Roast Pork in Chile-Peanut Sauce

Real talk: this is one of the best things I’ve made. I’m a huge lover of pork, and I’ve been known to surrender to any kind of savory peanut sauce. Combining the two things essentially renders me powerless.

This intensely aromatic, slow-cooked dish is perfect for colder days. Looking at next week’s weather forecast in Seattle, we might have a few days of snow, which means the entire city will shut down and I won’t attempt to drive anywhere for fear of hilariously sliding down an icy hill. This dish, called puerco encacahuatado in Spanish, warms up blustery and dark winter days with it’s rich, comforting homeyness.

My mouth is watering again thinking about it.

The recipe is adapted from one published by Marilyn Tausend during a trip to Veracruz. I’ve modified the sauce slightly to yield a more flavor-packed sauce. Pro-tip: I recommend doubling the recipe and freezing leftovers as an emergency last-minute dinner idea. You’ll thank yourself later.

I’ve also added my personal touch to the pork cookery. I throw in more aromatics and spices to reinforce the flavors of the peanut sauce. And, there’s a secret ingredient to the cooking liquid: instant ground coffee. Recently, I made a Korean pork belly recipe that used coffee to produce a more clean tasting meat with deeper flavor. Totally fine to omit if you don’t already have it in your pantry, but I think it’s worth trying out and tasting for yourselves.

Provecho!

For the pork

2 onions, quartered through stem

4 garlic cloves

2 dried bay leaf

1 Tbs instant ground coffee

1 tsp whole allspice

3-4lbs boneless pork shoulder

3-4 Tbs fine sea salt

1 Tbs black pepper, ground

For the peanut sauce

2 chile guajillo, stem and seeds removed, toasted

2 chile chipotle en adobo

1 14oz canned whole tomatoes, drained, rough chopped

1/4 onion, rough chop

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups skinned raw peanuts, toasted

1” piece of Mexican cinnamon, toasted

10 black peppercorns, toasted

4 whole allspice, toasted

2 whole clove, toasted

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

Fine sea salt

For the pork:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Put onions, garlic, spices, and coffee in a large, deep dutch oven or oven-safe pot. Set pork on top of vegetables and spices with the fat side up, and sprinkle salt and pepper evenly on the fat. Fill pot with enough water to submerge meat, with fat still above water. Put a tight-fitted lid on pot or seal tightly with foil, and put in oven. Cook for 5 to 6 hours.

For the peanut sauce:

Put guajillo chile in a small bowl, pour 1 cup of boiling water and let chile soak for 20 minutes. Add chile and soaking liquid to a blender. Add chile chipotle en adobo to blender, and puree until totally smooth. Pour puree into small bowl and set aside.

Add remaining ingredients (except oil and salt) to blender along with 2 cups of water (or pork broth from pot). Process until it’s totally incorporated and smooth.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When oil just starts to show a wisp of smoke, pour in chile puree and fry, stirring frequently, until puree becomes darker and slightly thicker (approximately 5 minutes). Add tomato mixture and a pinch of salt, lower heat to maintain a simmer for about 10 minutes.

If pork still needs to cook when sauce is finished, you can turn heat off on sauce and cover with a lid so sauce doesn’t dry out too quickly. If sauce is not loose enough to pour, add only enough water or pork broth to get to the right texture.

When pork is tender enough to tear apart with a fork, remove from oven. Using kitchen tongs or two large forks, tear away as many large chunks of pork as you need and put in serving dishes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of each portion of pork, and add a large spoonful of peanut sauce to the top of the pork, letting it fully cover pork.

Serve with black beans and warm corn tortillas.