Brown Miso and Porter Carnitas And Quick Pork Chicharron.

With tough times ahead of us I cannot help thinking on recipes that bring me and my family joy, that warm feeling that a nice hot meal can give will always be priceless, I still remember a lot of my Mum’s food and those flavours that still bring me a lot of comfort in bad days.

As a cook I think is always normal to have a need to want to feed people and make them happy through food, but this behaviour is also very close to Mexican culture and the way people are in Mexico, the hospitality that we always give to the people we know but also to strangers is something that is part who we are , if you ever been in Mexico I’m sure you know what I mean.

And I miss that! specially in these times where being kind and caring towards people is the last thing it crosses our minds, right now is all about protecting yourself and avoiding people even when you see someone on the street that might need help.

I just hope that this virus is not transforming people into being very selfish and forgetting about how their actions can affect others, because it will never be just about us !

And on that note I want to share this recipe with you so prepare it to the people you care about this weekend and enjoy a cozy night in with some tasty tacos on your table and with the company of your loves ones , if you have any leftovers they make amazing Gorditas too .

Serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

Pork chicharron.

1.5 kg Pork shoulder with rind.

1 tsp maldon salt.

Carnitas.

3 large yellow onions.

3 tbsp of brown rice miso paste.

2 tbsp of honey.

1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar.

1 bottle of artisanal porter beer.

1 tsp of crushed coriander seeds.

1 tsp of crushed black peppercorns.

1 tsp sea salt.

1 cup of coriander, (roughly chopped).

To serve:

20 corn tortillas I recommend to try these carnitas with (roasted sweet potato and red caramelised onion tortillas).

2 cups of coriander, (finely chopped).

1 white onion, (diced).

4 limes, (sliced in quarters).

Method:

Preheat your oven at 200 C.

Pork Chicharron

Nothing goes to waste here !

Quick Pork Chicharron.

With a sharp knife remove the rind from the pork shoulder, make sure to cut along the fat and not the flesh and that you leave your piece of pork with a bit of the fat as well.

Then in a flat tray place your pork rind with the skin facing up, score the meat with a sharp knife and add a good pinch of maldon salt on the top, place your tray in the hot oven for 30 minutes until golden and crunchy.

Remove the Chicharron or pork scratchings from the oven and place it over a chopping board, cut into smaller pieces and serve with a quick guacamole on the side or simply a good salsita.

*For the purpose of this recipe and to get the best results use a heavy base cast iron pot or dutch oven but you can use a deep baking dish too.

For the Brown Miso and Porter Carnitas.

Add the sliced onions into your pot, then place your piece of pork on top, add the miso paste, honey, apple cider vinegar and pour in the beer , crush your coriander seeds and black peppercorns and add them in, add the salt, spread the miso over your meat with the help of a spoon and finally add the coriander on top.

Cover your pot tightly with two layers of tin foil and the lid, then place the pot in the middle of your oven for 2 hours.

After two hours remove your pot from the oven, and carefully open the tin foil layers and lid, and shred all the meat with the help of two forks. Mix the shredded pork with the juices and if your meat looks too dry add 1/2 cup of water, then recover again with the foil and lid and place back into the oven for another 45 minutes.

Once your meat is ready serve it over a nice big platter, warm up your tortillas to serve on the side. Serve your tacos with a bit of coriander and the raw onion, a little lime juice and perhaps some salsa, totally recommend a good craft Mexican beer on the side, enjoy!