Tag: Mexican
Mexican style Chicken Livers and Onions
Mexican style Chicken Livers and Onions
What makes this delicious dish of livers and onions Mexican is that the chicken livers are not dredged in flour like every other liver and onion recipe. Beef or pork liver will also work well if you aren’t a fan of chicken livers. Make sure that the beef or pork liver is sliced to just under 1/2” thick. Regardless of what type of animal liver you use, the most important thing when making liver is to pat dry the outside as much as possible. Liver holds a lot of liquid. If you don’t want grease to spatter everywhere, you will be thorough in pat drying liver.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken livers
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp water
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1 serrano pepper halved
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves and black pepper into a paste. Add 1 tsp of water if too dry.
- Wash your chicken livers and pat dry. Add the garlic peppercorn paste to the Livers and marinate for 10 minutes.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and Serrano pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add in the chicken livers. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and Serrano pepper back in. Cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve with red rice.
Al Pastor
Al Pastor
The concept of al pastor was introduced to Mexicans in Puebla, Mexico by Lebanese immigrants. The Lebanese originally created tacos arebas, with thinly sliced lamb roasted upright on a spit, much the same way as shawarma. Mexicans adopted the concept, using marinated pork instead. The pork was roasted on the spit, sometimes with pineapple. Once the outside develops a charred crust, the al pastor is sliced off. The pork and pineapple gets served in corn tortillas with cilantro, onion, and a green salsa. Not much is better than this.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
- Blender or food processor
- deli slicer or sharp knife
- al pastor upright spit
- mandolin
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
Al Pastor Marinade
- 1 oz dried guajillo peppers
- 1 oz achiote paste
- 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp salt
Al Pastor
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 1 medium white onion
- 1 whole pineapple trimmed
Tacos
- corn tortillas
- white onion finely chopped
- cilantro chopped
- green salsa
Instructions
Al Pastor Marinade
- Grind the dried chilies, cumin, and cloves in a spice grinder.
- Add all marinade ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Purée until smooth.
- If you have a deli slicer, slice the pork shoulder 1/8”-1/4” thick. If you don’t have a deli slicer, place your pork shoulder in the freezer for an hour to firm up. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the pork.
- Place the sliced pork shoulder in a bowl.
- Marinate the pork for 3 days. Make sure every slice of pork gets covered in the marinade.
Al Pastor Assembly
- Place the al pastor spit on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 slices of the pork on the spit.
- Place several slices of onion on top.
- Repeat these steps until all of the pork is used.
- Place a trimmed pineapple on top of the pork.
- Roast the pork for 90 minutes. The internal temperature needs to read 160 degrees. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Taco Assembly
- Using a sharp knife, trim off pieces of the pork and pineapple.
Chicken and Rice
Chicken and Rice
Every Latin country has their own version of chicken and rice. This happens to be a simple Mexican variation. The recipe is pretty straight forward. The most important thing to do with this recipe is to keep the lid on the Dutch oven once the chicken pieces are added. Do not stir! Just let it be. You want to keep in all of the heat and moisture.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice rinsed
- 4 whole chicken legs cut apart
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup carrots cubed
- 3 green onion chopped
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 roma tomatoes
- cilantro
- 1 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, add the tomatoes, garlic, and water.
- Purée. Set aside.
- Pat your chicken dry. Season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat up cooking oil over medium high heat. Brown the chicken on each side for 6-7 minutes.
- Set the chicken aside.
- In the same Dutch oven, add the rice. Cook for a couple of minutes, scraping up any chicken bits with a wooden spoon.
- Add in the onion, carrot, and green onion. Cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add the tomato garlic purée. Stir, season with salt, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add in the chicken pieces, peas, and cilantro. Cover and cook for 10 minutes without stirring.
- Turn off the heat. Keep the cover on and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Eat this up!
