Make it at home: Dilworth Tasting Room’s adobo pork shoulder with salsa, grits
Comfort food seekers, this is it. We’ve got a recipe to share that has it all — it’s filling and creamy, with a few tangy and spicy zips thrown in, perfect for a time when we’re isolating because of coronavirus and have a little extra time to play in the kitchen.
The Deconstructed Tamale is a dish that Dilworth Tasting Room recently added to its curbside takeout menu — you’ll find it there as adobo braised pork shoulder — and it’s one of Executive Chef Jonathan Shuler’s favorites to make at the moment.
“This dish is originally inspired by the Mexican tamale,” Shuler said. “A cook from the first restaurant I was a chef at came up with it. This is my play on that dish with some inspiration from a Puerto Rican variation of a tamale dish called a pastele.”
Don’t let the length of the ingredients list intimidate you. Plan to start this dish the evening before or at least early in the day to make some time for marinating and pickling, and we’ll break the recipe down step by step for you.
Keep in mind, you can also size this down by cutting your pork shoulder in half or even in thirds and saving the remainder for other uses. But it’s also the kind of dinner that tastes just as good — or even better — as leftovers or in similar uses once you run out of grits. Pork tacos, anyone?
Ingredients
10-15 pound pork butt/shoulder
1/4 cup paprika
3 tbs. ground black pepper
3 tbs. onion powder
3 tbs. dry oregano plus 1 tsp. (divided use)
3 tbs. ground cumin plus 2 tsp. (divided use)
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tbs. chipotle plus 1 tsp. (divided use)
1 tsp. whole coriander seed
1 tsp. whole mustard seed
½ tsp. crushed chili flake
1 tsp. salt plus more to taste (divided use)
2 tbs. sugar
4 large tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
2 large red onions: 1 peeled and quartered, 1 sliced in strips (divided use)
4 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cloves garlic peeled
½ cup chopped cilantro, plus garnish
4 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups milk
1 stick of butter
1 cup stone ground yellow grits
2 dry corn husks
1 cup Cotija cheese, crumbled, plus garnish
Adobo Rubbed Pulled Pork
Adobo Spice Mix
1/4 cup paprika
3 Tablespoons ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons dry oregano
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1/4 c garlic powder
2 tablespoons chipotle
Note: The remaining spice mix can be used on any protein.
Method of preparation
Take pork butt and rub it heavily and evenly with salt. Next, rub with adobo spice mix and allow to marinate overnight — or at the very least, 4 hours.
Once pork is marinated overnight, sear pork on all sides in a large skillet. Add to a large pan that is big enough to fit pork, and cover with hot vegetable stock by 2 inches. Cover with parchment paper then foil and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 6 hours or until fork tender.
Note: Pork will be even better if time allows to completely cool in braising liquid and reheated the next day.
Ranchero Salsa
4 large tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 large red onion, peel and quarter
4 cloves garlic peeled
½ cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chipotle powder
4 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
Method of preparation
Roast all vegetables until charred on the outside over a flame, if available, or under a high broiler. Add to a blender. Next, add chopped cilantro, cumin, oregano, chipotle powder and fresh squeezed lime juice.
Blend until smooth. If too thick, use a little juice from the pork or vegetable stock to smooth out. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pickled carrots and red onions
Pickle juice
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. whole coriander seed
1 tsp. whole mustard seed
½ tsp. crushed chili flake
Method of preparation
Bring all ingredients to a simmer for 10 minutes and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain and pour over vegetables of choice (Shuler uses carrots and red onions, so that’s what we added to the ingredients list).
Note: Allow to pickle as long as possible; overnight will achieve good results.
Grits
4 cups milk
1 stick of butter
1 cup stone ground yellow grits
Salt to taste
2 dry corn husks
1 cup Cotija cheese, crumbled
Method of preparation
To start, take one gallon of milk and steep 2 dry corn husks for about 30 minutes. Remove husks, then add butter and salt to taste. Once butter is melted and milk is lightly simmering, add grits. Stir continuously until grits start to thicken and grits are suspended in liquid.
Reduce heat to low and cook until liquid is absorbed and grits are cooked through, for about 45 minutes. Whisk in cheese and taste for seasoning.
Assembling the dish
Heat pork. Place about 6 ounces of grits in a bowl, and add pork to the center of the bowl. Drizzle with ranchero sauce, top with some pickles and finish with crumbled cotija and cilantro.