Tag: Mexican
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Tortas are one of my favorite sandwiches. The one I’m very partial to is the cubana torta at Los Ocampos in Saint Paul. It has breaded steak, chorizo with egg, ham, salchicha(thinly sliced hotdogs), and shredded chicken. Plus lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, onion, jalapeños, refried beans, and mayo. The sandwich is easily 2lbs. I can put it down like nothing.I wanted to make a somewhat simpler version at home. The tortas I made used slices of smoked pork leg that I had done up earlier in the day. I smeared some refried beans with chorizo on the bottom half of a bolio roll; mayo on the top. The sliced pork goes the beans, then topped with lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeños and carrots. You can additionally add cheese and avocado; but I think I have enough on mine.
Ingredients
- teleras or bolio rolls
- smoked pork leg thinly sliced
- refried beans with chorizo
- lettuce shredded
- tomatoes sliced
- mayonnaise
- pickled jalapeños and carrots
Instructions
- Slice the bread rolls in half. Tear out the insides of the bread.
- Spread the beans on the bottom half and the mayonnaise on the top half.
- Place the pork on top of the beans; followed by the tomato, lettuce, and pickled jalapeños and carrots.
Refried Beans with Chorizo
The musical fruit returns; now with chorizo added to these porky refried beans. These beans are a great accompaniment to any meal and makes a great dip. Use these beans as the base on your bread when making tortas.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/4 lb bulk chorizo
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans + bean broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the lard in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chorizo. Break up finely and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add in the beans with it’s broth. Mashed the beans to your desired consistency. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Smoked Pork Leg
Most people I feel aren’t very familiar with raw pork leg. Once cured and smoked, you may know it as ham. But the raw pork leg is a great cut that is really inexpensive and doesn’t deserve the neglect it gets. A whole pork leg is around 10-12lbs. You can usually find half legs at any grocery store if you don’t want 10lbs of pork. For smoking purposes, you will want to trim off the outer skin.The marinade is an oniony/garlicky blend with orange juice and vinegar acting as a tenderizer. Marinate the leg for 24 hours. If you are going to smoke the leg, it will need to rest in the refrigerator on a rack for 24 hours. If you are going to roast the pork leg, it will be ready to go. Smoke for about 5 hours in your smoker at 250 degrees. If roasting, bake for 2 1/2-3 hours at 350 degrees. Let your pork leg rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- food processor
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lb pork leg
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
Wood Chips
- 1/2 applewood
- 1/2 pecan
Instructions
- Dry toast the onions and garlic in a sauté pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Place the onions and garlic in a food processor along with the other marinade ingredients.
- Pulse until all of the ingredients are blended. The marinade doesn’t need to be puréed smooth. Semi-chunky is ok.
- Remove the outer skin of the pork leg.
- Place the pork leg in a gallon sized storage bag with the marinade. Marinate for 24 hours.
- Place the marinated pork leg on a rack. Allow to dry out in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the pork leg in the smoker.
- Smoke for 5 hours.
- Let the pork leg rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Refried Beans with Chorizo
Refried Beans with Chorizo
The musical fruit returns; now with chorizo added to these porky refried beans. These beans are a great accompaniment to any meal and makes a great dip. Use these beans as the base on your bread when making tortas.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/4 lb bulk chorizo
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans + bean broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the lard in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chorizo. Break up finely and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add in the beans with it’s broth. Mashed the beans to your desired consistency. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Achiote Pork Sandwich (Instant Pot)
Achiote Pork Sandwich (Instant Pot)
To continue on with this Yucatán kick, I made shredded pork in traditional pibil achiote marinade, but in an Instant Pot instead of banana leaves. While you won’t get the flavor that the banana leaves give, the Instant Pot is going to infuse the pibil marinade into the pork, making it flavorful and tender in a fraction of the time. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can prepare the pork in a crockpot or in the oven; low and slow.The sandwich part of this recipe consists of toasted telera or kaiser rolls; top side spread with mayo, bottom side with refried black beans. A heaping pile of the pork is layed upon the beans, then topped with sliced tomatoes, white onions, and cilantro. This pork also makes great tacos!
Equipment
- blender
- instant pot
Ingredients
Achiote Pork
- 4 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 1 1/2 cups orange juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 oz achiote paste
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 2 bay leaves
For the Sandwich
- Telera or Kaiser rolls toasted
- refried black beans
- tomatoes thinly sliced
- mayonnaise
- white onion thinly sliced
- cilantro
Instructions
- Place all of the marinade ingredients in a blender.
- Purée until smooth.
- Place the pork with all of the marinade in an Instant Pot. Turn the settings to pressure cook on high for 60 minutes. Place the cover on and push start.
- Release the pressure. Turn the function to Sauté on high.
- Cook the pork down for another 10-15 minutes until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. The pork should be shredded.
Sandwich Assembly
- Spread mayonnaise on the top half of the toasted roll and refried black beans on the bottom half.
- Place a healthy amount of the achiote pork on top of the beans. Top the pork off with sliced tomatoes, white onions, and cilantro.
