And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
“Stir-fries” have never excited me very much, and not just because I’m wok-less. I associate them with strips of grey, nondescript meat in a tangle of salty, under cooked vegetables, and those are the ones I made. The stir-fries I’ve ordered out were even worse. So, put me down as officially less likely to make something described as a stir-fry. Which is why it took me a while to embrace Lomo Saltado. On the surface, it doesn’t ... to read the rest of Chef John's article about Lomo Saltado,please follow this link to become a member.) Follow this link to get a complete, printable written recipe for Lomo Saltado!
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
The recent flour shortages in grocery stores have been well documented on the news, complete with footage of panicked buyers in front of bare shelves, except if you looked really close, you would’ve noticed a few odd looking bags here and there, left unscathed in the hoarders’ attack. There’s a good chance some of those survivors were bags of ... to read the rest of Chef John's article about this Mbejú recipe,please follow this link to become a member.) Follow this link to get a complete, printable written recipe for Mbejú!
And, as always, enjoy! If you want more information about why the blog format has changed, and why we're now offering complete written recipes, please read all about that here.
When I roast, or smoke a pork shoulder outside on the grill,
I usually break a few rules, and by a few, I mean pretty much all of them. I
use too high a heat; I don’t wrap my meat halfway through; or even bother
mopping the meat with a marinade; and yet despite ignoring all those best
practices, I’m always thrilled with how it comes out.
Maybe it’s the brine, or that I’m just easily satisfied, but
it’s been my experience that if you season aggressively, and cook the meat over
smoky coals to an internal temp of 195 F., you’ll be rewarded with tender,
moist, and very flavorful meat. By the way, this was inspired by the famous al
pastor taco’s spice blend, and pineapple element, but I wouldn’t want anyone to
expect this to taste exactly like that magical meat.
Having said that, this particular flavor profile really
works here, especially when the pulled pork is topped with grilled pineapple
salsa. In fact, that stuff was so delicious, you should make it even if you’re
not barbecuing the shoulder. It’s great on anything, including ice cream; so
don’t let the last of those hot coals go to waste.
The only real challenge here is maintaining a steady temp in
your grill of between 300 and 325 F. I try to keep it just above 300 F., which
is accomplished by adjusting the vents under, and on top of the grill, or
smoker. I also like to start with a good amount of (real) charcoal, so I don’t have to
reload it halfway through, but that depends on your set-up. Thanks to the
brine, and spice rub, even if you end up having to do this in the oven, I still
think it comes out quite well. In any event, there’s nothing like a juicy,
pulled pork sandwich, and this is one of my favorite versions, which is why I really
hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 portions:
1 bone-in pork shoulder (about 9-10 pounds)
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1 quart pineapple juice
3 quarts water
For the Rub (will make extra):
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/4 cup ancho chili powder, or any ground chili pepper
There’s nothing very unusual, or interesting about serving a
chicken or potato salad at a cookout, which is why this truly unique, Peruvian potato and chicken
salad will cause such a stir. Or should I say, “causa” a stir, since in Peru that’s
what this gorgeous dish is called. I’m told the name comes from the Inca word for
“giver of life,” which is exactly what this will do to your summer picnic
table.
Above
and beyond the bold, vibrant flavors, this is unlike any other potato-based
salad, in that we’re using mashed potatoes instead of cubes, or chunks, but it
really does work beautifully, and the smooth, silky texture makes this even
more refreshing to eat. Keep all that in mind the next time a heat wave rolls
through your area.
I
went very minimal with the cherry tomato garnish, but my Peruvian friends are
letting me know that olives are a very traditional garnish, as are hardboiled
eggs. If you do an image search, you’ll see all kinds of elaborate
presentations, and that’s half the fun of making something like this, so go
nuts. Regardless of how you dress yours up, or what ends up in your salad, I
really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Appetizer-Sized Portions (in 6-oz
ramekins):
For the potato mixture:
1 1/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, or russet
2 tablespoons Aji Amarillo chili paste, or to taste (see
note below)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 or 2 limes, juiced, or to taste
salt and cayenne to taste
For the chicken salad:
1 large cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded
1/4 cup green peas
1/4 cup cooked diced carrots
2 tablespoons finely diced roasted red pepper
1 teaspoon minced shallot, or red onion
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 to 1/3 cup mayo, or as needed
salt and cayenne to taste 1 ripe avocado for layering with the salad
For the sauce:
1/3 cup mayo
1 tablespoon sour cream, optional 1 small crushed garlic clove 2 teaspoons Aji Amarillo chili paste, or to taste a splash of water to adjust the thickness
Please Note: If you can’t find Aji Amarillo, you can make a paste from some fire-roasted and peeled orange or red bell peppers, and red Fresno chilies for some heat. While this does get you close, you should definitely try to find a jar of the real stuff, since it does have such a unique flavor.
This Cuban braised beef dish literally translates to, “old
clothes,” because apparently some people thought it looked like old, tattered
clothing, but as I touched on in the video’s intro, don’t make this because of
the cool name. Make this because it’s one of the most delicious dishes ever,
and will most definitely spark joy.
Of course, you have to be into big, bold flavors, since
there’s nothing subtle about the seasoning here. Above and beyond a warning,
that also should serve as a reminder to adjust the amounts below to match your
personal preferences. Compared to some recipes, my version is actually fairly
subdued.
Some folks like to braise the meat until it’s falling apart
before tearing it, but I prefer the method seen herein. I’ll cook the meat
until it’s just starting to get tender, then tear, and finish it in the sauce.
I believe that makes for an even better texture, as well as possibly absorbing
more flavor, although I can’t prove any of this. You can also, use skirt steak,
or big pieces of chuck, but flank is my favorite. No matter what you use, I
really hope you give these “old clothes” a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 portions:
1 flank steak (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
cayenne to taste
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, or finely crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 bell peppers, sliced (I also used a poblano chili)
Everyone loves fresh, sweet corn, but
there comes a time every summer when you get tired of gnawing it off the cob,
which is exactly when these crispy fritters should be made. Sure, you may get
splattered with a little hot oil, but I promise, it will be worth it.
Freshly shucked corn is the star of the
show here, and we’re going to pack a seemingly impossible amount into our
batter. Beyond the amazing taste and texture, I think you’ll be shocked by how a
batter this thin, light, and crispy, can hold together so many kernels.
If you don’t know how to remove those
kernels from the cob, we welcome you to check out this video to see that very technique. Other than getting your hands on some perfect summer corn, the only
other thing you’ll have to decide is how to serve this.
Crab is very nice, but so is grilled
shrimp, or even a ceviche, which is how they serve it at the restaurant that
inspired this fritter. Regardless of how you top them, or whether you top them,
I really do hope you give this great fresh corn recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Makes about 6 Crispy Corn Fritters:
2 ears white corn (about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 large egg white
1/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup self-rising flour (or 1/4 cup all-purpose flour with 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/8 tsp fine salt added)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* If need be, add a little more water, or cornstarch/flour,
to adjust the batter consistency to what you see in the video.
- Shallow fry at 350°F for about two minutes per side
-- Use a seasoned cast iron skillet, as this will stick in a
regular stainless steel pan For the sauce: 1/2 cup mayo 2 teaspoons chipotle juice of one lime
I’m not sure if you’ve had picadillo before, but I’m
very sure you’ve almost had it before. This Cuban creation is one of the
world’s great ground meat dishes, and fairly similar to sloppy Joes, as well as
bean-less chili, or as a chili connoisseur would call it, “chili."
I went with beef here, but pork can be added, as well as
chorizo. Often fillers like diced potato and squash are added, but since I
serve this over rice, I typically don’t include those. I used to be more into
hot, starch-on-starch action when I was younger, but these days, not so much.
As I mentioned in the video, many consider the olives
optional, but for me, they’re one of the keys to the dish. Those briny bites
reset your palate as you eat, which makes every bite seem like the first. Having
said that, not everyone does olives, but I still really hope you give it a try
soon – with capers. Enjoy!
I received a food wish for lomo al trapo a while back, which
I learned is a Colombian method for cooking beef tenderloin. The meat is
encased in salt, wrapped in a kitchen towel, and then set on top of hot coals.
Crediting
the intense heat, and salt crust, aficionados of this Colombian technique say
it produces the juiciest, most flavorful beef tenderloin you’ve ever had.
It really sounded amazing, and I wanted to try it, but realized
many of you would have trouble explaining why you were destroying a perfectly
good kitchen towel in the process. So, I decided to try a towel-free salt crust
technique I’d used successfully on prime rib before, and despite some minor
aesthetic issues, it worked amazingly well.
Beef tenderloin is a lean cut of meat, which can make for a
fairly boring roast, but that was not the case here. The tenderloin took on an
intensely beefy flavor, and was so juicy that I thought something was
wrong.There was so much on the cutting
board, I was afraid there wouldn’t be any left in the meat, but I’m happy to
report every single bite was dripping with moisture.
Maybe this summer, when the grill is fired up, and I have one
too many kitchen towels around, I’ll try the real lomo al trapo technique, but
in the meantime I was thrilled with how this came out, and really hope you give
it a try soon. Stay tuned for the béarnaise sauce video, and as always, enjoy!
These simple and addictive shrimp and jalapeno nachos are
not only a nice alternative to more common versions, but a great reminder of
how this iconic snack was actually intended to be served. Contrary to current
fashion, nachos didn’t start out as a giant pile of chips drenched in ladles of
florescent gold cheese sauce.
The earliest versions were made by simply broiling a single
layer of cheese-topped chips, which were then garnished with jalapeno peppers –
simple and elegant, with every chip genetically identical to the next. Over
time we’ve added hundreds of toppings, as well as replaced the broiled (real)
cheese with something that you can also use to grease an axel.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the aforementioned version just
as much as the next guy wearing pajama jeans, but once in a while it’s good to revisit
a simpler time in American snacking. If you’re planning to party, I wish you a
fun and safe Cinco de Mayo, and hope you give these very tasty chips a try.
Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Portions:
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (I used 50-60 per pounds size, which are
ideal for this)
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
pinch of cayenne
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper
salt and pepper to taste
50-60 large tortilla chips, or as needed 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced very thin
about 3 1/2 cups of shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
avocado creama (1 avocado, 1 cup sour cream, and juice of 1
lemon or 2 limes; liquefied in a blender)
Here's a collection of video recipes featuring fantastic food inspired by the cuisines of Central and South America. You never forget your first love, and when it comes to ethnic food it was the foods of Mexico and points south that first captured my imagination some 28 years ago, as I began eating my way across San Francisco. I realize Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal out here in California, but no matter where you live, I hope you give some of these festive recipes a try. Enjoy!
According to my sources deep inside the online health community, eating plantains can help fight Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), or as it's more commonly called, the "winter blues."
I don't really have issues with S.A.D., and when I do, I usually fight it with beer, but it is nice to have another option.
It may be the tryptophan, a natural mood enhancer, or the high levels of vitamins C, B6, B12, or maybe it's just all that fiber, but whatever it is, I can report anecdotally that I felt pretty happy after eating these golden-browned beauties.
Above and beyond the purported health benefits, I have an even better reason to try plantains: meatless boredom. I like to mix in the occasional meatless meal, but tend to repeat the same old standbys. Plantains are perfect for breaking up that routine. Besides, I bet that some of your have never even tried them before, and that's just not right.
If you live near any kind of large city, especially one with a Latin-American community, you should find these fairly easily. As I mention in the video, you've probably looked at them many times at the store, but were unsure of exactly what they were, or what you should do with them.
I think when paired with a simple plate of black beans and rice, you're talking about a super simple, very frugal, and quite delicious dinner. I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Fried sweet plantains ingredients for about 4 portions:
When I first discovered arepas on a trip to New York City last year, it was love at first bite. I couldn't wait to get back to San Francisco, find some P.A.N. arepas flour, and make a batch or two, which I did in this post.
Since it was my first attempt, I used the classic water, salt, white cornmeal mix to delicious effect. As I read more about arepas, I saw there were hundreds of variations, using all sorts of combinations of milk, cheese, cream, buttermilk, yogurt, etc. I decided I wanted to try a breakfast version made with cream cheese and milk, topped with butter and honey. Unfortunately, I never did.
So, when my friends at Imusa asked me to test their arepas maker, I knew exactly which recipe I'd try. As you'll see, this machine was very easy to use, and produced some fine arepas (even though my dough was a tad dry and cracked a little – and to paraphrase the great Whitney Houston, when it comes to arepas perfection, cracks are wack).If you don't use a specially made grill for these, worry not; they would come out fine using a pan as I did in the original video. If you want more info about this particular model arepas maker, please check out this Imusa product link. Also, if you can't find the P.A.N. arepas flour in a store near you, follow this link to purchase online.
On a side note; I have to admit, as I was using the machine, I kept daydreaming about doing burgers and eggs with it as well. So, don't be surprised if you see this machine appear in future videos with alternative recipes. Enjoy!
UPDATE! As viewer AFB just brilliantly pointed out, you can certainly just place your dough balls in the maker and let it press them down into patties for you. This is, of course, the main advantages of using this machine! I like the smoother edges hand-shaping provides, and I did make sure they were thicker than the press is deep, so that both sides are in contact. I may do an updated test to see how this faster and more traditional use of the press works.
Cream Cheese Arepas Ingredients (makes 4): 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup softened cream cheese 1 tsp sugar 1 cup P.A.N. arepas flour Note: This video was made possible by Imusa, and the arepas maker was provided free of charge to test. View the complete recipe
Better late than never! I've been wanting to feature more videos from my fellow creators on Hungry Nation, and what better choice than the lovely and talented Claudia Yuskoff, from Mmm Me Gusta. I love this recipe and it's been requested on the blog before, so until I get around to doing my version, please enjoy this one! Great job Claudia, and thanks for sharing!
I can't say how impressed I am with all the responses we got after the arepas video was posted yesterday! While it seems I got close, it was clear from the comments that I needed to make a few crucial changes. So, i made another small batch.
I used more water, so the dough was softer and didn't crack when I formed the arepas. I also didn't fry them, but cooked them on a dry (well, very super-lightly oiled) griddle. From the comments it was obvious this was a key, and after one taste I could tell why. It had a better crust and texture. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge!
Arepas Update 2.1
I just discovered these are killer grilled on leftover charcoal! Smoky, chewy, crispy goodness.
I still can't believe I've only just recently discovered arepas. I live in San Francisco, blocks away from one of the largest Latin-American neighborhoods in the country, yet somehow I'd never tasted an arepa?
All those wasted years I could have been eating this amazingly simple, yet brilliant concoction. Thank goodness one of the stops on a recent field trip to NYC was a hole-in-the-wall called Caracas Arepas Bar. It was at this east village eatery where I fell in love with a stuffed white corn cake.
Halfway through my first arepa, one stuffed with black beans, beef, plantains and salty cheese, I vowed to learn how to make these at home. Upon my return to San Francisco, I headed straight to the Mission, where the first Latin grocery store I checked had what I needed, harina P.A.N., a kind of boiled white corn meal vital to this recipe.
As you'll see in the video, if you can find this product, the rest is extremely simple. You make a dough with some salt and warm water, and then you fry patties until golden brown. The resulting corn cake, once split open and stuffed, is a tour de force of textual pleasure.
Sure the ingredients in a BLT all taste great, but it’s the perfect blend of textures that makes it a charter member of the sandwich hall of fame. Same goes for arepas. The golden brown outside gets crispy and crunchy, yet the inside stays soft, moist, and somewhat chewy.
It's a truly magnificent delivery system for any number of your favorite fillings. I went with some spicy pork and avocado, but you can also see a version I made a few days later, stuffed with caramelized plantains and salty goat feta. To die for.
Anyway, I hope you watch the video and decide that arepas need to be part of your life also. Here are some links to help you with what I promise will be a delicious journey. I hear you can get the P.A.N. corn meal at any Latin-American foods market, but it's also easy to find and order online. Here is an Ebay page with all sorts of options.
For ideas on what to stuff into these beauties, here's a link to the official Caracas Arepas Bar website. If you check out their downloadable menu, you can see what they use in theirs and go from there. I really hope you give these a try. Enjoy!
Note: at the time of this posting, I still hadn’t learned what P.A.N. stands for. If you know, please share. Thanks! Update: P.A.N. stands for National Alimentary Product.
Ingredients: (Note: I only made half a batch. These ingredients are for a full batch, which will give you about 8 arepas.)
2 1/2 cups tepid water 1 teaspoon salt about 2 cups of P.A.N. white corn meal (By the way, don't ask me if you can use other corn meals or flours, because I don't know!)
For even more information on making arepas, check out this great post from my friend Shauna's blog,Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.
This recipe doesn't pretend to be anything it's not - this is simply a super-fast casserole that shares a few similarities to chicken enchiladas. If you are Mexican, and were/are lucky enough to enjoy authentic enchiladas, this will not remind you of Mom's - or even Dad's.
But having issued the standard ethnic recipe disclaimer, I'll say, these aren't bad. As long as you choose a high-quality green sauce and a decently cooked rotisserie chicken, you should end up with a nice, easy, fast dinner.
Please buy some good cheeses and grate them yourself. You'll see me using a pre-grated Mexican cheese blend, which was me not wanting to waste a product sample I had received for a review (the verdict? Grate your own cheese!)
This low-quality video was posted on YouTube a long time ago, but for whatever reason was never posted here. In fact, I don't even have a decent photo of the final dish, which is why you see this crappy screen shot here. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 rotisserie chicken 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese 8 oz cheddar cheese 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp salt 3 cups green enchilada sauce 10 corn tortillas 2 tbsp hot sauce Photo (c) Flickr user Sung Sook
As promised, here is my basic version of chilaquiles, a classic Mexican mixture of fried tortillas, cheese, and salsa verde, often made with eggs to produce one of the world's great breakfasts. Like all the great breakfasts of the world, it has been long touted as a superior hangover cure.
It's ability to revive the body, mind, and soul from the ravages of alcohol poisoning is reportedly second only to the famous Mexican soup, menudo. Since mendo takes much longer to make, and traditionally contains, among other things, brains, cheeks, tails, hooves, and other organs, I tend to prefer the chilaquiles as my remedy.
According to the extensive research I did regarding the name, and by that I mean the three minutes I spent on Wikipedia, the word "chilaquiles" is derived from the Nahuatl word chil-a-quilitl, which means "herbs or greens in chile broth."
I can't say how that particular recipe eventually became what you'll see here, but thankfully it did - I can't imagine a bowl of stewed greens in a chili broth would work as well after a late night out at Senor Diablo's Casa de Las Margaritas Grandes. Enjoy!
Ingredients for curing 2 hangovers: 5 eggs 3 corn tortillas 1/2 cup cheese 1/2 cup salsa verde vegetable oil salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Check Out These Other Great South-of-the-Border Video Recipes:
My all-time favorite fast food in the whole world is a Taco al Pastor. I live right next to the "Mission," which is San Francisco's Mexican neighborhood, and there are literally three or four taquerías per block selling this amazing treat.
It's a huge stack of thinly sliced pork, marinated in chili, pineapple juice, and other secret ingredients, piled up on a vertical spit and cooked rotisserie-style. The tender, aromatic meat is then sliced off and served on tortillas, usually with onions, cilantro, and a little hot sauce. It's too good to describe.This pork recipe is NOT a true al pastor (fyi: shepherd-style), but simply a nice, easy marinade using some of the same ingredients to fairly delicious results. The main ingredient is the pineapple juice, which not only gives the meat a great flavor, but also has enzymes that makes it very tender.Of course, I decided to use some pork tenderloin I had, which sort of defeats the purpose, but this marinade really pays dividends when using the much cheaper, and more traditional pork shoulder.One of the key spices is cinnamon, which is no surprise since the origins of this recipe trace back to Lebanese immigrants living in Mexico City, where they were clearly showing off their shawarma-rich heritage. Lamb shawarma is a similar preparation, and you can watch me do a faux-version of that here.This is one of those recipe that I just happened to have the camera on as I cooked. I didn't measure things, I forgot to film the cinnamon addition, and never even added cumin, another traditional spice. Nevertheless, it was wonderfully tender and tasty, and I'm happy to share it with you, flaws and all. Enjoy!
Note:Vimeo is still having sound issues, sorry.
Ingredients: 2 pork tenderloin 6 oz pineapple juice 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp chipotle 2 dried chiles Pasilla, seeds discarded 3 dried chiles Guajillo, seeds discarded cayenne to taste cumin, optional 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp white vinegar salt to taste vegetable oil for grilling View the complete recipe
If you live near any kind of large city, especially one with a Latin-American community, you should find these fairly easily. As I mention in the video, you've probably looked at them many times at the store, but were unsure of exactly what they were, or what you should do with them.
When I first discovered arepas on a trip to New York City last year, it was love at first bite. I couldn't wait to get back to San Francisco, find some P.A.N. arepas flour, and make a batch or two, which I did in this post.
If you don't use a specially made grill for these, worry not; they would come out fine using a pan as I did in the original video. If you want more info about this particular model arepas maker, please check out this Imusa product link. Also, if you can't find the P.A.N. arepas flour in a store near you, follow this link to purchase online.
I can't say how impressed I am with all the responses we got after the arepas video was posted yesterday! While it seems I got close, it was clear from the comments that I needed to make a few crucial changes. So, i made another small batch.
I still can't believe I've only just recently discovered arepas. I live in San Francisco, blocks away from one of the largest Latin-American neighborhoods in the country, yet somehow I'd never tasted an arepa?
As you'll see in the video, if you can find this product, the rest is extremely simple. You make a dough with some salt and warm water, and then you fry patties until golden brown. The resulting corn cake, once split open and stuffed, is a tour de force of textual pleasure.
Anyway, I hope you watch the video and decide that arepas need to be part of your life also. Here are some links to help you with what I promise will be a delicious journey. I hear you can get the P.A.N. corn meal at any Latin-American foods market, but it's also easy to find and order online. Here is an Ebay page with all sorts of options.
This recipe doesn't pretend to be anything it's not - this is simply a super-fast casserole that shares a few similarities to chicken enchiladas. If you are Mexican, and were/are lucky enough to enjoy authentic enchiladas, this will not remind you of Mom's - or even Dad's.
As promised, here is my basic version of chilaquiles, a classic Mexican mixture of fried tortillas, cheese, and salsa verde, often made with eggs to produce one of the world's great breakfasts. Like all the great breakfasts of the world, it has been long touted as a superior hangover cure.
According to the extensive research I did regarding the name, and by that I mean the three minutes I spent on Wikipedia, the word "chilaquiles" is derived from the Nahuatl word chil-a-quilitl, which means "herbs or greens in chile broth."
Aunt Mary's Pollo en Crema
My all-time favorite fast food in the whole world is a Taco al Pastor. I live right next to the "Mission," which is San Francisco's Mexican neighborhood, and there are literally three or four taquerías per block selling this amazing treat.
This pork recipe is NOT a true al pastor (fyi: shepherd-style), but simply a nice, easy marinade using some of the same ingredients to fairly delicious results. The main ingredient is the pineapple juice, which not only gives the meat a great flavor, but also has enzymes that makes it very tender.Of course, I decided to use some pork tenderloin I had, which sort of defeats the purpose, but this marinade really pays dividends when using the much cheaper, and more traditional pork shoulder.
One of the key spices is cinnamon, which is no surprise since the origins of this recipe trace back to Lebanese immigrants living in Mexico City, where they were clearly showing off their shawarma-rich heritage. Lamb shawarma is a similar preparation, and you can watch me do a faux-version of that here.This is one of those recipe that I just happened to have the camera on as I cooked. I didn't measure things, I forgot to film the cinnamon addition, and never even added cumin, another traditional spice. Nevertheless, it was wonderfully tender and tasty, and I'm happy to share it with you, flaws and all. Enjoy!