Pork Braised with Chillies
1.8kg boneless skinless pork shoulder
salt
1 garlic head, remove any roots and peel any papery skins, there is no need to peel thoroughly and separate the head into cloves.
neutral-tasting oil, grape seed oil works
2 medium brown onions, sliced
400g tin crushed tomatoes, Annalisa brand works
2 tbs cumin seed (or 1 tbs ground cumin)
2 bay leaves
8 dried chillies, such as Guijillo or ancho, stemmed, seeded and rinsed (optional)
1 tbs sweet paprika
700ml lager or pilsner
handful coriander leaves, chopped
The day before you plan to cook, season the pork generously with salt, cover and refrigerate.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius,
Remove any roots from the head of garlic, then slice it in half crosswise. (Skins can be left on)
Set an ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
When the pot is warm, add 1 tbs oil. When the oil shimmers, place the pork in the pot.
Brown the pork evenly on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove pork from the pan when the meat is brown, set it aside.
Carefully tip out as much of the fat from the pot as you can.
Return the pot to the stove.
Reduce the heat to medium, add 1 tbs oil.
Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring from time to time, until the onions are tender and lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Add the whole can tomatoes and juice, cumin, bay leaves, dried chillies (if using), and paprika and stir.
Nestle pork atop the aromatic base, and add enough beer to come 4cm up the sides of the meat.
Make sure the bay leaves are covered so they don’t burn during the cooking process.
Increase the heat and bring to a boil on the stove, then place the pot, uncovered into the oven.
After 30 minutes, check to make sure the liquid is just barely simmering.
About every 30 minutes, turn the pork over and check the level of the liquid. Add more beer as needed to maintain the liquid at a depth of 4cm.
Cook until the meat is tender and falls apart at the touch of a fork, about 4 hours.
Remove the pork from the oven, carefully remove it from the pan.
Shred the meat and discard the sauce.
This works on pita with coleslaw and or tabouli, green goddess sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomato and diced avocado and diced red onion macerated in lime juice for at least 15 minutes and strained.