Chilorio
Chilorio is a braised, shredded pork dish from Sinaloa, Mexico, made by slow-simmering pork shoulder in a smoky chile sauce. Serve this pulled pork in tacos, burritos, and more!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder with a little bit of fat and cut into large chunks
- 3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice about 7-8 oranges
- 1 small white onion quartered
- ½ teaspoon ground oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- water for boiling
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 dried chile ancho seeded and stemmed
- 3 dried chile pasilla seeded and stemmed
- 3 dried chile guajillo seeded and stemmed
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
Instructions
- Prep the pork. Add the pork shoulder, orange juice, white onion, oregano, cumin, and bay leaves into a large stockpot. Pour in enough water to cover the pork completely. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the pork. Set the pot over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the pork continue simmering for 40 minutes and up to an hour. Check back every 20 minutes to make sure it still has enough liquid. If it's not fully covered anymore, add more water accordingly. Once done, transfer the pork into a bowl and reserve the cooking liquid. Discard the onion pieces.
- Rehydrate the chiles. Add the dried peppers and 2 cups of water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat and allow the peppers to soak in the water for 15 minutes.
- Blend the sauce. Transfer the peppers with their cooking liquid to a blender with the garlic, sugar, and vinegar. Blend until you get a smooth mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set the sauce aside.
- Sear the pork. In the same pot you boiled the pork in, melt the lard over medium-high heat. Add the chunks of pork into the pot and sear them for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. While still in the pot, use two forks to shred the pork by pulling the meat apart in opposite directions.
- Cook. Strain the chile sauce over the pork and discard the pulp. If you used a high speed blender, you will not need to strain the sauce. Add about 2 cups of the reserved liquid from the pork. Stir until well combined. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer uncovered for 25 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Final touches. Taste the chilorio and adjust accordingly; season with more salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin, if needed.
- Enjoy. Serve your chilorio with corn or flour tortillas, refried beans, and red rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 518mg | Potassium: 1084mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 9651IU | Vitamin C: 60mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 3mg
