contest Begin! Mexican TD
- Thread starter The Hot Pepper
- Start date
- Status
Damn I looking at Coaches final post and I don't see whats missing...However I have had a full bottle of Patron...
But it looks like its all there to me...Guess I'm too drunk to see whats missing.....
I'll leave it to the expert drunks to set me ( Coach) right..
V
Never Mind..I see now he edited.....Dooohh on me.
V
But it looks like its all there to me...Guess I'm too drunk to see whats missing.....
I'll leave it to the expert drunks to set me ( Coach) right..
V
Never Mind..I see now he edited.....Dooohh on me.
V
Sounds like you're already set right, Patron! Sounds like where I was Saturday night...
Wait a minute... I resemble that statement, but it was what was in the cabinet, and made a darn good Rita.
So not ashamed... but gettin' pretty persnickered.
Official pictures.
Cochinita pibil roasted in banana leaves
I couldn't get a good plated shot to save my life, kept coming out blurry and the sun went and hid every time I tried to take one. Not that I have any plating skills anyway. :o
But here is the main dish, sorry the pic sucks...
Cochinita pibil with pickled radish/onion/habanero relish (on one), nopal salad with queso fresco, roasted manzano garlic salsa on the side, and some Mexican sour cream.
Ingredients...
Cochinita Pibil
(marinade)
1.5 ounces of achiote (annato) seeds
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp cumin
5 or 6 whole cloves
5 or 6 whole allspice berries
about 2/3 of a stick of canela
1 tbsp dried pequin
1 tbsp roasted coriander
salt
~10 large garlic cloves
4-5 congo black habaneros
1 cup bitter orange juice (there are various substitutions you can use involving some combination of lemons/limes/grapefruits, just don't buy the La Costeña or Goya bitter orange marinade from the Mexican grocery stores, since they don't actually contain much if any bitter orange juice and they taste like poop).
Dry ingredients processed in coffee grinder, then blended with the rest of the ingredients.
Pork marinaded overnight in a large ziplock freezer bag. Usually pork loin is used. Roasting pan then lined with the banana leaves with the leaves hanging over quite a bit, pork and marinade poured into the pan, banana leaves folded over, then more banana leaves put on the top and tucked into the sides. Then it goes on the grill on low (at least for my grill) and roasts preferably at about 300-350 degrees for about 4-5 hours with the lid closed. You can do it in the oven as well.
Salsa de tomate (or tomate verde depending on the region of Mexico) con aguacate (Tomatillo salsa with avocado)*
6 or 7 large tomatillos
~1/2 loosely packed cup of chopped cilantro
3 large serranos
1 small chopped white onion
salt
2 cubed avocados
juice from 3 small limes
Leave the pit from one or both avocados in the salsa to help prevent the polyphenol oxidase from rampaging the avocado and turning it brown (the acidity from the tomatillos and lime juice helps also)
*side note, tomatillos in Mexico are usually called tomate, in which real tomatoes are known as jitomate; or tomate verde, in which real tomatoes are known as just "tomate", depending on the region. It gets confusing at times.
Roasted manzano/tomatillo salsa
6-7 medium sized orange manzanos cut in half
4-5 cloves of garlic with skin
~10 miltomates (small, wild tomatillos, about the size of a cherry)
Manzanos, garlic (de-skinned after roasting), and miltomates drizzled with extra virgin avocado oil, sprinkled with a heavy dose of sea salt, and put under the broiler.
Then put in the blender with the juices from the roasting tray, a little white vinegar, some agave nectar, the juice from several limes and one orange, and a little cilantro and culantro.
Nopal (cactus) salad
processed fresh nopal
tomato
red onion
radishes
cilantro
chop all of the above and mix together. Whisk about 3 parts oil (I used extra virgin avocado oil) to one part apple cider vinegar, oregano, salt, black pepper, and sugar, and pour on the salad. Mix together and top with queso fresco.
Mexican sour cream
1 Pint Heavy Cream
1/4 cup buttermilk (with live cultures)
Put in a jar and set in a slightly warm spot (~75F) for about 24 hours, until it thickens and is slightly sour. Much richer, tastier, and less acidic than American sour cream.
Pickled radish/red onion/habanero*
Chopped habanero, radish, cilantro, red onion, salt, pour bitter orange juice over the mixture, let it set for about 30 minutes, then drain liquid.
*Usually it is served with simple pickled red onions instead, I believe, but I saw this combo recently and decided to try it. Pickled red onions= red onions covered in either sour orange or vinegar, left to set, and then drained. Not bad, a little sour though. I prefer a more savory hot table sauce with the pork (chile de arbol/tomatillo sauce is good on it).
Cochinita pibil roasted in banana leaves
I couldn't get a good plated shot to save my life, kept coming out blurry and the sun went and hid every time I tried to take one. Not that I have any plating skills anyway. :o
But here is the main dish, sorry the pic sucks...
Cochinita pibil with pickled radish/onion/habanero relish (on one), nopal salad with queso fresco, roasted manzano garlic salsa on the side, and some Mexican sour cream.
Ingredients...
Cochinita Pibil
(marinade)
1.5 ounces of achiote (annato) seeds
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp cumin
5 or 6 whole cloves
5 or 6 whole allspice berries
about 2/3 of a stick of canela
1 tbsp dried pequin
1 tbsp roasted coriander
salt
~10 large garlic cloves
4-5 congo black habaneros
1 cup bitter orange juice (there are various substitutions you can use involving some combination of lemons/limes/grapefruits, just don't buy the La Costeña or Goya bitter orange marinade from the Mexican grocery stores, since they don't actually contain much if any bitter orange juice and they taste like poop).
Dry ingredients processed in coffee grinder, then blended with the rest of the ingredients.
Pork marinaded overnight in a large ziplock freezer bag. Usually pork loin is used. Roasting pan then lined with the banana leaves with the leaves hanging over quite a bit, pork and marinade poured into the pan, banana leaves folded over, then more banana leaves put on the top and tucked into the sides. Then it goes on the grill on low (at least for my grill) and roasts preferably at about 300-350 degrees for about 4-5 hours with the lid closed. You can do it in the oven as well.
Salsa de tomate (or tomate verde depending on the region of Mexico) con aguacate (Tomatillo salsa with avocado)*
6 or 7 large tomatillos
~1/2 loosely packed cup of chopped cilantro
3 large serranos
1 small chopped white onion
salt
2 cubed avocados
juice from 3 small limes
Leave the pit from one or both avocados in the salsa to help prevent the polyphenol oxidase from rampaging the avocado and turning it brown (the acidity from the tomatillos and lime juice helps also)
*side note, tomatillos in Mexico are usually called tomate, in which real tomatoes are known as jitomate; or tomate verde, in which real tomatoes are known as just "tomate", depending on the region. It gets confusing at times.
Roasted manzano/tomatillo salsa
6-7 medium sized orange manzanos cut in half
4-5 cloves of garlic with skin
~10 miltomates (small, wild tomatillos, about the size of a cherry)
Manzanos, garlic (de-skinned after roasting), and miltomates drizzled with extra virgin avocado oil, sprinkled with a heavy dose of sea salt, and put under the broiler.
Then put in the blender with the juices from the roasting tray, a little white vinegar, some agave nectar, the juice from several limes and one orange, and a little cilantro and culantro.
Nopal (cactus) salad
processed fresh nopal
tomato
red onion
radishes
cilantro
chop all of the above and mix together. Whisk about 3 parts oil (I used extra virgin avocado oil) to one part apple cider vinegar, oregano, salt, black pepper, and sugar, and pour on the salad. Mix together and top with queso fresco.
Mexican sour cream
1 Pint Heavy Cream
1/4 cup buttermilk (with live cultures)
Put in a jar and set in a slightly warm spot (~75F) for about 24 hours, until it thickens and is slightly sour. Much richer, tastier, and less acidic than American sour cream.
Pickled radish/red onion/habanero*
Chopped habanero, radish, cilantro, red onion, salt, pour bitter orange juice over the mixture, let it set for about 30 minutes, then drain liquid.
*Usually it is served with simple pickled red onions instead, I believe, but I saw this combo recently and decided to try it. Pickled red onions= red onions covered in either sour orange or vinegar, left to set, and then drained. Not bad, a little sour though. I prefer a more savory hot table sauce with the pork (chile de arbol/tomatillo sauce is good on it).
Wait a minute... I resemble that statement, but it was what was in the cabinet, and made a darn good Rita.
So not ashamed... but gettin' pretty persnickered.
Sorry, Coach JQ might be ok for cleaning Lawnmowers. I for forgive you tho. cuz everything else on the table distracted me!
Jaust Jabben ya...
Wheres all the last minute smackin'?
Avon, wow, I hope the bad pics don't hurt you because puerco (cochinita) pibil is something I have wanted to try for a long time, and it looks like you nailed it.
Last minute smack talk... the next person who posts a blurry picture of awesome food is gonna get punched in the snugglies.
Bear said it, not me.
Thanks, it's one of my favorite foods, but yeah I don't expect to get many if any votes with such bad pictures, and with such great entries from everyone else.
At least I popped my throwdown cherry, had fun, and ate some good food. A decent camera is definitely in order when I get some disposable income.
Thanks, it's one of my favorite foods, but yeah I don't expect to get many if any votes with such bad pictures, and with such great entries from everyone else.
A decent camera is definitely in order when I get some disposable income.
Do you have a tripod? that helps out a lot. Or even just a long wooden spoon on the counter, or a shovel from the yard, anything to help steady the camera... My 2 bits....
It still looks good and I WILL be making that Sour Cream, soon! Thanks for that one!!!
I'm using a Droid 2, I don't actually have a real camera.
Sucks but it's all I have to work with right now. The only time it ever really takes decent pictures is in really bright, full sun about a foot away from whatever I'm taking a picture of. But hey it's pretty good at making phone calls and sending texts at least.
Tip:Thanks, it's one of my favorite foods, but yeah I don't expect to get many if any votes with such bad pictures, and with such great entries from everyone else.
A decent camera is definitely in order when I get some disposable income.
If I were you I'd take that slammin' pic of the puerco in the banana leaves and post is as presentation pic 1, and leave pic 2. Then we know that pic 2 is slammin' even though it's blurry. You have the roasted manzano salsa already in pic 2 so that satisfies the salsa requirement, and sounds better than the avacado salsa so just take that pic/description out (since there is a 2 pic limit and it's not in your plating pic). Just my 2 c.
Tip:
If I were you I'd take that slammin' pic of the puerco in the banana leaves and post is as presentation pic 1, and leave pic 2. Then we know that pic 2 is slammin' even though it's blurry. You have the roasted manzano salsa already in pic 2 so that satisfies the salsa requirement, and sounds better than the avacado salsa so just take that pic/description out (since there is a 2 pic limit and it's not in your plating pic). Just my 2 c.
Yeah, I had thought about that, I think I will do that, thanks.
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