Ingredients:
- 3 pounds boneless pork loin
- 1 1/2 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
- 1 cup water
- 5 (about 55 grams) dried ancho chiles
- 1 1/2 cup of the chile soaking liquid (see below)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped vidalia onion
- 5 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 large dollops Gourmet Garden's® Parsley Paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or more to taste
- 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher or sea salt
- Flour tortillas warmed, optional
Directions:
Rinse the pork and cut into two inch chunks. Place into a cast iron pot. Barely cover with the orange juice and water, add a teaspoon of salt and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to low and let is simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off and the meat is thoroughly cooked and has rendered most of its fat.
Rinse the pork and cut into two inch chunks. Place into a cast iron pot. Barely cover with the orange juice and water, add a teaspoon of salt and set over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to low and let is simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off and the meat is thoroughly cooked and has rendered most of its fat.
It is okay if there is still a lot of liquid left. Remove the meat to a bowl and turn the liquid up to boil until it is reduced to a thick broth. Strain into a cup for later.
Whilst the pork is cooking, set a kettle to boil. Remove the stems from the chiles, make a slit down their sides and remove their seeds and veins. Place them in a bowl, cover them with boiling hot water, and let them sit and rehydrate for about 15 minutes. Do not throw out the soaking liquid!
Place the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of their soaking liquid in the blender along with the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, cumin, black pepper, vinegar, and puree until smooth.
Once the meat is ready, place it in a bowl along with any remaining cooking broth. Once it is cool enough to handle, shred it with your hands or with two forks.
In the same pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Pour in the chile sauce and let it season, simmering it for 4 to 5 minutes.
Then toss in the shredded meat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it cook, stirring often, until the meat has absorbed most of the chile sauce, which will have thickened, seasoned and changed to a darker color. It will take about 20 minutes.
Taste for salt and add more if need be.
To serve (the way I liked them), take a warm flour tortilla and smear it with mashed avocado, seasoned with salt and a bit of lime. Top with Chilorio, spreading it out across the avocado. Roll into a burrito.
Myrtle's Note: I tweaked this a bit. I upped the cumin and garlic and changed the type of onion. I also swapped fresh parsley for Gourmet Garden's® fresh Parsley Paste. And I tilted the orange juice/water ratio just a tad. Wild, I know, for a first time trial of a recipe. But I know that Pati Jinich writes excellent recipes that can handle slight tweaks. The Chilorio was really awesome. It made me think of Mexican food and barbecue all at once. I just adored it.
Yield: 8 servings of two burritas.
