 20 minutes.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium sized sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the sliced onions. Season with a little salt.
- Sauté the onions for 20 minutes to caramelize. They will cook down to half the amount. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat up the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the marinated chicken thighs skin side down.
- Brown for 5-6 minutes a side. Remove from the pan.
- Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add in the bay leaves.
- Add in the onions to the sauce. Place the chicken on top of the onions. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on medium low heat for 45 minutes.
- Take off the cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce.
- Take off the heat. Toss in 2 tbsp of cold butter into the center of the pan. Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top. Cover and let the butter melt to richen the sauce.
