Recipe Background
Well, yee-haw, folks. It doesn't get all that much better than Prairie Pork, does it? It's pork worthy of a stew, that's how tender and delicious this pork tastes! Each piece of pork is coated in an ultra-spicy, ultra-aromatic sauce and pan-seared in bacon fat. Can it get tastier than that? We think not. Serve up Prairie Pork in tortillas or eat it with rice or just by itself, because this pork has a frontier of flavor all its own.
Well, yee-haw, folks. It doesn't get all that much better than Prairie Pork, does it? It's pork worthy of a stew, that's how tender and delicious this pork tastes! Each piece of pork is coated in an ultra-spicy, ultra-aromatic sauce and pan-seared in bacon fat. Can it get tastier than that? We think not. Serve up Prairie Pork in tortillas or eat it with rice or just by itself, because this pork has a frontier of flavor all its own.
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 16 ancho chiles seeded and stemmed
- 1 cup water plus more, to taste
- 1 large white onion quartered
- 10 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 (3-pound) pork shoulder boneless, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat or vegetable oil
Optional, for serving:
- flour tortillas to taste
- cotija cheese to taste, crumbled
- cilantro leaves to taste
Directions
- In a large saucepan, add the dried chiles and enough of the extra water to cover them by 1 inch.
- Bring the chiles to a boil.
- Place a lid on the saucepan, reduce the heat, and allow the chiles to simmer, about 10 minutes.
- Drain the chiles.
- In a blender, add the chiles, the onions, the garlic cloves, the oregano, the cumin, the allspice, and 1 cup of the remaining water.
- Cover the blender and purée until smooth.
- In a bowl, add the pork pieces and 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and toss to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large, ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the bacon fat.
- Add the pork pieces to the hot bacon fat and cook, while stirring, until the pork pieces are browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding.
- Add the chile purée to the pork and stir to coat.
- Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven to roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Taste the pork for seasoning and add the extra salt, as needed.
- Serve with the tortillas, the cotija cheese, and the cilantro.
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