I always try and make Pork Pibil a day or two in advance as the longer the meat rests in the juices the tastier it gets.
Ingredients
It is perfect for freezing and it tastes much better after a few days. It is tradition to serve it on warm corn tortillas with a topping of red onion pickled. If you do not have a pressure cooker, place all ingredients in an ovenproof casserole with a lid.
Cook it covered in the oven at 160 degrees for 2.5 to 3 hours or until the meat falls apart.
For the Pork Pibil:
- 2 cup water
- 2kg pork neck steak or shoulder of pork
- 1 head of garlic, whole and unpeeled
- 4-5 tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
- 150ml cider vinegar
- 1 orange, juiced
- 100g achiote paste
- 1 tblsp salt
For the Red Onion Pickle:
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- ½ tsp Maldon salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
For Serving:
- Corn tortillas, warmed
- 1 quantity of red onion pickle
- Shredded lettuce
Method
- Pour the water in the pressure cooker and arrange the meat, chopped in 3 or 4 big chunks, around the bottom of the cooker.
- Place the full head of garlic, unpeeled, in the middle of the meat. Followed by spreading the tomato and onion quarters over the meat, making sure you wedge a few of these pieces in between the meat.
- Put the vinegar, orange juice, achiote paste and salt in the blender or food processor and blend this until it becomes a ruby red runny sauce. This achiote sauce is quite powerful and it will stain anything it touches, so wear an apron!
- Pour the achiote sauce over the ingredients in the pressure cooker, put the lid on and set the pressure gauge at the highest level, which means enough steam will escape through the valve to cook the meat at the right time.
- Once sealed, turn the heat on to high. When your pressure cooker starts 'whistling', lower the heat to medium/low and let the meat cook for 50 minutes.
- Switch the heat off and let it rest for a few minutes until it is safe to open the lid of the pressure cooker. Check that the meat is fully cooked. It should be so tender, it shreds by just running a fork or spoon through it.
- At this point, the garlic and vegetables should have all been dissolved into the sauce, but doublecheck for the garlic just in case. If you find it, squeeze it out with a spoon and take out any leftovers of skin you might find. If you feel the meat is not tender enough, put the lid back on and cook it for further 10 minutes (after it starts whistling) to finish it off.
- Once you are happy with the meat, use two forks to shred it in its own juices and let the meat rest and soak up all the lovely flavours. This is a very juicy dish, but it is the ruby red juices that make it spectacularly good.
- For the Red Onion Pickle, place the slices of onion in a deep glass bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them rest for 5 to 8 minutes.
- While the onions rest, make a vinaigrette with the rest of the ingredients by mixing them all in a jug.
- Drain the onions and pour the vinaigrette over them while they are still hot. Mix well making sure all the onions are coated and check for seasoning. Let it rest for an hour before serving it.
