Ancho Chilli Pork Cheek Carnitas
Recipe written for Butcher Farrell Meat Emporium to showcase their amazing products. These pork cheeks are rich, melt-in-the mouth and perfect for tacos
Ingredients
7 Butcher Farrell pork cheeks (about 0.7kg)
50-60g pork fat
Olive oil
1 brown onion, quartered
2-3 large ancho chillis
7 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper
500ml beer (I've used IPA)
1 chicken stock pot
2 cubes of dark chocolate
2 rings of tinned pineapple, finely chopped
Tortilla
250g masa harina flour
½ tsp table salt
450ml water (you might not need all of this)
Topping Ideas
Pickled red onions, fresh coriander and sour cream
Diced pineapple, chilli and sour cream
Guacamole and fresh coriander
Method
Remove the stalks and the seeds from the dried ancho chillies. Pour over 200ml of boiling water and place a lid/plate on top. Set aside to rehydrate.
In a stew pot, on a low temperature with a little olive oil, render the pork fat for about 10-15 mins. Then up the heat and add the pork cheeks, allow to brown and caramelise on each side.
Meanwhile, add the onion, rehydrated ancho chillis (don't add the liquid yet but keep it aside), garlic, oregano, cumin, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and 3 tbsp of juice from the tinned pineapple into a blender. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. At this point you can taste for the spice level, if you want it a little spicier then you can add some of the ancho chilli liquid in.
Add the blended paste to the pan and pour in the beer. Stir in the stock pot, chocolate and finely chopped pineapple. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a simmer. Cook for 4-5 hours on a low heat or until the pig cheeks fall apart. Stir frequently throughout.
Whilst the pork is cooking you can prepare your toppings. Most toppings can be made ahead of time and keep well but guacamole is often best fresh.
For the tortillas, add the flour to a large mixing bowl and then slowly add the warm water. Mix well until combined. You may not need to add all the water but you're looking for the dough to be moist and soft like playdough. Roll the dough into small golf balls (about 35g each). Cover with a clean tea towel to stop the dough drying out.
I recommend using a tortilla press for this next step, you could try and use a rolling pin but it would be more time and effort (you could also just buy tortillas in the supermarket of course, but homemade taste so much better!)
Using the tortilla press, place the dough in the centre of two non-stick paper sheets and press down to flatten the dough. Keep them between the sheets and stack on a plate.
Place a flat based frying pan on a high heat and add the tortillas one at a time for about 15-20 seconds for each side. This should be enough time for each side to cook through. Remove from heat and wrap in a tea towel to keep warm.
Toppings and sides.
You can be as creative as you want with the toppings. I've chosen to keep them pretty simple here – pickled red onions, fresh coriander and a side of guacamole is a winner to me.
To serve, spoon the pork cheek mixture onto the warm tortillas, then top with you're chosen toppings and serve.
Enjoy!
