Pan Compuesto Coleto de Comitán

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart olla de barro or heavy pot for the beans
• •5-quart heavy pot for simmering the pork
• •Wide skillet for refrying frijol colorado
• •Cast iron comal for warming pan francés
• •Small clay cazuela for the zanahoria en escabeche

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the beans

   Drain the soaked frijol colorado and put it in an olla with the half onion, 3 garlic cloves, epazote, and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a steady simmer and cook until the beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on the bean. Add 1 teaspoon salt only after the skins begin to soften. Frijol colorado should taste earthy and full, not washed out.

2. 2

   Cook the pork

   Put the pork leg in a heavy pot with the half onion, 4 garlic cloves, bay leaves, Mexican oregano, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water to barely cover. Simmer gently for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until the pork pulls apart with two forks. Keep the bubbles calm. Boiling hard makes dry meat, and dry pierna has no business inside pan francés.

3. 3

   Make the escabeche

   Heat the aceite de maíz in a small cazuela or saucepan. Add the carrots, sliced onion, chile jalapeño, and crushed garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, just until the onion starts to soften. Add the vinegar, water, oregano, bay leaves, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until the carrot bends but still keeps its bite. Let it cool in the liquid. The carrot should cut through the fat of the beans and pork. That is its job.

4. 4

   Refry the beans

   Remove the onion, garlic, and epazote from the cooked beans. Reserve 1 cup of bean broth. Melt 3 tablespoons manteca de cerdo in a wide skillet and cook the chopped onion until translucent. Add the beans and mash them into the lard, adding bean broth little by little until they spread like a thick paste. La manteca es el sabor. If the beans are stiff, the bread tears. If they are watery, the sandwich collapses.

5. 5

   Shred the pork

   Lift the pork from its broth and shred it while still warm. Strain and reserve 1/2 cup of the broth. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon manteca in a skillet, add the shredded pork, and moisten it with the reserved broth. Cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the edges pick up a little color but the meat stays juicy. Taste for salt. The pork has to stand up to bread, beans, mayonnaise, and cheese.

6. 6

   Warm the bread

   Split the pan francés rolls without cutting all the way through. Warm them cut side down on a comal until the edges crisp lightly and the inside feels tender. Use small rolls. Comitán's pan compuesto is not a long northern sub. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

7. 7

   Spread the base

   Open each roll and spread a generous layer of refried frijol colorado on both cut sides. Do this while the bread is warm so the beans grip the crumb. This is the foundation. Put the beans first or the rest slides around like it has no education.

8. 8

   Fill the rolls

   Add a mound of pierna deshebrada to each roll. Spoon mayonnaise over the pork, then scatter queso añejo on top. Add tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and plenty of pickled carrot with a little of the pickled onion. Do not drown the bread in escabeche liquid. You want brightness, not sogginess.

9. 9

   Serve right away

   Serve the panes compuestos on a clay platter with extra zanahoria en escabeche in a cazuelita. They should be eaten while the bread is still warm and the beans are soft. This is supper from a Chiapas cenaduría, practical and exact. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for small pan francés, the Chiapas style if your bakery knows it. If you only find bolillos, choose short 4-inch ones with a thin crust and tender crumb. A long baguette or a northern sub roll changes the dish.
• •Frijol colorado from Chiapas is ideal. If you cannot find it, small red beans or pinto beans will work, but understand the compromise: the color and earthy sweetness will be different.
• •The mayonnaise belongs here. Some people get dramatic when they see it next to lard and queso añejo. Let them. Cenaduría cooking is practical, not museum cooking.
• •The chile jalapeño in the escabeche is there for perfume and edge, not to make the sandwich punishing. Not all Mexican food is built around heat. Learn that once and your cooking improves immediately.

Advance Preparation

• •The frijol colorado can be cooked 2 days ahead. Refry it the day you assemble the sandwiches.
• •The pork leg can be simmered and shredded 1 day ahead. Reheat it in a skillet with a little reserved broth and manteca so it stays juicy.
• •The pickled carrot is better after 24 hours in the refrigerator. Make it ahead and keep it covered in its vinegar brine for up to 1 week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)