Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Rick’s Bayless Taco de Tinga

Rick’s Bayless Taco de Tinga – Jen Pribaz

4 medium (1 pound total) red-skin boiling or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½ cubes
2 pounds meat, into 1-inch pieces [skinless chicken thighs OR boneless pork shoulder OR boneless beef chuck]
One 28-ouce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
3 to 4 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, seeded and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 tablespoon chipotle canning sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
1 medium white onion, sliced ¼ inch thick (optional)
Salt
4 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (about ½ cup) (optional) (skip if using beef)
24 corn tortillas or tostadas
1 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese
2 large avocados, pitted flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/2-inch pieces for serving

Spread the potatoes over the bottom of a slow cooker and top with the meat. In a large bowl, mix the (undrained) tomatoes with the chipotles, chipotle canning sauce, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic, optional onion, and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the meat and potatoes. Cover and slow-cook on high for 6 hours. (The dish can hold on the slow-cooker’s “keep warm” function for 4 more hours or so.)
When you are ready to eat, fry the optional chorizo in a medium (8-inch) skillet until thoroughly done, about 4 minutes. Uncover the tinga and spoon off the fat that has accumulated on top. Sprinkle on the chorizo, then stir everything together, breaking the pork into smaller pieces—right for wrapping in tortillas. (If there is a lot of liquid, tip it off and boil it rapidly until reduced and syrupy, then stir it back into the meat mixture.) Taste and season with additional salt if you think the tinga needs it. Serve with the warm tortillas, fresh crumbled cheese and avocados for making soft tacos or serve on a tostada.
No Slow Cooker?
Lay the meat in a medium-large (4- to 6- quart; 10- to 12-inch-diameter) heavy pot (preferably a Dutch oven), and top with the potatoes. Cover with the tomato mixture, set the lid in place and braise in a 300-degree oven for 2 to 2 ½ hours, until meat is completely tender. Complete dish as described.

5 comments:

jgs said...

If you have some extra time you can remove a lot of the fat by separating the meat from the liquid (you have to do this to reduce the liquid anyway) and refrigerating them overnight. In the morning, lift the congealed fat off, then reduce the liquid and recombine with the meat.

I love this recipe! Actually I love the whole Mexican Everyday cookbook.

Steve V. said...

Going to make this tomorrow! Is there a trick to cutting the pork into smaller pieces? Also, making this for 7 people is this recipe enough for that amount or should I double?? Thanks! Steve V.

Stephanie said...

Steve I have not personally made this recipe...it was recommended by a few friends who had tried it. After looking at the recipe, if you have an even mix of guys and girls then I think it would be enough, but if you have more guys, you might want to either do one and a half times what the recipe calls for or double it and have a little bit of left overs.
Usually when cooking with a crockpot when it comes time to cut the meat, the meat is so tender that it easily comes apart (using two forks and pulling at the meat) or if you pull the meat out and put it on a cutting board it will easily chop.

Good luck and please let me know if you think the recipe is as wonderful as I've heard it is :)

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