Cochinita Pibil Tortas
| April 30, 2012 | Posted by Lauren Keating under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Mexican and Southwestern, Sandwiches |
For this month, I was paired with Kimberly from Rhubarb and Honey for Secret Recipe Club. I was really excited when I saw that she had a recipe for cochinita pibil – it’s one of my favorite things to order when we go out for Mexican, and I’ve been meaning to learn how to make it for ages. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find one of the key ingredients (achiote paste) and had to improvise. Although the recipe didn’t come out exactly like the restaurant’s (which has a thicker sauce with a stronger, more acidic flavor), it was absolutely delicious.
This isn’t your typical Tex-Mex type of food at all. While it’s strongly seasoned with warm spices like cinnamon, it isn’t hot and spicy at all. Even if you don’t normally like Mexican food, you should give it a try!
The recipe makes a ton so I’ve been having fun trying different ways to eat it. First, I had it with yellow rice, then I rolled it in tortillas with pickled onions and avocados. But my absolute favorite has been to eat it on a sandwich (torta) with crusty bread, a thin smear of garlic and herb goat cheese, lettuce, cilantro, pickled jalapeños, and more pickled onions. It’s a hearty sandwich – it would be great to bring along on a picnic after a hike – and it’s one of the best that I’ve had in a while.
Cochinita Pibil Tortas
Yields 10 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes + 8 hours in slow cooker
This recipe was adapted from Rhubarb and Honey as part of the Secret Recipe Club. The original called for achiote paste, which I was unable to find locally. Based on various descriptions found on the internet, we improvised by using anatto seeds, jalapeño peppers, and allspice. I also adapted the recipe to be made in a slow cooker, since I didn’t want to be stuck at home for 6 hours while it roasted.
If you prefer to eat your cochinita pibil over rice on in tortillas, you can stop after step 2 and ignore the rolls, chevre, and sandwich toppings. I highly recommend making the tortas though. They’re awesome.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Orange Juice
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- Juice of 2 Limes
- 3 Jalapeño Peppers
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Coriander
- 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Oregano
- 2 tablespoons ground Allspice
- 8 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Anatto Seeds
- 5 pound bone-in Pork Shoulder
- Crusty Rolls
- Garlic and Herb Chevre
- Pickled Onions, Pickled Jalapeños, Lettuce, Cilantro, and other desired toppings
Preparation
- Make a marinade by combining the first 12 ingredients (orange juice through garlic) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Mix in the anatto seeds. Place the pork shoulder in a large plastic bag; pour marinade over pork. Turn pork to coat it evenly with marinade. Seal bag; refrigerate pork at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Transfer pork to a slow cooker. Strain the marinade to remove the anatto seeds, then pour it over the pork. Cook on low for 8 hours. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and discard the bone.
- To make tortas, spread goat cheese on both sides of a crusty roll. Top with lettuce, then pork, pickled onions, pickles jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.
Hi, Lauren!
So glad you got my blog for this month’s SRC … and you picked one of my favorite recipes! It sounds like your adaptations worked just fine … and that sandwich looks absolutely delicious … I wish I had one right now!
Looking forward to checking out more of your recipes!
~Kimberly
It’s seriously one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. I just ate another one for lunch!
The pork was great on tortillas too, but something about combining it with the crusty bread and the cheese was out of this world.
oh yum!! I love Mexican food and am always looking for new things to try out at home!!
I’m visiting from Group D, and love what you did this month! Beautiful (AND delicious, I’m sure)! That looks amazing. I love how you made tweaks to make it work for you.
yum! cochinita pibil is my favorite dish at our local upscale southwestern restaurant, so this sounds absolutely divine to me. i love how you served it different ways to use up the leftovers – smart!
mexican food makes my little heart happy. i’m always a little intimidated to make it though because it’s done SO well in mexico and with so much love. i also have love, but i haven’t been trained in mexican preparation, cooking, etc… techniques and when i was there i fell in love with what i had. i need to ball up and try it i think.
I have never heard of that type of Mexican food before, but it looks amazing! It’s definitely something different compared to the usual pulled pork.
This looks really delicious. I rarely have the chances to eat Mexican food, it not popular around my area. Probably some sauce on top would be nice too.
[...] Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Try Honey-Bourbon Pulled Chicken, Split Pea Soup, or cochinita pibil tortas. [...]