Mexican Style Pork Roast

I handed the recipes of three different cuisines to my husband and asked him to choose what he'd like to be served for Saturday dinner and this pork was his choice which was coincidentally what I'd like him to pick!

I loved the dish once I first saw it posted here and was really keen to give it a go.. What attracted me is not only its scrumptious look from the photos but the cuisine and method also caught my attention!! Honestly speaking, Mexican food is one of my favorites, yet not what I cook regularly unless I've found an interesting recipe and this pork happened to be the case..

I adjusted amount of spices to suit my taste bud and opted for tortilla to serve along with it.. To make a meal perfect, I also had homemade guacamole , iceberg lettuce, sour cream and grated Parmesan on the table and let everybody make their own choices to assemble their dinner.. What a happy family meal!!

The recipe ( Slightly adapted from here )

7 dried bird chillies, stemmed and half of them deseeded
2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 small white onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 tsp mixed dried herbs

Pinch cloves

2 tbsps vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

1kg pork shoulder

Rehydrate the chillies by steeping in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of water, transfer chillies and reserved liquid to a blender.

Tear bay leaves in pieces then add to the blender with the vinegar, onion, garlic, mixed herbs, cloves and allspice. Process to a smooth paste. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the spice paste and fry for five minutes until dark in colour.

Heat the oven to 160 degrees, cut the pork into pieces that are roughly 3 inches thick and make 1 inch incisions all over the meat. Lay the meat on top of the paste and ensure that it is all well coated. Pour 1.2 cup of chicken stock around the meat and put the dish into the oven.

Baste the meat every 30 minutes. After 2.5 hours the meat should be tender and falling apart. If the liquid dries out at any point during the cooking time then top up with water.

Allow the meat to rest for 30 minutes before serving. Remove the fat from the cooking liquid and reducing it down to create a thick sauce to serve with the meat.