Braised Pork leg, Apatzingán style (Pierna puerco estilo Apatzingán)

Apatzingán is the fourth largest city in the mexican state of Michoacán. The cuisine from the state of Michoacán is famous from its "carnitas", and many other delicious dishes. This is a relatively easy to make mexican recipe and it is somewhat similar to carnitas but it has its own very distinct personality.






Braised Pork leg, Apatzingán style:

Ingredients:

5 lb. Pork leg or shoulder
4 Guajillo Chilies, cleaned and deveined
3 Roasted red tomatoes
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
9 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 peppercorns, slightly crushed
1 large onion, sliced
1 large orange, cut into thin slices
3 bay leaves
2 large sprigs fresh marjoram
1 1/2 Cup of Mexican beer

Preparation:

With the tip of a sharp knife, cut slits on the pork meat on all sides and directions, creating a grid pattern and place it in a roasting pan that fits tightly (this is important so that the sauce does not dry out).

Preheat oven to 250 ˚F, place oven rack to the middle position in the oven. Remove stems from dried chilies, open them, scrape and remove veins and seeds. Soak the chiles in hot water and leave them there 15 minutes or until they are hydrated and their skin has softened a bit.

Put in your blender the following: the chiles, unpeeled roasted tomatoes, salt, orange juice, garlic cloves and peppercorns and blend until completely liquefied.

Pour some of sauce over the meat, turn the meat over and top off with more sauce until the meat is completely covered. Top with onion and orange slices, herbs around the meat and now pour the beer over it.

Cover the pan with a lid or foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender but not falling apart (the cooking time will vary depending on the quality of the meat and the thickness of the roasting pan); remove cover scrape the sides and bottom of the roasting pan and baste the meat with the sauce.

Increase heat to 300 and bake until the surface of the meat has browned and the sauce has reduced a bit, scraping sides of the roasting pan and basting the meat from time to time for about 30 minutes. Move the meat to a bowl, add a bit more water to the roasting pan, cook on the stove to reduce the sauce to desired thickness. Slice the meat, arrange the slices on each plate while pouring sauce over.

Enjoy your meal!



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easy mexican recipes