So last weekend hailed the mark of my 22nd year on this earth.
Coincidentally
April is also turning out to be the month of my Dad moving house - as a
consequence I felt it would be appropriate to wave a fond farewell to my
childhood home with a (dinner) party.
Sadly a few tequilas down I was more interested in eating the food than taking pictures of it meaning that there isn't much photographic evidence of the meal - however the recipe I adopted was the Jamie Oliver cowboy chilli from Jamie's America. The combination of smoked, dried and fresh chilli along with the use of coffee instead of stock is inspired and generates an insane depth of meaty flavor. Personally I opted for a pulled pork version rather than beef but either would work a treat.
Shout out to Maddy the megababe for the most ridonculous cake a girl could ask for and to Abbie the sly Cinderella sister cleaning up in the wings.
Serves 8-10
2 kg Pork shoulder, trimmed, cleaned and cubed
The night
ended up being a culmination of Mexican food, beer pong, my somewhat
legendary 90s playlist and far far too much tequila. I was pretty much
still feeling worse for wear 3 days later.
Now
to the food. I went long with three varieties of chilli (hot, not and
veggie), rice, nachos, sour cream and an industrial amount of guacamole.
Apart from the positively stupid amount of rice I cooked and minus the
odd doggy bag I packed up for a few drunkards to take home in the wee
hours, amazingly, it all got demolished.
Sadly a few tequilas down I was more interested in eating the food than taking pictures of it meaning that there isn't much photographic evidence of the meal - however the recipe I adopted was the Jamie Oliver cowboy chilli from Jamie's America. The combination of smoked, dried and fresh chilli along with the use of coffee instead of stock is inspired and generates an insane depth of meaty flavor. Personally I opted for a pulled pork version rather than beef but either would work a treat.
Shout out to Maddy the megababe for the most ridonculous cake a girl could ask for and to Abbie the sly Cinderella sister cleaning up in the wings.
Love and thanks also to everyone who
came from near, far and for all the amazing presents, cards and
flowers. You all rock my 90s kid socks.
Serves 8-10
2 kg Pork shoulder, trimmed, cleaned and cubed
3 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, diced
10 cloves of garlic, crushed
3tsp ground cumin
3tsp smoked paprika
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp brown sugar
1tsp dried oregano
500 ml coffee
1 dried chipotle chilli
2 fresh chillies, chopped
2 Tins chopped tomatoes
2 tins, drained kidney beans
Salt & pepper
Firstly make your coffee and drop in the dried chilli to rehydrate a bit and infuse.
While
that is happening, sweat your onions until soft in the oil and then add
the garlic, fresh chilli and spices. Sweat for a further few minutes
until fragrant.
Add the pork and stir to coat
in the spice mix and add your coffee, sugar and the dried chilli chopped up. Then throw in your tinned tomatoes and season liberally.
Cover
and cook on a low heat for as long as you can afford (min 4 hours).
Personally I simmered mine for about 5 or 6 and then left in the fridge
over night to mature.
An hour or two before
game time shred the meat, I personally fished it all out the sauce,
shredded it and put it back in. This also gave me the opportunity to
fish out the various cinnamon sticks and bay leaves on the assumption that a dunk
person may end up chewing on them.
When
the pork is shredded and back in the pot throw in your beans, check the
seasoning and bring up to the heat to simmer without a lid on to
thicken and reduce for a further half an hour.
Serve with your favorite Mexican condiments, I'd recommend fresh guacamole, sour cream and lime (and tequila).
