Braised Pork in Guajillo Chile Sauce

Recently we did away with having cable. We got the HD converter box and found out that we get 13 channels for FREE and with that comes 3 PBS channels one of which is the Create channel. I love this channel, it has all the food network people that I enjoyed and respected that are no longer on Food Network and other show that I never knew about. One of these show is Cooking with Daisy with Daisy Martinez (please note that her website is corrupted and you should not visit it or it could kill your computer). On the show Daisy made a dish that she called Braised Pork in Guajillo Chile Sauce and she made the dish sound so fun and the way she describe the smells and flavors I could not help but want to make that dish and make it soon.

In the hunt for the recipe I found out that I needed to stay far far away from her website and my library did not have a copy of her book. However, I was in luck because I was not the only one that Daisy inspired with her show Daniel Koontz at Casual Kitchen was also inspired and you can read about it here.

I have to say I was a little relieved to find that others had posted the recipe for guidance; however, I would have tried it from memory. I was not able to find Guajillo Chilies so I used what I could find even though Daniel was very clear that you would miss the the rich almost chocolaty-ness so I added cocoa and instant coffee.

~Braised Pork in Guajillo Chile Sauce~

3-4 lbs pork boneless spare ribs, cut into 2 inch cubes

2 Tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt

3 bay leaves

10 guajillo chiles*

1 large onion, peeled and cut in half through the middle

4 fresh plum tomatoes

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons white flour

1) Put the pork in a large pot and cover in cold water by 2 inches. Add the salt and bay leaves. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

2) Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. While the water is coming to a boil, remove the stems from the chiles and shake out the seeds. Heat a nonstick pan ( I do not have a nonstick pan so I used my cast iron frying pan) on medium heat. Toast the chiles in the pan, turning them frequently, until they start to change color and crisp up a bit, about 4 minutes. Lift the chilies out and place them in a bowl and pour enough of the boiling water over the chilies to cover them fully. Soak for 20 minutes until chiles are softened, then drain well.

3) While the chiles are soaking, place the onions and tomatoes, cut sides down, in the skillet. Turn heat up to medium high and cook, turning the vegetables until blackened on both sides.

4) After the pork has been simmering for 1 hour, remove 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour it into a blender or food processor. Add the onions and tomatoes and puree until smooth. Then add the chiles, garlic, cocoa, coffee and puree until smooth. Remove another 2 cups of the pork cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the pork and wipe out the pot.

5) Set the pot over medium heat and add the olive oil . Stir in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour the pureed chili sauce into the pot, add the pork and simmer, covered, for another 1 hour. If the sauce becomes too thick or isn't fully covering the pork cubes, you may add some of the remaining 2 cups of cooking liquid to the pot.

6) Serve with rice. Serves 5-6 people.

I was a little worried as this dish came together but when I took my first taste, when it was almost done, I was pleasantly surprised, it was great. The kids could not get past how it looked and hubby thought that it was great and he suggested that I write it down. I laughed and said "that is what my blog is for."

* I could not find Guajillo Chiles so I picked up these and added some cocoa and coffee to the dish to give it that richness.