I loved the delicious little tacos at barrio filled with pork shoulder braised with ancho chillis and golden rasins. Haven't seen these savory snacks in a while .. so I figured i'd take a stab at re-creating this at home.
braised pork shoulder tacos
for the pork
pork shoulder (typically come between 4-6 lbs)
2 tablespoons chipotle chilis in adobe (including peppers and sauce)
1 28oz can of whole tomatos
1 cup golden raisins
4 cups chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
for the tacos
small tortillas (corn or flour)
chopped cilantro
chopped red onion
sliced red cabbage
lime wedges
guacamole or sliced avocado
Boil water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water over the golden raisins in a medium sized bowl and let the raisins plumpen.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat a few drizzles of oil over med-high heat. While the pot is heating, season the pork shoulder with some salt and pepper. Brown all sides of the pork shoulder (until golden brown), and remove from the heat. Add one more drizzle of oil and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant (about 4 minutes, be careful not to burn the garlic).
Add the pork shoulder, chicken broth, chipotle chiles in adobo, raisins (with about 1 cup of the liquid), and both the juice of the canned tomatos and the actual tomatos (crushing and breaking the tomatos down in your hand over the pot, before you add them in). Make sure that the pork shoulder is at least half way emersed in liquid. If it is not, just add more of the raisin liquid or some extra chicken broth. Bring this all to a boil, place a lid over the pot and put it into the oven at 375 degrees.
The pork should cook for about 4 hours (until falling off the bone). Check on the pork every hour or so to baste the pork with liquid or flip the pork shoulder to keep everything moist.
When the pork is done, remove it from the oven and place on a stove top. Take 2 forks and slowly pull a part the tender meat and remove the bone. There should be enough liquid (about 2 cups or less) to keep the pork moist and create a nice sauce. If there is too much liquid, you can remove this with a ladle until you have a nice consistency. The pork can be served right away to make tacos or left to simmer a bit more with the sauce until you're ready.
This makes quite a bit pork .. so it's perfect for a dinner party.
