Friday, February 13, 2009

TFF Mexican Pork Chili



I decided to try this Mexican Pork Chili for my Tyler Florence Fridays group. It was so good and filling. I had a few problems along the way with finding Tomatillas. They were not at our grocery store. Maybe they are out of season? The pork chili turned out great without roasting my own. I found a Tomatila Chili Verde at Traders Joes and substituted that in its place! I loved how the roast pork shredded apart and melded into the soup. This was awesome with sour cream, crisp fried corn tortillas and shredded cheese. I left off the cilantro this time around. My husband was on a work trip and I had this ready when he got home last night. It was quite an enjoyable dinner together.
Mexican Pork Chili
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
2 hr 30 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted fennel seeds, ground
3 tablespoons ground cumin
Extra-virgin olive oil
15 whole tomatillos, husked
3 poblanos
2 white onions, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
2 limes, halved
1 big bunch fresh cilantro
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup masa harina, to tighten it up
Chili bar toppings:
Crispy fried tortilla strips, fresh corn tortillas cut into strips and deep fried in vegetable oil
Mexican crema, store-bought with lime zest
Shaved radishes, radishes shaved vertically on a mandoline
Crumbled queso fresco
2 limes, each cut into 8 wedges
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Season the pork shoulder with salt, pepper, fennel and cumin. Take a large roasting dish and place over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count of olive oil and sear pork shoulder all over until golden brown on the outside, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add vegetables, spreading out tomatillos, poblanos, onion, garlic and bay leaf around the seared pork shoulder. Drizzle with olive oil, squeeze lime juice all over and season with salt and pepper. Cover the whole tray with aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the pork is falling apart. Remove from oven, set the pork aside and pull apart. Rake all the other ingredients into a blender (a bit at a time) with the bunch of fresh cilantro and process until smooth. Pour into a large Dutch oven. Set over medium heat and add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and whisk in masa harina to thicken the sauce up. Fold in shredded pork shoulder and season with salt and pepper to finish. Serve with toppings.

7 comments:

Donna-FFW said...

This sure does look tasty. Nice choice. Glad you both enjoyed it!

Megan said...

Great looking recipe - I'd like to try that one.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Love all the spices in this one--it looks yummy!

Michelle said...

I love the fried tortilla garnish. It snowed again last night and your chili looks so good right now.

Joanne said...

tomatillos ARE really hard to find. The only place I've ever seen them are at a local co-op, whole foods, and the summer farmer's market. Some stores sell canned ones, but this looks great nonetheless!

Jenny said...

I like the idea of this one, but also likely could not find tomatillos. Love the toppings.

Sarah said...

We saw this recipe on some special before the Super Bowl and Aaron has been craving it ever since. We're going to try it sometime soon! I'm glad you've already tried it and that it's as good as it looked! =)

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