Checked the store the other day and they still had the soft ones out. Just got home with some nice firm ones with dry brown husks but not paper dry crumble apart husks like the soft ones had out before. Got me some butt, and the hatch chilis are thawing out. I'm going to roast them up (broiler prob) and make some Pork Butt Chili Verde. Thanks for all your help Guys.
Small story about Amish town. So I'm at the self check out @ Giant and can't find the Tomatillos on the Produce menu. Scrolled through it all and the girl comes over (she's been there a couple years) right when I pushed the advanced search key. Says to me whacha looking for, Tomatillos I say, never heard of them, I laughed.
Now if I just could find a bag of Masa.
We got great Hams though.
This is what I'm going off of as my inspiration. As you know I can't follow a recipe, I just use them as guides. Bryan don't do wine so you know that's not going in there. Vinegar is going to be a no show also. Might use some white wine vinegar from Morea, not sure. Way too much cumin for me, got some Mexican Oregeno from Sweet Freedom. Thoughts anyone? The way he made the sopes was pretty neat. Try and catch this episode if you can.
Pork Butt Chili Verde & Sopes
Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri, 2008
4 pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes, trimmed of fat.
4 yellow onions, chopped
4 Anaheim chiles
2 jalapeno, minced
4 tablespoons garlic, chopped
1 pound tomatillos, husk removed
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons ground oregano
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute until translucent, do not brown. Remove and set mixture aside.
Lightly grill the tomatillos on open flame until lightly charred. Remove from heat, place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to keep warm for 20 minutes.
Add pork butt to Dutch oven and cook over high heat until browned on all sides
Add the onion-pepper mixture and tomatillos to the pork. Mix thoroughly and then deglaze with white wine and vinegar. Let reduce for 5 minutes, then add chicken stock, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.
Let simmer for 1 hour.
Sopes
1 1/2 cups masa harina
1 cup water
Mix the masa and water together into a smooth consistency for about 3 to 5 minutes. If working in large amounts cover bowl with a damp towel to keep from drying out.
Take a piece of the dough about the side of a cue ball, and roll into a firm ball. In a tortilla press or with a hard flat book or cutting board, line with 2 pieces of plastic. Place masa ball in the middle and apply pressure until ball pushes out to 4 to 5-inch diameter. (if edges of patty are cracked deeply the dough maybe too dry or if the patty does not remove from the plastic easily the dough maybe too moist.)
Heat a cast iron pan to very hot. Place masa patty on pan without any oil, brown on both sides, approximately 1 minute on each side. Remove and let cool.
While still warm, remove the center of the dough, and form the edges up, making a hollow tart like shell.
Heat 1-inch of canola oil to 350 degrees F. Add sope shells to oil and cook on both sides until crispy and golden brown. Hold warm for service
That said, I'm guessing there's a good season and a bad one just like Tomatoes? Here in Amish town I myself would never think about buying a Tomato from the grocery store in March. How can you tell good ones/ripe ready to eat, from bad ones, green not ready to eat, I have no idea? Kind of like green tomatoes, the variety, not green tomatoes (not ripe) that turn red. Also where to look for them, a Spanish store? A Mexican grocery here is a stretch, but I'll look for one. Asian and Spanish stores, are plenty here. TIA.
