Questions for those of you who cook Mexican dishes

< hubba hubba, I'm doing the Homer drool! I love pibil! Anytime, anywhere!

Dianne Kennedy has the best recipe for that. Too bad my ex got the cookbooks []

You can put the banana leaf wrapped meat in a hole in the ground with hot rocks for very traditional slow roasting.

"Tacos al Carbon"? I guess that's what we call "arracherras" which is skirt steak. The way I make mine is by marinating them with beer, onions and some salt and pepper. I put them in the oven and let them cook. I eat mine with corn or flour tortillas and I'll put some cilantro, chihuahua cheese and sour cream on them.
 
Carnitas are my favorite. I'm lazy, I just go to the Mexican store on the weekend and buy a few pounds that's already cooked and ready to eat. My dad makes really good Carnitas. I don't know how he cooks them but it is a long process.

I had that last week , it can be as spicy as you want depending the amount of chile you put on it

2 1/2 pounds pork roast
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts red chile sauce


Cut pork roast into cubes. Cook in a large saucepan, until the pork is browned. Add the garlic and salt and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with the flour. Pour the red chile sauce over meat and boil over a low heat for about 20 minutes. Take off stove and serve with any potatoes or vegetables of your liking.

 
OMG.. I am totally making this next week (unfortunately already got all this weeks meals planned out [&o])  Thanks Espence! 
Question about the chili sauce though..  will any chili sauce do? At my local stores all they have is this:
 
[linkhttp://www.mexgrocer.com/14961.html]http://www.mexgrocer.com/14961.html[/link]
 
is that OK to use?   Gosh I am so excited (and STARVING right now- that was NOT fair of you to post that picture espence...)[]
 
and btw- I think I am going today to get a tortilla press and I might try making my own tortillas tonight [8|]
 

"Tacos al Carbon"? I guess that's what we call "arracherras" which is skirt steak. The way I make mine is by marinating them with beer, onions and some salt and pepper.

 
Meilani- I looked it up just now and it looks like the recipes are identical to the "al carbon" recipes I have found.  Beer huh???  i might have to try that along with Amanda's tequila addition![8D] 
 
Gosh everyone.. I am learning so much.. thanks for all your suggestions and your wealth of knowledge... I too am loving this thread![] 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yeah, the beer adds a nice touch to it and I don't even drink beer. You don't have to use beer but you can also use lime too.

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06


OMG.. I am totally making this next week (unfortunately already got all this weeks meals planned out [&o])  Thanks Espence! 
Question about the chili sauce though..  will any chili sauce do? At my local stores all they have is this:

[linkhttp://www.mexgrocer.com/14961.html]http://www.mexgrocer.com/14961.html[/link]

is that OK to use?   Gosh I am so excited (and STARVING right now- that was NOT fair of you to post that picture espence...)[]

and btw- I think I am going today to get a tortilla press and I might try making my own tortillas tonight [8|]

 
Actually i think is with something more like this [linkhttp://www.gonzodip.com/chileandcarneadvada.ivnu]http://www.gonzodip.com/chileandcarneadvada.ivnu[/link] the top left one would be the right one []
 
That sauce you found is more like the "plan B" in case you dont find the other one, i'm not sure it would be 100% the same with the "plan B"
 
Ahhhh meet marinated in beer, thats the best, specially for grilling
 
 

Actually i think is with something more like thishttp://www.gonzodip.com/chileandcarneadvada.ivnu the top left one would be the right one

That sauce you found is more like the "plan B" in case you dont find the other one, i'm not sure it would be 100% the same with the "plan B"

 
Ok, so you are saying it is a powder and not so much a sauce or do you mix the powder to make the sauce?  [&o]Gosh this stuff is confusing to me.. I know my way around a kitchen very well but this stuff is just foreign to me (pun sorta intended..)[] 
 
and yes, beer is GREAT on meats that you grill... also a can of Guiness, a handful of unusual spices and a crockpot make for the worlds BEST Corned beef brisket.... melt in your mouth perfection [] 

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

Ok, so you are saying it is a powder and not so much a sauce or do you mix the powder to make the sauce?  [&o]Gosh this stuff is confusing to me.. I know my way around a kitchen very well but this stuff is just foreign to me (pun sorta intended..)[] 

 
No, you just use the powder (if you mix it with that sauce you will die hehe), the powder is spicy enough for that without being too hot, that sauce i tell you is for when you cant find the powder and you have to rely on something else, not the same flavor will come out i think if you use the sauce

No, you just use the powder (if you mix it with that sauce you will die hehe), the powder is spicy enough for that without being too hot, that sauce i tell you is for when you cant find the powder and you have to rely on something else, not the same flavor will come out i think if you use the sauce

 
That makes sense.. I guess my confusion comes from the recipe that you posted that I want to follow and it says "2 quarts of chili sauce"... so does that mean I mix the powder with water to get the "sauce".. it also says to "boil" it, but if the sauce isn't in liquid form then there is no ingredients in the recipe that will "boil".... 

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

No, you just use the powder (if you mix it with that sauce you will die hehe), the powder is spicy enough for that without being too hot, that sauce i tell you is for when you cant find the powder and you have to rely on something else, not the same flavor will come out i think if you use the sauce

That makes sense.. I guess my confusion comes from the recipe that you posted that I want to follow and it says "2 quarts of chili sauce"... so does that mean I mix the powder with water to get the "sauce".. it also says to "boil" it, but if the sauce isn't in liquid form then there is no ingredients in the recipe that will "boil".... 

 
Agree, i think that receipe is IF you are using the sauce instead of the powder, so if you are not going to boil anything you just apply the powder to the meat (like marinate) and cook it, just like applying seasoning to the pork

Agree, i think that receipe is IF you are using the sauce instead of the powder, so if you are not going to boil anything you just apply the powder to the meat (like marinate) and cook it, just like applying seasoning to the pork

Okay, let's talk chile here.

Most the the chile in the US is grown in New Mexico. It's the chile capitol of the USA.

When I make posole, or carne adovada, I go to the grocery store and buy a quart or half gallon of bueno frozen red chile. It's ground chile in a sauce, kinda. But it's all chile. And it's fresh frozen.

Roasting and peeling fresh chiles is great for stuff where you want the whole chile, but for when you want to just COOK and get it done, I love the Bueno frozen. They have chopped green and pureed red in both hot and mild.

I have to make Fred Meyer up here carry it or I will go crazy.[8D][8D][8D]

I go to the grocery store and buy a quart or half gallon of bueno frozen red chile. It's ground chile in a sauce, kinda. But it's all chile. And it's fresh frozen.

 
REALLY!! OMG that is cool.. I wonder if they have it at my grocery stores...
 
is this it??
 
[linkhttp://www.giftbasketsjust4u.com/pubs-us-bin/giftbasketsjustforyou/GBJstore.cgi?user_action=list&category=Frozen%20Chile]http://www.giftbasketsjust4u.com/pubs-us-bin/giftbasketsjustforyou/GBJstore.cgi?user_action=list&category=Frozen%20Chile[/link]
 
Ok, so then what do you do when you make the carne adovada Jeano?
 
is your recipe similar to the one Espence posted?

2 1/2 pounds pork roast
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts red chile sauce 

 

 

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

Ixas girl-

  I looked Diane up and she has some fantastic Cookbooks.. I might need to get one (although I need 1 more cookbook like a freaking hole in my head.. but oh well!).[8D]

  I agree that I really prefer the "simple” flavors in Mexican food and although I REALLY do like the heavier Mexican dishes, my preference is actually the lighter foods… stuff that is grilled or cooked in the pan with very little oil and just a handful of simple ingredients that bring out the taste in the food.

  Part of my problem is that DH and I both are total gringos so we don't like spicy stuff and one of my "angry foods” is actually cilantro.. I HATE cilantro and it is used in so many things.[&o]

  Cotija cheese is the BEST… now I can get preshredded at the grocery store so that is all I use for Mexican dishes.[]

    XEBBY- so grandma cooks the tortillas before she freezes them right? DO they taste much different after being frozen? That might be a good option for me so I can just make some on a weekend once a month or so…

Hit the library BEFORE you buy the books.  Taht way you can be sure you will use them.  Often times, there are only a few recipes I want out any cook book.  Hey, just copy them off and return the book.  You're out forty cents instead of forty BUCKS.

Make pork chili verde in the crock pot.  Drooooooooooooolll...

Tuna tacos are yummy adn fast!

espencer's recipe for carne adovada sounds right to me. I'd make it in the crock pot, myself, so that pork simmers a long time and gets nice and soft.

Yes, the link for Bueno chile is the stuff. I didn't even know that they had a web site! I get the much larger size, about double what they are showing on the web.

I had scrambled eggs with green chile for breakfast the other day. Yum.

And I LOVE green chile chicken enchiladas. And green chile cheese tamales.

espencer's recipe for carne adovada sounds right to me. I'd make it in the crock pot, myself, so that pork simmers a long time and gets nice and soft.

 
Good to hear that because I was planning on trying it in the crockpot![]
 
 I was at a different grocery store last night than I normally go to but they did carry Bueno brand… BUT all they had was that Autumn blend one that is very HOT… anyway, that probably means I will be able to find it somewhere. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
The beef last night was outstanding.. super moist and had a great delicate flavor. DH loved it so I will be making it a couple times a month (probably no more than that since we don#%92t eat a lot of beef).  I will try though the addition of Tequila or beer and see how that enhances the flavor.[]
 
[&o]The tortillas were a disaster…..  I followed the directions on the website (which were identical to the ones on the package) and I even bought a tortilla press.. but they were a horrible consistency… I have no idea what was wrong.. you can#%92t really screw them up, but somehow I managed to!
 
Anyway, I will try to find some pre-made dough somewhere that I can press and cook at home instead.
 
Next week I am hoping to try the carne adovada next week![sm=dance.gif]
 

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

.but they were a horrible consistency…

What do you mean? too sticky? i dont know if you really can mess that up []