This weekend is the "unofficial" beginning of summer. The weekend that we pull out our potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans. The weekend that the local pools open for the season.
I hope you get together with some friends and enjoy the outdoors, laughter, and delicious food....but I hope that you take some time to be thankful for the ultimate sacrifice that the American solder, sailor, airman, and Marine paid so that we could be free.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Tomatillo Pork
I am a big fan of the crockpot, but I have a hard time finding recipes that I like. I hate using "cream of" soups, as I would much prefer to use real ingredients.
This recipe is SUPER easy and SUPER delicious. All the kids (even the picky one!) loves it. There are never leftovers past the first day. Never. <sigh>
You may choose to make your own tomatillo salsa, but I don't. I did it one time and decided the work did NOT outweigh the benefit. I buy Herdez salsa verde. It's cheap, it's delicious, and it has five ingredients: tomatillos, onions, serrano peppers, salt, and cilantro. Why on earth would I go through the effort when I can get this?!?!
Two ingredients for this "recipe". Two bottles of this salsa, and a Boston butt (also called pork shoulder), which I can usually buy (on sale) for $1.29/lb. It's a great cut for long, slow cooking. I do prefer to make this recipe a day before I need it, as it has a lot of fat that cooks out and I hate trying to skim off fat when it's still warm. I cook it, drain it, chill it, peel off the hardened fat and then continue the recipe.
I toss a pork shoulder (cut into big pieces) into the crockpot along with a jar of this salsa. Cook on low all day (or high half the day - come on, this isn't rocket science!). Take the meat out, pour the liquid into a container, shred the meat, add to container, and chill. The next day, continue.
About two hours before you're going to eat, "peel off" the fat that has risen to the top. You won't get it all. Don't worry about it. Place your meat on one or two rimmed baking sheets, along with the liquid, and divide most of another jar of salsa between the two. Stir as well as you can, and place into a 375F oven, stirring occasionally, until the meat is a little bit crispy and most of the liquid has cooked off. This could take 20 minutes, it could take two hours. It depends on how you like your meat, how much you have, your oven, etc. Be flexible!
When it's done (you'll have to taste it....try not to eat it all!), pour into a serving bowl and either pour the rest of the salsa verde over it, or serve that last bit alongside at the table. I like to serve this meat with soft tortillas, pepper jack cheese, avocadoes, and of course, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and margaritas.
Enjoy!
This recipe is SUPER easy and SUPER delicious. All the kids (even the picky one!) loves it. There are never leftovers past the first day. Never. <sigh>
Two ingredients for this "recipe". Two bottles of this salsa, and a Boston butt (also called pork shoulder), which I can usually buy (on sale) for $1.29/lb. It's a great cut for long, slow cooking. I do prefer to make this recipe a day before I need it, as it has a lot of fat that cooks out and I hate trying to skim off fat when it's still warm. I cook it, drain it, chill it, peel off the hardened fat and then continue the recipe.
I toss a pork shoulder (cut into big pieces) into the crockpot along with a jar of this salsa. Cook on low all day (or high half the day - come on, this isn't rocket science!). Take the meat out, pour the liquid into a container, shred the meat, add to container, and chill. The next day, continue.
About two hours before you're going to eat, "peel off" the fat that has risen to the top. You won't get it all. Don't worry about it. Place your meat on one or two rimmed baking sheets, along with the liquid, and divide most of another jar of salsa between the two. Stir as well as you can, and place into a 375F oven, stirring occasionally, until the meat is a little bit crispy and most of the liquid has cooked off. This could take 20 minutes, it could take two hours. It depends on how you like your meat, how much you have, your oven, etc. Be flexible!
When it's done (you'll have to taste it....try not to eat it all!), pour into a serving bowl and either pour the rest of the salsa verde over it, or serve that last bit alongside at the table. I like to serve this meat with soft tortillas, pepper jack cheese, avocadoes, and of course, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and margaritas.
Enjoy!
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