Yucatan-Style
Pit Pork with Hatch Green Chile Cornbread and Pickled
Red Onions
By Cy Yontz - Rio Grill,
Carmel, CA
Serves 4
Ingredients for the Yucatan-style
pit pork:
3/4 C crumbled achiote paste (about
4 oz.)
3 T juice of Seville orange (about 1 orange)
1 t white wine vinegar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t dried Mexican oregano
1 3-lb. boneless pork shoulder roast (pork butt)
1 large banana leaf (about 4' long)
3 medium yellow onions, quartered
1/2 C water
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Procedures:
Combine achiote paste, orange juice, vinegar, garlic and
oregano in a medium, nonreactive bowl and stir until well
blended. Generously season pork on all sides with salt
and freshly ground black pepper. Place in bowl with achiote
mixture and turn to coat well, rubbing spice mixture into
crevices. Cover and place in refrigerator to marinate
for 12-24 hours.
When
ready to cook pork, remove from refrigerator and let come
to room temperature. Meanwhile, heat oven to 300∞
F and arrange rack in middle.
Remove
center core from banana leaf and run leaf under hot tap
water until it becomes soft and pliable. Pat dry with
paper towels and cut in half horizontally.
Overlap
the two pieces of leaf so that they roughly form a rectangle
about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. Place pork on banana
leaves, fold in left and right sides, and roll up like
a burrito to completely encase pork.
In
a Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot with a
tight-fitting lid, arrange onions evenly on bottom to
form a layer. Place pork on top of onions with seam of
banana leaves facing down and pour water into bottom of
pan. Cover pan and place in oven to cook until pork is
fork tender, about 3ñ1/2 hours.
Ingredients
for the Hatch green chile cornbread:
1 C yellow cornmeal
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 C melted shortening
1 C sour cream
1 8-oz. can cream-style corn
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 C cheddar cheese or Mexican blend of cheeses, shredded
1/2 fire-roasted New Mexico Hatch green chile pepper,
chopped
Procedure:
Heat oven to 375† F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch skillet; place
over medium heat while preparing cornbread batter. Combine
cornmeal, salt and baking soda; blend well. Stir in melted
shortening. Add sour cream, corn and eggs, blending well.
Spoon one-half of batter into greased hot skillet. Sprinkle
batter with cheese and chile peppers; cover with remaining
batter. Bake cornbread at 375∞ F for 35ñ40
minutes, until browned.
Ingredients
for the pickled red onions:
2 red onions, peeled, sliced into rings
2 C lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 C sugar
2 T salt
Salsa
Procedure:
In a nonreactive sauce pan, bring lime juice, sugar and
salt to a boil. Turn off heat and add onion rings. Stir
onion rings for 2ñ3 minutes, then strain juice,
place onions on a tray and place in refrigerator to cool
down, approximately 10 minutes.
To
Serve:
Place meat in a bowl and, using two forks, shred into
bite-size pieces. Add onions and pan juices and stir to
mix thoroughly. Serve with Hatch green chile cornbread,
pickled red onion and a favorite salsa.
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