Torta de Cochinita Pibil

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or deep roasting pan
• •High-powered blender
• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting the bread
• •Sharp knife for slicing onions thin
• •Glass jar for the pickled onions

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the recado

   Break the block of achiote paste into a blender. Add the naranja agria, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, peppercorns, allspice, oregano, cumin, and salt. Blend on high until completely smooth and the color is a deep brick red. This is recado rojo, the spine of every cochinita pibil that came out of Yucatán. The naranja agria is not optional. If you cannot find it, the closest mix is two parts fresh orange juice to one part lime juice plus a splash of grapefruit, but the dish loses something. Find the sour orange if you can.

   Use a real Yucatecan brand of achiote paste. La Anita and El Yucateco are the standards. Avoid generic 'annatto paste' from a supermarket spice aisle. The recado is the dish.
2. 2

   Marinate the pork

   Place the pork shoulder and pork belly in a large nonreactive bowl or a heavy zip-top bag. Pour the recado over the meat and turn every piece until each one is coated and red to the bone. Cover and refrigerate overnight, at least 12 hours, better 24. The pork belly carries the fat that bastes the shoulder while it cooks. Do not skip it. Lean cochinita is sad cochinita.

3. 3

   Prepare the banana leaves

   Pass each banana leaf, one side at a time, directly over an open flame for a few seconds until the surface turns from matte green to glossy and the leaf softens. This is how you make the leaf pliable enough to fold without cracking. Wipe each leaf clean with a damp cloth. Line a heavy Dutch oven or roasting pan with the leaves so they hang generously over the sides. The leaf is the pib. Without it, you have braised pork. With it, you have cochinita.

4. 4

   Wrap and cook the cochinita

   Pour the marinated pork and all of the recado into the leaf-lined pot. Add the cup of water or extra naranja agria. Dot the top with the manteca. Fold the banana leaves over the meat to make a sealed package, tucking the edges down. Cover the pot tightly with a lid or a sheet of foil pressed against the surface. Cook at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 hours. The meat should pull apart with the lightest pressure of a fork. The juices at the bottom of the pot should be deep red and slick with rendered fat. That juice is the soul of the torta.

   In Yucatán, cochinita is buried in a pit, the pib, lined with stones and wood. The oven version is a faithful adaptation, not a replacement. If you ever get the chance to eat the real thing in Tixkokob or at a Sunday merienda outside Mérida, do it. No me vengas con atajos en eso.
5. 5

   Pickle the red onions

   While the pork cooks, slice the red onions thin. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and pour it over the onions in a colander. This is called desflemar. It takes the raw edge off without cooking them. Drain immediately. Transfer to a glass jar with the cup of naranja agria, salt, oregano, and bay leaf. Push the onions down so they are submerged. Let them sit at room temperature for at least one hour. They will turn a brilliant pink-magenta. This is the cebolla morada that every torta de cochinita in Mérida wears. No pickled onion, no torta.

6. 6

   Make the salsa de habanero (x'nipek)

   This salsa is called x'nipek in Maya, which means 'dog's nose,' because the lime juice makes your nose wet the way a dog's nose stays wet. Stem the habaneros and chop very fine. Wear gloves or wash your hands well after. Combine with the finely chopped white onion, the naranja agria, and the salt in a small bowl. Let it sit at least 15 minutes. Do not blend it. The texture is part of the salsa.

   Habanero is the chile of the Peninsula. Not jalapeño, not serrano, not chipotle. Habanero. It is floral and fruity and very hot. If six is too many, start with three and work up. But do not substitute another chile. The salsa will not be x'nipek.
7. 7

   Shred the cochinita

   Unwrap the banana leaves carefully. The smell that comes off the pot is the smell of a Yucatecan Sunday. Lift the meat into a wide bowl and shred it with two forks. Discard any thick bone but keep the soft pieces of pork belly and all the gelatinous fat. Pour the red juice from the pot back over the shredded meat. Every strand should be wet and red. Taste for salt. Add more if it needs it.

8. 8

   Toast the bread

   Split each pan francés lengthwise. Spread the cut sides with a thin layer of manteca de cerdo. Toast on a hot comal or in a heavy skillet, cut side down, until the bread is golden and the crust crackles when pressed. This is not optional. The torta needs structure because it is about to absorb a lot of juice. La manteca es el sabor, even here in the bread.

9. 9

   Build the torta

   On the bottom half of each pan francés, pile a generous mound of shredded cochinita with extra juice spooned over it. Top with a thick layer of pickled red onion. Add habanero salsa to taste, a teaspoon for the cautious, a tablespoon for someone who knows. Close the torta and press down with the heel of your hand. The bread will soak up the red juice and turn the color of the recado. That is the dish. Eat it immediately, standing if possible, with a napkin in the other hand. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Naranja agria is the sour orange. If you have a Latin or Caribbean market within driving distance, go there. If you cannot find it, mix two parts fresh orange juice with one part lime juice and one part grapefruit juice. It is a compromise, not an upgrade. The naranja agria has a bitterness that ordinary citrus does not.
• •Use real Yucatecan achiote paste in a block, not the loose annatto seed powder. The block is recado rojo, which already contains the spice mix. La Anita and El Yucateco are sold across Mexico and in most Latin markets in the United States.
• •Banana leaf is sold frozen in most Latin and Asian markets. Thaw before using. Pass over a flame to make it pliable. If you absolutely cannot find banana leaf, parchment plus foil will hold the moisture, but you will lose the green, earthy flavor that the leaf gives the meat. That is a real loss.
• •The pickled red onion needs at least one hour but is better at four. Make it the day before along with the marinade.
• •Pan francés in Yucatán is different from a French baguette. It is closer to a long telera, with a crackly crust and a soft, slightly sweet crumb. If you cannot find it, a Mexican telera or a fresh bolillo from a real Mexican panaderia is the right substitute. Do not use a French baguette. The crumb is too tight to soak the juice properly.

Advance Preparation

• •The cochinita can and should be made one day ahead. Refrigerate the shredded meat in its juices. Reheat gently with a splash of water on the stovetop before assembling.
• •Pickled red onions keep for two weeks refrigerated and only improve in the first three days.
• •The recado paste can be blended up to two days ahead and held refrigerated. Marinate the pork the day before cooking.
• •Habanero salsa is best made the same day. It loses its brightness after 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)