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Mexican Pulled Pork

jbenny
jbenny Posts: 147
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I'm thinking of doing a pork butt next weekend and want to do it as fajitas. Any advice on rub and wood?

Comments

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    We made PP for my daughters wedding reception and served it Mexican style. I used pecan wood and Dr. BBQ' rub but I don't think the rub or smoke made much difference because of what we served it with, flour tortillas, cabbage, cheese, limes, and salsa. -RP

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  • Interesting! I have never thought about trying that. I have done it indoors in a slow cooker though.

    Cumin is the must have Mexican seasoning. Salt, pepper and chili powder also help. I cannot think of any pre-made rubs that have these in them, and am curious as you are. I also like oregano in there.

    Let me know how it turns out.
  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
    Cumin is a definite. Here are some ideas. Lime is a flavor I add to my fajitas as it gives them a sharp lime flavor.

    Here is a link to some beef and chicken fajitas I recently did. the sauce and veggies can be made and then just add your pulled pork. Great flavor IMHO.

    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1043433&catid=1


    Carnitas, Pork, Latin

    Carnitas is a very famous Mexican dish. It consists of braised pork and can be eaten by itself (and tortillas, a chili sauce) or as the filling in tamales, tacos and burritos (yuk). The pork is first simmered for a long time to make it really soft and then braised in the oven to make it crispy. Since the recipe is very simple and does not involve any chili sauces everyone likes carnitas. You can add the heat on your own as you eat it.


    INGREDIENTS:
    2 16 Ozs Cans Chicken broth
    4 lbs Boneless pork shoulder
    1 Tbs chopped coriander (cilantro)
    1 Tbs chopped cumin (comino)
    Corn Tortillas
    2 bay leaves
    1 onion, quartered
    Chili sauce, such as Pico de gallo, chipotle or whatever you like




    Pre-cooking*******
    1 Cut the pork meat in chunks and discard big pieces of fat, leave some fat as it adds to the flavor
    2 Chop the cilantro and cumin if you need to
    Cooking*******
    1 Set tall frying pan in mid-high heat
    2 Add the pork, cilantro, cumin, onion and broth
    3 If nescessary, add water so that the meat is covered
    4 Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3-4 hours or until the meat is very soft and pulls appart easily
    5 Remove the meat and place it in a roasting pan, discarding the onion and broth, brake appart the meat in smaller chunks
    6 Bake for about 20 minutes at 450 degrees, until the meat is brown and crispy
    7 Heat the tortillas and enjoy, you can serve it with your favorite chili sauce, chopped onions and cilantro
    Tips********
    1 A Pressure Cooker really helps here. If you like making dishes like this one often you should consider the pressure cooker. It will cut cooking time to half hour..
    2 Heating tortillas on a microwave: To heat tortillas you can wrap them in a kitchen towel and put them inside a container. Microwave 15 seconds per tortilla.


    Recipe Type
    Meat

    Recipe Source
    Source: BGE Forum
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    I would tend to agree with Randy in that once you lay down some Mexican style seasonings on your pulled pork and then have some toppings like onion, salsa, etc., it's hard to really pick up on a rub or a certain wood. Now, I make a Mexican filling with pulled pork for a variety of things like tamales, burritos, gorditas...the recipe follows below. So I would recommend salt and pepper only on your butt, and whatever wood you feed good in using. On top of that, if you don't want to barbecue your butt, you can accompilish about the same thing using a pressure cooker, or slow cooker and it's a lot faster.

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    I guess if I left it a bit coarser it could work in fajitas, but I like to do them on a griddle, either with beef or strips of pork steaks (cut from the shoulder)

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    Okay, here is the base recipe I start with, adjusting as needed for the application....

    ~thirdeye's~ Mexican Pork Filling

    Three ground chili powders (with no other spices added) and one chili powder blend are used to get a traditional flavor footprint that is sweet, smokey and hot. The total amount of the chili powder is 1 cup + 2 tablespoons. Ground chili peppers and blends can be found at www.penderys.com if you can’t find some local substitutes. (When making tamales, the filling must be quite robust because the steaming and the masa will buffer the flavor and the heat factor a little, so adjust the heat to what you are using this for, and considering your threshold for heat)

    7 or 8 pounds of pulled pork butt, medium to fine shreds. (The pulled pork can be prepared on the barbecue, roasted in the oven, in a Dutch oven, or a pressure cooker. Pressure cooking is my favorite because it is a real timesaver and the broth is concentrated and wonderful).
    ¼ cup Chimayo chili powder
    ¼ cup Tularosa chili powder
    2 tablespoons Mulato chili powder
    ½ cup Top Hat chili powder blend
    ¼ cup cumin
    1-1/2 tablespoons crushed tepin peppers.
    1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
    2 tablespoons salt
    6 tablespoons fresh garlic, chopped
    1 tablespoon garlic powder.
    Chicken broth & water - about 4 cups total

    Place the pulled pork in a large Dutch oven or roaster. Add all of the ingredients except the broth and water, mix in well. Add about half of the broth and water, mixing in well. Bring this mixture to a simmer in order to reduce the liquid, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid at least once more and continue to reduce until the filling is just a little soupy, then set aside to cool. Once the mixture has begun the first reduction, the Dutch oven can be transferred to your cooker, at around 275° grate temperature, to receive a little smoke flavor during the final stages of the reduction.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • benny
    benny Posts: 109
    where can u get these different types of chili spices peppers etc
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    From Pendery's, there is a link to their site within the recipe. I highly recommend these guys.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • dhuffjr
    dhuffjr Posts: 3,182
    Man you are a cooking machine! Is their anything cooking you don't know how to do?

    Thread bookmarked!
  • rsmdale
    rsmdale Posts: 2,472
    Here is a Yucatean style pulled pork(Cochinita Pibil)
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    GOOD EATS AND GOOD FRIENDS

    DALE
  • Here's my take on Mojo Pork: Mojo Pork

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    The Naked Whiz
  • rsmdale
    rsmdale Posts: 2,472
    Beli,that looks too good!!

    GOOD EATS AND GOOD FRIENDS

    DALE
  • Beli
    Beli Posts: 10,751
    TKS Dale if I remember well we had some malbec with it