Torta de Cochito Chiapaneco

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy cast-iron skillet
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •6-quart clay cazuela from Amatenango del Valle, Dutch oven, or heavy roasting pan with lid
• •Volcanic stone molcajete or blender for salsa de arbol

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the pork

   Pat the pork dry and rub it all over with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Let it sit on a tray while you make the adobo. The salt starts working before the chile touches the meat, and pork shoulder needs that time. Do not use pork loin. It is too lean and it will punish you for buying it.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho and chile guajillo separately, 20 to 30 seconds per side, pressing them flat with tongs until the skins darken slightly and smell deep. They should puff and become flexible, not black. Put the toasted chiles in a bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 20 minutes. Save 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

   The guajillo burns faster than the ancho. If a chile turns black or smells sharp and acrid, throw it out. Burned chile makes bitter adobo, and there is no fixing it later.
3. 3

   Char the aromatics

   On the same comal, char the Roma tomato, sliced white onion, and 6 unpeeled garlic cloves until the skins blister and the onion has dark spots at the edges. Peel the garlic. In a small dry skillet, toast the cumin seeds, allspice berries, cloves, Mexican cinnamon, and black peppercorns for 30 to 45 seconds, just until fragrant. You are waking them up, not scorching them.

4. 4

   Blend the adobo

   Drain the chiles and put them in a blender with the charred tomato, onion, peeled garlic, cane vinegar, 1/2 cup chile soaking liquid or pork stock, achiote paste, Mexican oregano, dried thyme, and toasted spices. Blend until completely smooth, at least 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if your blender leaves chile skin behind. The adobo should coat a spoon like loose paint, brick-red and fragrant.

5. 5

   Fry the adobo

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a heavy saucepan or clay cazuela over medium heat. Add the blended adobo and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. It will sputter, so stir with respect. Fry for 8 to 10 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the paste darkens, thickens, and the lard shines around the edges. La manteca es el sabor. Set aside 1/2 cup of this fried adobo for finishing before any raw pork touches the rest.

6. 6

   Marinate overnight

   Rub the remaining fried adobo all over the pork, pushing it into every fold of fat and meat. Put the pork in a nonreactive dish, cover, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Four hours will feed you. Overnight will teach you something. This is the difference between pork with sauce and cochito.

7. 7

   Roast the cochito

   Heat the oven to 325F. Put the pork fat side up in a clay cazuela, Dutch oven, or heavy roasting pan. Scrape in all the marinade, tuck in the bay leaves, and pour 1/2 cup water or pork stock around the meat. Cover tightly and roast for 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes, until a fork slides in easily. Uncover, baste with the pan juices, and roast 25 to 30 minutes more, until the edges turn mahogany and the fat cap is glossy. For shredding, the pork should be around 195F in the thickest part.

   A wood oven gives the Chiapa de Corzo flavor, of course it does. At home, the covered roast followed by uncovered browning is the practical way. A compromise, not an upgrade.
8. 8

   Make cebolla curtida

   While the pork roasts, put the sliced red onion in a bowl. Stir together the cane vinegar, hot water, kosher salt, and dried Mexican oregano, then pour it over the onion. Press the onion down so every slice touches the liquid. Let it sit at least 30 minutes. It should taste sharp, clean, and a little herbal, not sweet.

9. 9

   Make salsa de arbol

   Toast the chile de arbol on the dry comal for 5 to 10 seconds, just until they darken a shade and smell nutty. They burn if you look away. Char the tomatoes, 2 unpeeled garlic cloves, and 1/4 white onion until blistered, then peel the garlic. Blend the chiles, tomatoes, garlic, onion, cane vinegar, kosher salt, and 2 to 3 tablespoons water until spoonable. Taste for salt. This salsa brings the heat to the torta, so the adobo does not have to shout.

10. 10

    Chop the pork

    Let the cochito rest for 20 minutes. Spoon off some of the red fat from the roasting juices and save it for the bread. Chop or shred the pork into rough pieces, keeping the browned edges and soft fat with the meat. Mix in enough pan juices and the reserved fried adobo to make the pork glossy and moist. Do not drown it. The meat should still taste roasted.

11. 11

    Build the tortas

    Split the small bolillos and brush the cut sides with reserved cochito fat or a little more manteca. Toast them cut side down on the comal until the crumb is crisp enough to hold the juices. Pile on the chopped cochito, add cebolla curtida, spoon salsa de arbol over the top, close the tortas, and press lightly. Eat while the bread still crackles under your teeth. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

    Use small pan frances bolillos. Not a long sub roll, not a soft hamburger bun. The bread-to-meat ratio is part of the dish. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chiles from a vendor who moves inventory. Chile ancho should be flexible and smell like raisins, cocoa, and tobacco. Chile guajillo should be brick-red and leathery. If they crack like old paper, leave them there. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •Cochito is not carnitas. Carnitas belong to Michoacán and cook in lard. Cochito Chiapaneco roasts in adobo. Both are pork, but they are not the same dish. This is a 32-state cuisine.
• •A whole young pig is the market version. For a home kitchen, pork shoulder or fresh leg with a fat cap gives you the right balance of meat, fat, and roast juices. Pork loin has no business here.
• •Cane vinegar is best because it gives a clean acidity without perfume. Apple cider vinegar will work if that is what your market has, but know what you are giving up. A substitution is a compromise, not a victory.
• •The adobo should be deep and rounded, not punishing. The chile ancho and guajillo build flavor and color. The salsa de arbol is where the table decides how much heat it wants.

Advance Preparation

• •The fried adobo can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it before rubbing it onto the pork so the lard loosens.
• •The pork should marinate overnight and can sit up to 24 hours. Past that, the vinegar starts tightening the surface of the meat.
• •The cochito can be roasted 2 days ahead. Reheat it covered with its juices at 300F, then uncover for a few minutes so the edges come back.
• •Cebolla curtida keeps 4 days in the refrigerator. Salsa de arbol keeps 5 days, but it tastes strongest on the first day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)