Los Tuxtlas Smoked Pork Loin (Carne de Chango)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Glass, ceramic, or stainless steel dish for curing
• •Charcoal grill or smoker with a tight lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Banana leaf-lined terracotta platter for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim and salt

   Pat the pork loin dry. Leave a thin fat cap, about 1/4 inch, because lean pork loin dries out fast and nobody from Los Tuxtlas asked for dry meat. Score the fat cap in shallow lines without cutting into the flesh. Mix the salt and piloncillo, rub it over every side, and set the pork on a rack in the refrigerator while you prepare the adobo. The salt begins its work now, and the piloncillo helps the achiote crust brown instead of tasting dusty.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho pieces for 20 to 30 seconds per side, pressing them flat with a spatula until they darken slightly and smell sweet. Toast the chipotle meco for only 10 to 15 seconds per side. It is already smoked, so you are waking it up, not punishing it. Toast the cumin, allspice, cloves, and black peppercorns for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.

   If a chile turns black, throw it out. Burned chile makes bitter adobo, and there is no fixing that later. No me vengas con atajos.
3. 3

   Blend the adobo

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 20 minutes. Drain them. In a blender, combine the softened chiles, sour orange juice, achiote paste, garlic, Mexican oregano, toasted spices, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of the chile soaking liquid. Blend until completely smooth. The paste should be brick red, thick, and sharp from the sour orange. Reserve 1/4 cup of this clean adobo in a separate covered bowl for brushing during smoking.

4. 4

   Rub and cure

   Massage the remaining adobo into the pork, pushing it into the scored fat and coating every side. Set the pork in a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel dish. Do not use aluminum. The acid and achiote will fight with it and stain everything. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning once. This is a salt cure and adobo cure, not a pink curing salt recipe. The time matters because the flavor has to move into the meat, not sit on the outside like paint.

5. 5

   Dry the surface

   Take the pork out of the refrigerator 45 minutes before smoking. Scrape off any heavy puddles of adobo, but leave the red coating on the meat. Rub the softened manteca over the surface. La manteca es el sabor, and here it also protects a lean cut while the wood does its work. The surface should feel tacky before it goes into the smoker.

6. 6

   Prepare the fire

   Set a smoker or covered charcoal grill for indirect cooking at 225F to 250F. Add guava or orange wood if you can find it. Oak works. Mesquite is northern cattle country and too aggressive for this Veracruz adobo. Put a drip pan under the grate and keep the fire steady. Cooking is work, not decoration.

7. 7

   Smoke the loin

   Place the pork fat side up away from direct heat. Close the lid and smoke for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, brushing once after the first hour with the reserved clean adobo. Start checking the internal temperature at 1 hour 45 minutes. Pull the pork when the center reaches 145F. The outside should be deep red-brown, glossy in places from the manteca, and firm when pressed. Do not cook it until it shreds. This is loin, not shoulder.

   Use a thermometer. Guessing with pork loin is how people ruin good meat and then blame the recipe.
8. 8

   Rest in leaves

   Pass the banana leaves over a gas flame or hot comal until they turn glossy and flexible. Lay the hoja santa leaves on the banana leaf, set the smoked pork on top, and fold the leaf loosely around it. Rest for 20 minutes. The leaves give the meat that Veracruz acuyo perfume without hiding the smoke.

9. 9

   Slice and serve

   Slice the pork across the grain into 1/4-inch pieces. Set the slices on a banana leaf-lined clay platter and spoon any resting juices over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature with black beans de olla cooked with epazote, warm corn tortillas, and lime halves. The meat should slice cleanly, chew tender, and leave achiote on your fingers. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy pork loin, not tenderloin. Tenderloin is too small and dries out before the smoke gives you the right crust. Ask for the fat cap to stay on.
• •Use chile chipotle meco or chipotle seco, not canned chipotle in adobo. The canned version brings tomato, sugar, and vinegar that belong to another preparation.
• •Naranja agria is the Veracruz answer here. If you cannot find sour orange, mix 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Use black beans with epazote on the table, not pinto beans. Pinto belongs more naturally to other regions. Veracruz kitchens know frijol negro.
• •Carne de chango is pork. The old name carries local history, but the dish on the table is smoked loin. Treat it with respect and don't turn it into a joke.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be blended up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated in a covered jar.
• •The pork should cure at least 12 hours and no more than 24 hours. Around 18 hours is the clean point. Longer makes the texture too tight.
• •The smoked pork keeps refrigerated for 4 days. Slice it cold and serve at room temperature, or rewarm gently in a covered skillet with a spoonful of water and a little manteca.
• •Chill leftovers within 2 hours. Good cooking includes not making your family sick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)