Spanish Food, Easy, and Delicious!!

I have to first say that I dedicate this to the wonderful Mblah and the wonderful recipes that she shares with all of us. I thought I might share some of my Puerto Rican favorites. I usually eyeball ingredients, but everything that I use I will post a pic of just in case you dont have it readily available.

Lets start with an all time fav, all year round, but you will usually find on major holidays, and thats Pernil, a.k.a Pork shoulder.

This is a pic of it uncooked.


This will cost you about $13-$15 bucks, but will serve easily 8-10 people!

Now you may look at this and say, there is alot of fat on this. YES THERE IS!! but it will cook off and keep the meat moist! Also make sure that you buy the "bone-in" pork shoulder, the bone adds to the flavor also.

Here is what you will need. If you are unable to get the specific ingredients, you can make your own mix, which I will add below.


Large, deep pan.
Sazon.
Adobo, whichever flavor you prefer.
Garlic cloves (whole) 6-8.

Large sharp knife.

Now if you cannot get Adobo or sazon, you can make a mix of:
Salt.
Pepper.
Garlic powder.
Onion powder.
Bay leaves, crushed, dried.
Oregano, dried.
Or Italian seasoning.

Add the above the way you like, you can dip your finger, and taste it to see if its to your liking.

Now once you have the above, clean and dry the pork shoulder. Lay on a cutting board, if your pan is metal you can put it there, if not do not season in aluminum pan, for fear of poking holes in it. You'll see why in a minute.

Take the pork shoulder and place it skin side down, and begin poking holes in it, in the shape of an X. By placing one hole and then placing back in at a slight angle, large enough to fit your finger.

Do this all around.
When done, take the garlic cloves and put them in the X's.
When done season thoroughly also adding some of the seasonings in the X's. This will ensure that the meat is seasoned through, and dont worry about losing the juices. Also dont be afraid of over seasoning! If it is over seasoned, you can cut it up when it is finished, and mix the inner meat in the juice, and this will transfer some of the more seasoned parts with the rest.

Now put the meat skin side up, take a sharp knife, and make cross shapes on this. This should also be seasoned, lightly, this is what pork skins are made of, and in every spanish family it is fought over.

If you can marinate overnight. If not at least 6 hours covered and refrigerated.

Have your oven at 350 degrees.

Make sure that the pork is skin side up, cover, and cook for at least 4 hours, low and slow, also very important.

Before covering the skin, put butter spray on it, this will prevent the skin actually getting stuck to the aluminum foil, which will ruin the best part.

This is what it will look like when its done.


Notice the orange color. This is because of the sazon. If you cannot get sazon, uncover for the last 15-20 minutes, and you will get the same effect.

Now here are the seasonings I spoke of.
Sazon with Achiote. Achiote is a red seed that is slowly simmered in oil, and gives spanish food its red coloring, and is used in almost everything, from rice to beans, every meat, soups, etc,.


Plus a little will go alongggg way. For a large pork shoulder it will require maybe 2 packets.

Here is Adobo. Yes Adobo can be 2 things, but this is the powdered seasoning which comes in many flavors.



I use the one with cumin, for beef, the one with orange flavoring for pork, and the one with pepper for chicken.

Well I am sorry that this was lengthy, but I want to be sure this was easy to understand, if you have any questions your welcome to ask, I will be adding more if this one goes well.

Peace, NRE.

Ive got some pork in the freezer (not sure if shoulder) and I will definetly be having a crack at this. Thanks for the recipe and the tips..

Anytime. If you have a smaller piece the same rules apply, and you can either have it with sides, or as a sandwich, this is also what pulled pork sandwiches are made of, add a nice toasted bun, and put your favorite B-B-Q sauce, and voila! Pulled pork!! .If you have extra you can wrap them tightly (sandwiches) in aluminum foil.

Have the next day, put oven to 350 an add a weight or aluminum covered brick on top. This will make your giant sandwich into a thin, juice and bbq sauce filled heaven!!

I will be adding my Cuban sandwich recipes very soon, this will also be a recipe for any left over pork shoulder. Thanks for the reply.

Peace, NRE.

I just realized I wrote a brick covered in aluminum foil, and a weight, here is what Im talking about.

I use the brick all the time. Here is a photo of what Im talking about.



Its always good to have, and tons of recipes for them also.

As far as the weight this is what I am talking about.



The smaller on. It can take a massive amount of heat, as long as your careful, not to forget it will get HOT!!

Just rest it on top of the sandwich in the oven and it will flatten it for you

Peace, NRE.

Here is the recipes for the infamous Cuban Sandwich!!

This is absolutely delicious. With one Pernil (pork Shoulder) and the following ingredients you can literally feed about 30 people with about $50 bucks!!

As a side note, all of my recipes can feed lots of people, a side effect of being hispanic, loving to cook, and being smart about shopping, and finance


This is what you will need.

Italian bread. The bigger the better, and if day old bread is cheaper, get it, it will be toasted anyway.


Mustard, spicy brown Guldens mustard is the best.


Pickles, the long ones, sliced thin. Regular, not flavored.
Swiss Cheese. This is normally made with swiss, but you can use which you like the best, swiss is an aquired taste.
And ham, smoked, or honey, I prefer both. Sliced thin.

Now that you have the pork, you can slice it for a small amount of sandwiches. If you are feeding many, you can pull it apart.

Slice open your italian bread, and spread the mustard. Place the swiss cheese (or whatever you choose), and add pickles.The swiss should be closest to the bottom so the cheese can melt nicely.

Add ham, and pork, as much or as little as you want. This is YOUR sandwich, and you can make it with as much or as little of what you like.

Now comes the fun part, and this refers to my first thread above.

Wrap in aluminum foil, and place a brick, or a weight on the sandwich. If you decide to keep the sandwich the full length of the bread, then place more then one brick or weight. If you don't have either... don't worry, you can use a cast iron skillet as well or a grill that you use on your rangetop.

Now for the fun, you can make the cut as big or little as you like. Either a snack for a party like this (I will add a dipping sauce below), or a dinner with friends.


Here is your end result.
Full size sandwich.



And for appetizers.



Here is the Ajo (Garlic) sauce. This is not for a FIRST date

This is garlic at the max, this can also be used with the original thread recipe for a dip or sauce for your meal.

10 garlic cloves. Minced finely.
Olive oil, about 1/2 a cup.
White Vinegar about 1/4 cup.
Fresh cracked pepper, and sea salt to taste. shaken thoroughly.
When I make this at home I use my old honey (shaped like a bear) bottle.

If your worried you can taste as you go, if you put to much olive oil, add a bit more garlic, and vinegar. If you added to much vinegar, add more olive oil.

This is what it will look like.



Peace, NRE.

Now with the picture above with the Ajo sauce there is a plantain, which also goes very well with this sauce.



Most people walk right by this delicious banana, because they don't know what it is. It looks like a banana, but its green and hard. No its not a product of Monsanto (conspiracy humor), but a necessity in almost all hispanic households.

Here is the recipe for Tostones (Fried Plantains).

Its a four part process, one of which is a double fry.

Take the plantain and peel the skin. This is dont by slicing down the edges, it usually has 3-4 sides, and then peeled back. If its your first time, It might get hard, but you will get the hang of it.

Here is a pic of the process, I will explain it step by step below.



Then slice them about 1 inch thick either diagonally or straight circles.
Have a frying pan of oil, vegetable oil is preferred. depending on your pot or frying pan size, you know how much oil will be needed, it just has to be to a deep frying size.
Have a plate ready on the side, and a press. If you do not have one, any can or bottle will do to flatten it.

This is a very fast process dont go to far.

Add the freshly cut plantains to the oil, and wait until they are golden brown.

Remove, and flatten them.
After flattened, return to the oil, until the middle is cooked through or golden in the middle.

You will notice what I mean by cooked in the middle after you fry the first time, and then flatten you will see that it is raw/uncooked.

Place on the side to drain and then add salt.

With the added Ajo sauce you are ready to go!! Here is a pic of the tostones and the ajo sauce on the side.


Eat and enjoy!!

Peace, NRE.

I apologize if this was way to detailed

Sometimes I get into it!

Peace, NRE.

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver
I apologize if this was way to detailed

Sometimes I get into it!

Peace, NRE.

Not too detailed at all!

And this is great for us in the UK because Pork is one of the few meats that is still reasonably priced because it is locally reared and plentifully so...and yet, I have never liked cooking with it as much as other meats...however with prices going the way they are...and your way of cooking it has me tempted to step out of my comfort zone and give it a go. I too always cook on the bone whenever possible, much better taste, tenderness and heat convection...and I LOVE fat (though skinny-ass that I am you wouldn't know it haha)...I make great spare ribs, which my son loves and they are soooo cheap....you can get a dozen big meaty ribs from my local butcher for under a fiver (pounds sterling obviously).

Now...tell me...cheap and cheerful as it is...what is a good recipe for pork chops? And I bet you do something fabulous with belly pork...

reply to post by Biliverdin


Ahhh! Pork chops. There are tons of things for that. I will add my favorite way to prepare them
.

For the the fried the size is really not that important, I prefer loin cut myself. I like it with either bread crumbs or I make my own. Most people prefer crunchy, so I will add how to do this very crunchy and regular.



Now to make your own bread crumbs without the regular hum-drum of bread. I use a mixture of crackers, that are flavored. There is italian herb, cheese, sour cream and chives. There are literally tons out there. Doing this will literally add a different dimension to you meal every time, and will never get boring, or mundane.

Just crush them in a ziplock bag, and you can make several bags just write the name on them. Anything that you fry, you can use this, including seafood.

Ok, so to make them regular fried, season them anyway that you like, because the breading will do the work for you. Shake them up in the bag, and wait 10-15 minutes.

This is what it will look like with the crackers.



This is important... the longer you leave food with breading that more moisture will adhere to the meat, and will NOT fall off or ruin your oil. This is especially important for chicken as well.

Now for the really crunchy pork chops. You will need an egg, and flour, and of course breading.

Have a plate with 1 egg mixed, and about 1 tablespoon of water per egg. This will help with the sticking, and not turn into scrambled eggs on your food.

A plate of flour. I season my flour at all times, this gives every bite of your food flavor. I usually add mixes from the store like Kicken Chicken, or Cajun, anything you like.
These are the ones I use. Cooking is a wonderful thing, and taste and flavor are as important as the meal its self.
This is like one of the 20 other flavors they have.



Now place your pork chop into the flour, and remove any excess. Then dredge into the egg, and place into the breading. This will make 2 things create moisture for your pork chops. One the meat itself, and 2 the egg.

Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, it will look wet. Now re-add them to the mix again. Now you can either choose the bread crumbs or the flavored flour. Its all up to you.

This is the finished product.



Thanks for the reply, and I hope this helped a bit, NRE.

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver
This is the finished product.

Thanks for the reply, and I hope this helped a bit, NRE.

That helps loads...though the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak. I love the idea of using sour cream and chive crackers...looove sour cream and chive Pringles...I've never had much luck with bread crumbing coming out crispy so I shall follow your tactics to the letter... Thank you.

PS...off-topic, but I thought that the thread you posted with letter templates to help those struggling with debt was brilliant! You're a real asset to this site and consistently go out of your way to share your knowledge and experience with other members. I like that

Thanks again.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Awe you are too sweet! Thank you!

These look delicious! I will definitely be trying these. The pork sounds really good and will probably be made sooner than later

Im so glad you decided to share your recipes! ATS has some really good cooks on it! We should share our wonderful creations

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver

This is the finished product.

Thanks for the reply, and I hope this helped a bit, NRE.

Ohhhh that looks delicious! I am so hungry right now too! I am getting the urge to cook where before I wanted to just have oat meal lol

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Oh yea! Gludens, mmmmm!

I will definitely make these when my honey comes home in April! He loves Cuban sandwiches.

Originally posted by NoRegretsEver
I apologize if this was way to detailed

Sometimes I get into it!

Peace, NRE.

Never apologize for detailed recipes or yummy food!

Thanks guys, I hope that the recipes come out well, please let me know

I look forward to adding more very soon.

Peace, NRE.

Wanted to bump this as these recipes are great for a Sunday dinner, for one, or a family

Peace, NRE.