Recipe Trevor Baca Recipe Trevor Baca

RECIPE: Costillas de Puerco al Chipotle (Pork Ribs in Chipotle Adobo)

At work, one of my colleagues asked me to develop a recipe using Xilli Chipotles Adobados. The resident Mexican at Food52, I knew exactly what to do. This recipe incorporates three chiles, all very distinct in flavor. You can sub in a wide variety of meats, like beef, pork butt, and lamb. Serve this with fresh tortillas and avocado slices.

At work, one of my colleagues asked me to develop a recipe using Xilli Chipotles Adobados. The resident Mexican at Food52, I knew exactly what to do. This recipe incorporates three chiles, all very distinct in flavor. You can sub in a wide variety of meats, like beef, pork butt, and lamb. Serve this with fresh tortillas and avocado slices.


Ingredients:

  • 3 Xilli Chipotles Adobados

  • 3 allspice berries

  • 2 cloves

  • 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 3 Guajillo chiles, seeds and stem removed

  • 3 Cascabel chiles, seeds and stem removed

  • 2 garlic cloves, skin on

  • 1 tablespoon oil

  • 2 1/2 pounds Pork Short Ribs, cut into pieces that fit the width of your Dutch oven

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. Remove the stem from the Xilli Chipotles Adobados and place them in a blender with the next six ingredients.

  3. Over a clay comal , toast the dried guajillo and cascabel chiles until fragrant (roughly 1 minute, depending on the dryness of the chiles). Take care not to burn them, or the sauce will be bitter. Once toasted, soak the chiles in water for 15 minutes.

  4. Roast the garlic, skin on, until dark spots appear. Peel the cloves and add to the blender.

  5. Blend everything together until smooth, adding water if necessary.

  6. In a large Dutch oven, sear the ribs until browned over med-high heat.

  7. Strain the blended sauce through a mesh sieve (optional) and over the ribs being sure to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven with a spatula. Pour water into the dutch oven until the meat is submerged.

  8. Cook with lid on, for 2 to 4 hours, depending on how tender you want the meat.

  9. Once done, remove ribs and slice. Serve with fresh tortillas and plenty of sauce over the top.

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Recipe Trevor Baca Recipe Trevor Baca

RECIPE: Tacos de Chilorio

Think carnitas, but spicy and luxurious. Chilorio is a braised pork from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The garlic, chiles, and vinegar act as a preservative for the meat which is often served in open air markets, an alternative to refrigeration. The meat is slowly cooked until it falls from the bone and then fried in a chile adobo that packs a flavorful punch.

Think carnitas, but spicy and luxurious. Chilorio is a braised pork from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The garlic, chiles, and vinegar act as a preservative for the meat which is often served in open air markets, an alternative to refrigeration. The meat is slowly cooked until it falls from the bone and then fried in a chile adobo that packs a flavorful punch. If you make enough of it (in the tradition of preserving the meat) the chilorio accompanies scrambled eggs and fried potatoes the next morning.

Serves 6

Tacos de chilorio

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 pounds pork roast, cut into 2 inch pieces

  • 3 tablespoons lard OR vegetable oil

  • 3 ancho chiles

  • 3 guajillos chiles

  • 1/2 cup orange juice

  • 4 garlic cloves

  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

  • 1 teaspoon cumin

  • 1 tablespoon vinegar

  • salt to taste

  • radish, sliced in allumettes

  • cilantro

  • fresh tortillas

Method:

  1. Place the pork in a large heavy bottomed pot and cover with 4 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and put the lard in the pot, allowing it to slip off the spoon. Allow the water to evaporate and the meat to caramelize slightly. Shred and break up the meat in bite size pieces.

  2. While the meat cooks, heat a comal over medium heat and toast the chiles. Once fragrant and a darker shade, but not burnt, reconstitute the seeded and deveined chiles in water for 30 minutes.

  3. In a blender combine the chiles, orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, vinegar and blend until smooth, with visual red chile skin pieces showing.

  4. Raise the heat on the meat and pour the chile mixture over. Allow the sauce to season the meat for a few minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve the meat on fresh tortillas and garnish with radish, cilantro, and salsa de chile de arbol.

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Recipe Trevor Baca Recipe Trevor Baca

RECIPE: Pozole

Pozole is a dish served all over Mexico and has many variations. My family makes this nearly every Holiday season and the hearty stew is sure to bring warmth back to a cold winter day.

POZOLE

/po'sole/

Classical Nahuatl:

Noun

  1. hominy, pozolli

Pozole is a dish served all over Mexico and has many variations. My family makes this nearly every Holiday season and the hearty stew is sure to bring warmth back to a cold winter day. My recipe takes the best parts from my aunt's version of pozole and has been refined using French cooking techniques. The double straining through a fine mesh strainer makes all the difference in the broth. You can use dried or canned hominy, but if you want more control over the texture of the corn, spend the extra effort in soaking the dried kernels over night.

Pozole rojo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

FOR THE POZOLE

  • 2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 4 large pieces

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 1/2 white onion

  • 5 garlic cloves

  • 3 guajillo chiles

  • 2 ancho chiles

  • 3 puya chiles

  • 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 cup dried hominy (presoaked overnight) OR 1 8oz can prepared

  • salt to taste

FOR THE GARNISH:

  • lime wedges

  • shredded cabbage

  • sliced radish

  • cilantro

 

Radish_rabano

GARNISH!

radish / rabano

Method:

  1. Place the pork, bay leaves, and 1/4 of the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic in a pot. Cover the meat with water (roughly 8 cups) and bring to a boil. Skim the impurities off the surface of the boiling water and reduce the heat to a steady simmer. Cook for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until the meat is able to pull apart.

  2. While the meat cooks, toast the chiles on a comal for roughly 1 minute until fragrant and smoking, but not burnt. (The soup will be bitter if the chiles are burnt.) Soak the chiles in water, cover and allow the chiles to reconstitute for 15 minutes. Deseed and de-stem the chiles and place in blender with 1/4 onion, 2 garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, and 1 cup of water. Blend for three minutes and then pass through a mesh strainer. Heat the olive oil in a pot on low heat and cook the chile paste for roughly 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a dark shade of red.

  3. Remove the meat from the stock and chop into bite size cubes. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer and then a second time through a fine mesh strainer. Add the stock to the chile mixture and stir to blend. Add the pork and hominy and heat on low until the oil seperates out. Salt to taste. Serve with garnishes and fresh tortillas.

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Recipe Trevor Baca Recipe Trevor Baca

RECIPE: Tacos de Pollo Adobado

An adobo in Mexico consists of a couple staples with variations: chiles, garlic, spices. It can be used as a cooking liquid for braising, a marinade or a sauce over enchiladas. This adobo has three chiles, vinegar, and spices and can be applied to any meat you'd like.

An adobo in Mexico consists of a couple staples with variations: chiles, garlic, spices. It can be used as a cooking liquid for braising, a marinade or a sauce over enchiladas. Technically speaking, a marinade has vinegar which acts as (traditionally since the Renaissance) a flavor enhancer and preservative of the meat being marinated. This adobo has three chiles, vinegar, and spices and can be applied to any meat you'd like. Be creative with your adobos by adding different chiles, variations on spices, chocolate etc. I like to charr the meat over a grill or sear in a pan so as to bring out that smokey chile flavor.  

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

  • 5 cascabel chiles
  • 2 pasilla chiles
  • 2 guajillo chiles
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 2 cloves
  • 4 whole allspice berries
  • 1 inch piece canela (Mexican cinnamon)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 cup water
  • salt to taste
  • 2 chicken breasts ( or other meat if desired)
  • 1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 fresh lime, sliced into wedges
  • cilantro, chopped

Method:

  1. Heat the comal to low-medium heat and toast the chiles until fragrant and a visually darker shade. Place in a bowl of cool water for 30 minutes.
  2. Place chiles, garlic, vinegar, cloves, allspice, canela, cumin, water, salt in blender and blend until smooth, roughly 3 minutes.
  3. Pour the adobo over the meat and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  4. Heat the grill or pan to high heat and sear the meat until cooked (160 degrees for chicken) and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces for tacos and salt accordingly. Arrange over fresh tortillas and garnish with thinly sliced white onion, fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve with rice and beans.

Chiles:

Front: Cascabel

Right: Guajillo

Rear: Pasilla

Tacos de Pollo Adobado

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RECIPE: Cochinita Pibil Tacos

Cochinita Pibil is an exquisite dish from the Yucatan Peninsula, a region whose cuisine is so different from the rest of the country, it deserves its own category. Cochinita means a suckling pig in Spanish and Pibilis Mayan for cooked underground. This underground cooking method is one of the oldest forms of roasting meat safely and every culinary tradition has some form it. I'm not sure what the legality of digging a pit and cooking a pig underground in New York City is, but I don't want to run the risk, so this recipe is for an oven. This is a great recipe for staying home on Sundays, letting the meat slowly render out its flavor.

Cochinita Pibil is an exquisite dish from the Yucatan Peninsula, a region whose cuisine is so different from the rest of the country, it deserves its own category. Cochinita means a suckling pig in Spanish and Pibil is Mayan for cooked underground. This underground cooking method is one of the oldest forms of roasting meat safely and every culinary tradition has some form it. I'm not sure what the legality of digging a pit and cooking a pig underground in New York City is, but I don't want to run the risk, so this recipe is for an oven. This is a great recipe for staying home on Sundays, letting the meat slowly render out its flavor.

Serves 6.

Cochinita pibil tacos

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons achiote / annato seeds
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seed
  • 6 whole allspice berries
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 5 cloves
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 - 3 habanero peppers
  • 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • salt
  • Banana leaves (optional)
  • 3lbs pork butt or shoulder, cut into large pieces
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Method:

FOR THE MEAT:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheiht.
  2. Put achiote, cumin seed, allspice, peppercorns, and cloves in blender and grind into a coarse powder. Achiote is a very tough seed and needs ample time to break down in the blender.
  3. Add garlic, habaneros, orange juice and 1/2 cup of vinegar to blender and salt to taste. The habaneros can be too spicy for some, so be careful here on the quantity. Blend everything for roughly 4 minutes, or until most of the garlic and spices are broken up.
  4. Line a dutch-oven with the banana leaves, if using, place pork pieces inside and pour the blended spice mixture over the meat. If the meat is not 3/4 submerged in the liquid add water. Cover with more banana leaves and put into the oven. Roast for 4 hours or until the meat is falling apart and the fat has rendered out.
  5. Allow the meat to cool slightly before shredding and assembling the tacos.

FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS:

  1. Slice the onion thinly and habaneros thinly.
  2. In a non-reactive bowl (I use glass) place the onion, oregano, salt, habanero. Pour vinegar over the onions and mix by hand. Let this chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. 

Assemble the tacos using handmade tortillas on a comal. Garish with the pickled red onions. Serve with black beans and white rice.

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Recipe Trevor Baca Recipe Trevor Baca

RECIPE: Puerco en Chile Colorado

This family recipe hails from the northern states of Mexico (Chihuaha, Coahuila, Durango) and is often seen on many restaurant menus in the US. The cuisine of The North is much like the climate where the ingredients come from - sparse and simple.

This family recipe hails from the northern states of Mexico (Chihuaha, Coahuila, Durango) and is often seen on many restaurant menus in the US. The cuisine of The North is much like the climate where the ingredients come from - sparse and simple. The simplicity of the northern gastronomy is refreshing, and lends itself to a non-complicated cooking style allowing for more exploration with meat cuts, ingredients etc. Feel free to improvise with meat cuts - spare ribs would be excellent! 

guajillos

GUAJILLOS

Submerge the chiles in water and bring to a boil, lowering the temp to a slow simmer for 10 minutes.

Cooking time: approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 7 dried guajillo chiles
  • 2 puya chiles
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
  • 1 tablespoon lard
  • 1.5lbs of boneless pork, cut into 2 inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • Salt to taste
  • Sliced avocado

Tortillas de harina en comal.

Method:

  1. Toast the chiles on a comal over medium height, until they are fragrant and a darker shade of brown. Don't let them burn, as the entire dish will have a bitter taste. 
  2. Submerge the chiles in water and bring to a boil, lowering the temp to a slow simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the chiles and put into a blender with the garlic, oregano, cumin and 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth.
  3. While the chiles simmer, heat the lard in a large pot (I prefer cast iron) over medium-high heat and once smoking, sear the meat in batches (so as not to cool the pan) until the meat is browned. Add all the pork back to the pan. Lower the heat and sprinkle the flour over the meat, stirring constantly so that the flour doesn't burn.
  4. Raise the heat to medium and place a mesh strainer over the pot. Pour the blended chile mixture over the meat, straining out any thick chili skin pieces. Remove the strainer and pour 3 cups of water into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower to low-medium and let the sauce cook for 1 hour or until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally. 
  5. Garnish with sliced avocado. Serve with flour tortillas, beans and rice.
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