Puree a variety of bold Mexican chiles with garlic, honey, vinegar and spices to make a bright, aromatic sauce that gets slow-cooked with pork shoulder. Once tender, shred the pork and enjoy with corn tortillas and your favorite toppings!
Total: 5 hrs. 36 min
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 5 hrs. 11 min
Yield: about 8 servings
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 5 hrs. 11 min
Yield: about 8 servings
Ingredients
- 3 whole ancho chiles
- 3 whole pasilla chiles
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
- Assorted taco toppings, for garnish
Directions
- Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl; add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Microwave on high until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.
- Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.
- Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and transfer to a large slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350 degrees; uncover and cook 30 more minutes.)
- Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with 2 forks; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with toppings.
