Puerco Pibil—Once Upon A Time in Mexico Style

[rooker1]

Puerco Pibil—Once Upon A Time in Mexico Style

Anybody ever watch this movie?  Great movie and even better dish.
Becareful who you invite over to share this with, they may kill you.   


Hardware

Coffee grinder (One that you don't care what colour it ends up, I'll explain later)
Large Baking dish or Roasting Pan  (Bigger the better)
Zip-lock bag
Blender
Banana leaves (A must in my opinion)

Software
All fresh ingredients are a must!!!

5 tbs Annato Seed
2 tsp Cummin Seed
1 tbs Peppercorn
1/2 tsp Cloves
8 whole Allspice
2 tbs salt
8 cloves garlic
1-3 habanero chiles
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
5 lemons
Splash of the finest tequila you can find (Preferable something from Mexico, I happened to have a bottle of Patrón Añejo.  Very good.....hmmmmm.)
5 lbs of Pork Butt (No substitution for this, please)

Preparation
Using the coffee ginder, grind Annato, Cumin Seed, Cloves, Allspice, and Peppercorns into a fine powder. When grinding seeeds you should always use a separate grinder than the the one you use for coffee, for obvious reasons.  Also after grinding the Annato seeds your grinder will be red.   
Remove seeds and inner membrane from habanero, or leave the seeds in if you are feeling dangerous.  Oh and wear gloves when you are working with these.

Little story....
My now wife, then girlfriend and I were making this together for the first time and she told me to eat this small (1/2"x1/2") piece of habanero.  I laughed at her and said NO.  She called in her cousin and gave him the piece and he ate it.  He then left the room and I said to myself,"Self, if he can eat it, so can I".  I put the peice in my mouth and chewed just one time.  The juices filled my mouth sooo quickly, there was fire coming out my mouth.  At this exact same moment my wife's cousin came running back into the kitchen with the same complaint.  I started to drink as much milk and any other fluids I could get in my mouth.  Now you are all laughing at me now, right?  Well it gets worse.  My eyes begin to water and I start to splash water on my face and my wife decides to help me.  All of a sudden, my face is now on fire.  She was cutting the habaneros with her hands, oils from her hands are now on my face.  Well I'm in so much pain now and I don't know what to do.  I continue with yogurt and milk and rest.  Later on when everything has calmed down.....I sit with my face looking like I got a sun burn, and my wife's hand are throbbing.
So moral of the story.....Don't eat a piece of habanero unless you are feeling dangerous and for god's sake wear gloves and don't come near my face with those gloves.

Add vinegar, orange juice, habanero, salt, garlic, and spice powder to blender. Blend on high for 30-60 seconds.
Add juice of five lemons and Tequila and blend for another 30-60 seconds. Congratulations, you've just made achiote paste.
Cut pork into 2 to 3 inch cubes and place in a large ziplock bag. Put achiote paste and pork into zip lock bag and mush bag around to spread the paste into the pork. Refrigerate for about 4 hours.

Cooking
Line the baking pan with banana leaves (or foil if you have too.  Not suggested my me.)
Pour pork and achiote paste into pan.
Cover with more banana leaves and then foil. Crimp foil around pan to make sure steam doesn't escape.
Bake in the oven at 325° F for 4 hours.
And bam, a dish so good you might just get whacked for making it.

Serving Suggestions
This dish is very strong in flavor, and some people might want to dilute it a bit. Serve on top of white rice.

Notes
-Annato seed (also called achiote) is often available in grocery stores in small plastic packets. A one ounce packet holds about 2.5 tbs, so two packets should do the trick.
-Habanero is the second hottest chile in the world, (next to that new hybrid found in Chile, this year.  I can't remember the name for the life of me.) so you might want to "wimp it down a bit." Here are some tips: 1) use less habanero or even a half or quarter of one; instead of blending the habanero, just slice into strips and place them whole in the ziplock bag; make sure you don't get the seeds or membrane into the dish. Don't pick your nose or touch your eyes or contacts for two days after handling the inside of Habanero (or just wear gloves while cutting it, remember my story).
-It doesn't really matter what kind of Tequila you use as long as it's real Tequila. This means it should say 100% agave, and no Cuervo Gold or any other "gold" Tequila. For me a "splash" means a 1/4 cup or more.  hehehehe
-The slow moist cooking over low heat will tenderize the pork. If done properly, it will fall apart and melt in your mouth.

I hope you all enjoy this as it is my favourite dish and I make it about once a month.  Next time I make it I'll take a picture and add it to this post.



Robin   :coolsmiley:

[Pat]

Robin I soo loved this back story ouchies and by the way I love this little statement the best..........

Don't eat a piece of habanero unless you are feeling dangerous and for god's sake wear gloves and don't come near my face with those gloves.

But this reciepe sure does sound wonderful and a must try and I will do so... Dont worry as being a First Responder I have a box of gloves for protection lol..... 

[JoeST]

I remember when a friend grew some chillis (yes in england LOL) and yeah the good old dares, woo lets eat the seeds, came to fruit (pardon the pun) and yeah I won heheh, tho i wouldnt say i have the highest tolerance for HOT HOT HOT, it was a lot of fun...

Thanks for sharing your story and your recipe, when i finaly get kicked out of home i will have to come here and take a look

Joe

[Heblem]

Puerco Pibil, delicioso  thank you for sharing 

[rooker1]

Hey Heblem, you must eat this all the time. 
Do you kill the chef afterwards? 

Robin 

[Pat]

probably not as bad as you wanted to hurt your now wife there Robin with spreading the juices all over your face lol 

[Vandy]

Hi, Robin.

WOW!! That is quite a recipe.  I will have to try it.  I've a couple of questions for you.

1)  On the "hotness" scale of 1 being no heat and 10 being "I'm on fire!", how hot would you rate the dish?

2)  If I did want to "wimp out" on the peppers, would a regular chili pepper suffice or do I need something stronger?

Thanks again for this great recipe.

Regards,

Gary

[rooker1]

Vandy,

I have decided to answer your question in a new topic thread. 
When you go there you'll see why.

Robin 

[Heblem]

Hey Heblem, you must eat this all the time. 
Do you kill the chef afterwards? 

Robin 

Well this one of hundreds of mexican dishes, so not really i eat this all the tine 
If you wish you can look an try some really good mexican food...

-Caldillo
-Caldo
-Chiles rellenos
-Molletes (this one of my favorite meals for dinner)
-Asado de boda (almost the same like Puerco Pibil, but with pieces of meat)
-Enchiladas Suizas (covered by sauce or beans)
-Mole Poblano (i really suggest you to try this one  its a "mole" sauce that is prepared with chicken)
-Frijoles Charros (a mix of beans with jam, chili and sausage)
-Quesadilla (tortilla and cheese, usually a basic meal that you can prepare quickly)
-Arrachera Meat (great for tacos, with baked onions)
-Nachos (a started food, a fried tostada with beans and cheese)
-Ceviche (tostadas with fish and skirms)


For breakfast:
-Huevos Rancheros (ranch eggs, with red sauce and tortillas)
-Huevos al Albañil (mixed eggs with green sauce and spicy)
-Huevos Norteños (dried meat with eggs)
-Burritos with eggs (so simple for quick breakfast)

Also we eat sometimes American food and mix it like for example...
Hotdogs with spicy sauce (usually with a Jalapeño)
Sandwiches of all kinds (eggs, meat, jam, etc)

Usually our main recipe is beans and tortillas 
Heres a complete list 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mexican_cuisine_dishes

[Vandy]

Hi, Heblem.

It is really wonderful to see you posting here in "The Artist's Place".  Perhaps, you have an interest in writing, photography / grahics, music or cooking?  If so, please feel free to start your own thread in one of our four forums.

I would be very interested in your sharing the recipes for these great dishes.  I recognize quite a few that I like.

Thanks for sharing this great list of great Mexican dishes.

Regards,

Gary

[Pat]

Hey Heblem I would love to have some of those recipes... So if you would share that would be so yummie...