random recipes and the like

This dish is stolen from Robert Rodriguez. He put together a short video on how to make this dish on the Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD. It's a pretty awesome video, so I'd suggest checking it out.

Anyway, here's the recipe for those of you who don't care to go rent the movie.

Ingredients:

5 tbps of Annato or Achiote Seeds (same thing, different name)
2 tsp Cumin
1 tbsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Cloves
2 tbsp Salt
8 Allspice

1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup White Vinegar
5 lemons
8 cloves of Garlic
2 Habanero Peppers
Tequila (that's right, it's going to be fun)

5 lbs of Pork Butt

(I've broken the ingredients up for a reason, just be patient.)

Directions:

1. Take the Achiote, Cumin, Pepper, Cloves, Salt, and Allspice and toss them in a coffee grinder. (Note: You're probably going to want to buy a new grinder for this so you don't have nasty tasting coffee later.) Grind all these into a nice, fine mixture.

2. Take your Vinegar, OJ, and Garlic and toss it in a blender.

3. Squeeze the juice out of the Lemons and add that to the blender. (Note: don't go too crazy with those lemons. Just give them a good squeeze. You don't need to squeeze out every drop of juice, trust me on this one.)

4. Remove and discard the seeds from the Habanero Peppers. Add the peppers to the blender.

5. Add the mix from step one to the blender and blend the crap out of that stuff. You'll want to make sure that the garlic cloves and habanero peppers are chopped up.

6. Chop the Pork Butt into 2-inch cubes.

7. Put the pork in a ziploc bag and pour in the mix from the blender. Let it marinate overnight.

8. Later, lay a few good-sized sheets of foil across a baking pan. (Rodriguez suggests using banana leaves, but I have yet to find and use them. Foil seems to work just fine.)

9. Pour the contents of the ziploc bag into the pan and wrap the foil up tight. (You don't want any steam to escape, so keep that in mind.) Take another sheet of foil place it over the top of the wrapped up foil and seal it all tightly.

10. Place the pan in the oven at 325 degrees. Four hours later, it's chow time.


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All that being said, this recipe is great over a bed of rice. Luke's rice recipe is awesome and I'll see if I can't get him to post it.

Enjoy!

You can find banana leaves in the freezer section of a Chinese grocery store. They do make a difference, a kind of smokey tea flavor.