Pages

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Hibiscus/Ancho Carnita Tacos

What an exotic ingredient Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup is for this East Texas Girl to play with.
After checking it out, I realized that Hibiscus is really compatible with a lot of different flavors and that got me intrigued. We make carnitas a lot and I found out that ancho chile loves hibiscus. The only thing that I cannot stress enough is batch searing meat. You NEED to do this so that your meats don't steam each other. You want a good sear that will stand up to a couple of hours of braising. It takes patience, but you can do it!!!!

Hibiscus/Ancho Carnitas Tacos
by Traci
Adapted from Serious Eats No Waste Tacos de Carnitas with Salsa Verde Recipe

Hibiscus/Ancho Sauce:
2 dried ancho chiles, rehydrated (place into a bowl with hot water and let it stand for about an hour)
2 Wild Hibiscus Blooms, chopped, plus 1/2 teaspoon syrup

Chop the chile very fine and add the blooms. Combine and make almost into a paste and set aside.

Carnitas:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds pork butt, cut into chunks
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, divided
6 Tortillas (whichever you prefer)

Preheat a dutch oven (or a skillet with a lid) with the olive oil on medium heat.  In a bowl, combine pork with seasonings. Coat well. Place a couple of hunks of meat in the oil. Let them just hang out...please be patient. They will let you know when they need to be turned by letting loose from the pan easily. Sear on all sides. Place onto a plate to await the others. Continue cooking until all the pork is done.

When your last batch is done, deglaze your pan by adding 1/2 cup of your stock. Scrape up all those little cooked bits in your pan. They add nothing but goodness to your broth. Reduce the heat to low. Add your pork back into the bath and add the rest of the stock and the Hibiscus/Ancho mixture. Combine. You will cover and just simmer until fork tender. Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When this is done to your liking, take a couple of forks and shred the pork. You are now ready to place into your preference of tortilla. I like to serve mine with a side of rice, Pico de Gallo and sliced avocado. But whatever you like will be fantastic.

You are going to love this combination of sweet and savory. Go to Wild Hibiscus to find out where you can get this great product. Don't forget to check out the other fantastic recipes that were made with this product and many others at 37 Cooks.

No comments:

Post a Comment