Cochinita Pibil (Mayan Pulled Pork)

November 1st marks the first anniversary of the inscription of Mexican Cuisine in the UNESCO, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Amazingly, the nomination was french, and mainly because of two very specific regions: Michoacán and Yucatán.

I'm dedicating this month to my favorite traditional mexican dishes, starting with the one you may have already heard about: Cochinita Pibil.

This amazing slow-roasted pork recipe comes from the no less amazing state of Yucatán. Here, the cuisine is still heavily mayan, seamlessly incorporating imported spices with local ingredients to make the most unique fusion food you'll ever taste.

Cochinita means suckling pig, but pork shoulder will do. There's still some confusion, even among mexicans, regarding the meaning of "pibil". Most people will tell you it refers to the seasonings involved. Those people are fucking stupid. The mayans had a sort of underground oven, similar to the spits used in hawaii to cook their pork, called a "Pib". So pibil means oven-roasted. There, you can school the shit of some random mexican now.

Here's a Pib, heating up

We've already discussed achiote, so I'm not delving any further there. Ideally we'd make this dish from scratch, grinding our own spices, but time constraints and ingredient availability tend to fuck with my plans, so I'm teaching you how to make it using store-bought achiote paste. Sue me.

These are our stars: OJ, achiote paste, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, all-spice and dried chiles.

Remember that time when I taught you how to make Steamed fish with Achiote Sauce and you only used 1/3 of the paste? Yeah? well, you'll need the remaining 2/3 here. So put about 2 Oz of Achiote paste, 1 cup OJ, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon whole allspice, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and about 3 tablespoons sea salt in the blender. Add as many dried chiles as your pussy-ass digestive tract can tolerate and blend the shit out of it to get a very aromatic paste.

And again, remember: the stains won't come off, ever

Remember you bought a whole bag of banana leaves for that fish recipe and only used 6? Well, take'em out of the freezer, soak'em in hot water and use them to line a large crock pot. I know, this should be oven-roasted, but cut me some slack, its fucking Hermosillo, remember? We're still above 100°F. Shit, fuckers here die, go to Hell and come back for their blankets. Make sure the leaves overlap and hang to the sides so you can fold them over the pot later.

 

 Place 8 lbs of pork shoulder cut into 2 in cubes into the pot. Empty the contents of the blender over the meat, and fold the leaves over the whole thing. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Crank it up to high and ignore it for at least 3 hours. The meat will be ready when it falls apart on its own.

 

Leave it the fuck alone. I'm serious. Step away.

Serve it like any other kind of pulled pork. On its own with rice, in sandwiches, make fucking tacos, whatever. Just make sure you top it with an ass load of the Mighty Crohn and prepare to have your mind blown the fuck away.

Look at this beautiful motherfucker. Look at it!

See? LOTS of Crohn

Sorry for the stained plate, I'm evidently not a pro

Pairing:
This one's a tough bitch. The flavors are agressive, and often in contrast to each other. You have the acidity of the vinegar, the mustard-like flavor of the achiote, the sweetness from the oranges, the earthiness and warmth of cinnamon and the testicle-developing heat from the habaneros.

A very neophite-friendly option would be Chardonnay. The grapes themselves are quite neutral, and while most Chardonnays are fruity, with notes of citrus and green apple, much of its flavor comes from the terroir. I'd suggest a Californian Oak Aged Chardonnay, like L.A Cetto Valle de Guadalupe. 

For decades, Chardonnay was confused with Pinot Blanc and Chenin Blanc, so both would also be apropriate. Monte Xanic Chenin Blanc Cosecha Tardía is a very nice, slightly sweet wine that can carry on all the way down to desert.

If Beer ir your poison of choice, there really are no wrong choices. Honestly, the dish is so complex in its flavors, you can either go for harmony or contrast and still win. Just stay away from the light shit and you'll be fine.

Printer Friendly Version:
Cochinita Pibil (Mayan Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork)
Serves 8:

2 Oz Achiote Paste
1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons sea salt
5 morita chiles.
8 lbs pork shoulder, no fat trimmed, cubed
Banana leaves.
Crohn, lots of delicious Crohn

1. Blend the first 9 ingredients together into a paste
2. Line a large crock-pot with banana leaves and place the cubed pork in it
3. Bathe it with your sauce. Fondle it with pleasure.
4. Cover tightly with alluminum foil and cook it on high for 3 hours. Check for doneness.
5. Serve with refried black beans (I cannot stress this enough: BLACK beans, motherfucker), corn tortillas and Crohn.
6. Fucking stay Awesome, you Magnificent Bastard.
7. Help a homie out, leave a comment.

 

Banana leaf-Wrapped Steamed Basa Pibil and Plantain-stuffed Poblano Peppers

So here's a real red herring for all you motherfucking haters out there. I cooked up a dish that includes most latin american stereotypes into one plate, is garnished with The Mighty Crohn, and still manages to pass as genuine Nouvelle Cuisine Mexicaine. Fuck, I'm awesome.

If you're not familiar with Achiote (Bixa orellana), it's probably because you've only seen it used as a natural food coloring, annato. Achiote was introduced to the Americas by the Spanish early in the 17th century, and was quickly adopted by pretty much every one since. It's a small, deep red, inedible fruit, that contains an oily seed that is pressed or boiled to extract its flavors.

Apart from its characteristic deep red color, Achiote is appreciated for its bitter, pungent taste, akin to some types of mustard. You can find it in any Hispanic grocery store. Hell, I found it in France, so it shouldn't be a problem.

This is it. You will most likely find it in paste form.

Take 30 g (about 1 Oz) of Achiote paste and put in the blender with a cup of orange juice, a tablespoon of tomato paste, salt, pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar. This is a very basic Recaudo Rojo, and you can use it to baste any thing you want.

Remember, annato is used as a coloring. The stains NEVER come off

Set this aside and start working on the side dish: Plantain-stuffed Poblanos with goat cheese:

Take 6 large poblano peppers and fire-roast them carefully until they're completely blackened and blistered, taking care not to over burn any of the flesh. Dunk them in an ice water bath and, as soon as they're cool to touch, peel them carefully and set them aside. This can be done up to 48 hours ahead. Whole peppers can be frozen for 3 months.

Sometimes, you may find these frozen whole. These are acceptable substitutes

Under no circumstances are you allowed to buy them canned.

While the chiles cool, take 3 plantains. Plantains are not bananas, but a close ancestor of the ubiquitous Cavendish variety we eat every day. They are much tougher than bananas and taste like sweet potatoes when they ripen. You need these to look like they're spoiled, otherwise they will taste no diferent than starchy potatoes

I know they look like turds, but trust me, they're delicious

See that lovely flesh? not turd-like at all

Peel them and chop them roughly. Boil them in abundant salted water until they come apart. Watch the pot for overflowing foam. Drain and add 2 Tbsps butter and 1/2 cup milk, salt and pepper, and stir them to make the puree.

I read somewhere that this is called "Fru-fru" in some places in Africa... WTF?

When the peppers are cool, open a slit in their flat side. Don't be a pussy and gut'em. Be a man and keep the veins and seeds. They taste awesome and offer an interesting contrast to the semisweet puree. Stuff each pepper with 3 tablespoons of the puree and 2 tablespoons of your favorite goat cheese, in this case, chevre. Keep them warm in the oven.

I know what you're thinking, you perv... ¬¬

 

Ashes completely optional. You can also try Feta and Manchego

 

Now the fun part. These are banana leaves. They can often be found fresh or frozen in Asian and Hispanic supermarkets. They smell like green banana peels and lend food a pleasant and unique flavor. Place a large piece over a foil sheet, place a fish filet (in this case, Basa, a type of vietnamese catfish) on top of it, douse with 4 Tbsps of Recaudo Rojo and roll. Then fold the banana leaf in thirds over the fish and wrap it tightly with aluminum foil.

Make sure your packets are perfectly sealed and place them on a hot skillet over a medium flame for 15-20 minutes. Test for doneness by pricking with a toothpick, the fish should be soft. If your packets are not tightly sealed, all the liquid will boil and escape and burn and you'll look like an asshole. You don't want that, do you?

Serve along the stuffed peppers and some rice and beans to instigate the haters. Top with abundant Crohn. This is vital. Crohn brings the whole thing together.

Printer Friendly Version:
Steamed Catfish Pibil with Pickled Radish and Plantain-stuffed Poblanos (Pescado Pibil con Escabeche de Rábano y Chiles Poblanos rellenos de Plátano Macho)
Serves 6

For the fish:
6 banana leaves
6 large basa fillets
30g achiote paste
1 Tbsp thinck tomato paste
1 cup orange juice
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Lots of Crohn

For the peppers:
6 large poblano peppers, roasted and cleaned
3 medium ripe plantains, chopped
2 Tbsps unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
12 oz chevre

• Start by blending the achiote, OJ, tomato paste, vinegar, salt and pepper. Set this aside.
• Boil the plantains in salted water for 20 minutes, drain and mash with butter and milk. Adjust seasoning to taste
• Stuff the peppers with 3 Tbsps of plantain puree and 2 oz of goat cheese each, set aside.
• Lay your fish fillet on a banana leaf. Douse with the Recaudo Rojo and roll. Fold the banana leaf over the fish and wrap the whole thing tightly in aluminum foil
• Grill the packets for 20 minutes over a medium flame
• Serve topped with abundant Crohn
• Be FUCKING AWESOME
• And, for the love of Odin, leave a comment!