This past week was insanely busy at work so I thought that Saturday would be a great day for some SERIOUS comfort food. This picture tells it all - Birria Pork Tacos and Birria Pork Grilled Cheese. And read on to see how EASY this is to make! Plus there is an even easier bonus (brunch) recipe at the bottom not to miss!
I started with a four-pound pork loin, which I seasoned generously on all sides with salt and pepper. I added a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a large dutch oven and heated until almost smoking. I then seared the pork loin, four to five minutes per side, until a beautiful golden crust formed. I then added two carrots and two celery stalks which I chopped into large pieces (including the celery leaves which have great flavor), one sweet onion which I peeled and cut into eight chunks, and one head of garlic that I cut in half (skins and all.)
Next up I added four dried Guajillo chiles (medium heat), two dried Pasilla chiles (mild heat), and two dried Ancho chiles (mild to medium heat). I first removed the stems and seeds.
For the seasonings, I added three dried bay leaves, one tablespoon each of chili powder and ground cumin, two teaspoons of Mexican oregano, one tablespoon of salt, and one teaspoon of pepper. I poured in two quarts of chicken stock, brought it to a boil, lowered the heat, and allowed it to simmer for thirty minutes.
After thirty minutes, I fished out all of the peppers and as much of the onions, carrots, and celery as I could find, plus the garlic and added it to my blender with a ladle of the cooking liquid. (All of the garlic cloves fell out and I was able to easily discard the skins.) I blended on high speed until totally smooth.
Right back into pot!
I covered the pot and placed it into a preheated 325 degree oven for three hours.
After three hours, the meat was fall-apart tender. I carefully removed the pork to a cutting board, covered with foil, and allowed it to rest for ten minutes before shredding it. I also tasted the cooking liquid for seasoning.
I then added the meat back into the pot and combined it all together.
While the pork was cooking, I made homemade Pickled Red Onions. I added a thinly sliced red onion to a large mason jar along with a tablespoon of peppercorns, a few dried bay leaves, and then poured in the pickling liquid which consisted of one half cup of white vinegar, one half cup of water, one quarter cup of sugar, and two tablespoons of salt. (I brought it to a boil until the salt and sugar had dissolved, let it cool a bit, and then poured over the onions.) I sealed the jar and allowed to sit on the counter while the pork was in the oven.
My griddle was the only other appliance needed. To build the tacos, I warmed corn tortillas until slightly browned on both sides.
I then added a layer of pork....
...a layer of pickled onions....
...a layer of crumbled queso fresco...
...and fresh cilantro.
Next up was the grilled cheese. To add even more flavor, I combined softened butter with a tablespoon of the birria liquid and slathered it on four thick slices of bread. I laid two of them on the hot griddle (butter side down), added a layer of Oaxaca cheese (Mexican string cheese), then a layer of pork, pickled onions, more cheese, and the top slice of bread, butter side up. I grilled until the cheese was gooey and the bread was golden, flipping several times.
This picture makes it look as if I worked for hours, when in reality, I worked for less than thirty minutes and allowed my stove, oven, and griddle to do the rest. And who says comfort food cannot be beautiful??? Two tacos and a half of grilled cheese for each of us and our bellies were happy! A squirt of fresh lime juice certainly does not hurt either! (Plus I got to use my beautiful taco holders!)
How about another BONUS recipe? And how about if this bonus recipe is insanely EASY?
This is my Lemon Vanilla Dutch Baby. A Dutch Baby is a large, baked pancake. When baked, the sides puff up and you can fill them with anything from sweet to savory, or you can do what I did and simply dust with powdered sugar and drizzle some good maple syrup.
Here's how easy this is to make. Everything goes into the blender! Three eggs, three quarters cup of flour, three quarters cup of milk which I warmed in the microwave for thirty seconds just to take off the chill), the zest of one lemon, one tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, and two teaspoons of vanilla paste. (Extract works too.)
Vroom!
Meanwhile, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and into it, I placed a large non-stick skillet with three tablespoons of butter. Once the butter had melted, I carefully removed the skillet, swirled the butter to coat the bottom and sides, and then poured in the batter.
Back into the oven to bake until puffed and golden around the edges, approximately twenty minutes. I then used a spatula to transfer the Dutch Baby to a cooling rack. This allows the steam to escape without making the bottom soggy. When it was time to serve, I dusted with powdered sugar, cut into wedges, drizzled with maple syrup, and added a few sausage patties for a perfect breakfast. (The sausage patties were cooked on a baking sheet in the oven with the Dutch Baby since they both take the same amount of time. All I needed to do was flip the patties after ten minutes.) EASY PEASY!
More excitement to come! Stay tuned!
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