pork taquitos
This is the pork version of my taquitos. I make the recipe over multiple days. The spice measurements provided in this recipe are very loose estimates for producing a fairly bland taquito filling that children will have no problem with, so feel free to use your own judgment. For adult tastes use 2 jalapenos. This recipe will produce approximately 30 to 50 taquitos.
5 lb pork shoulder
1 - 2 jalapeno peppers
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red chile powder
1/4 tsp cayenne chile powder
salt
4 C beef broth
1 medium white onion
1 block colby jack cheese
large package 6 inch corn tortillas
1 green bell pepper
vegetable oil
1. Preheat oven to 325. This recipe needs to be begun in the morning or noon hours due to the length of cook.
2. Cut pork shoulder into chunks. Remove fat now if desired. It can also be sorted after cooking.
3. Place 4 cups of beef broth into a large baking dish.
4. Add the cumin, red chile powder, cayenne chile powder, and salt to the broth and stir together.
5. Wash and prepare the vegetables. Chop the white onion into wedges and separate the pieces. Mince the cilantro. Seed and chop the green bell pepper into large slices.
6. Seed and chop the jalapeno. When chopping the jalapeno, shield the hand. Use a glove or the vegetable bag the jalapeno came in. If not using a glove then make sure to not touch the eyes for several hours regardless of whether the hands were washed. It stays on the skin.
7. Add the vegetables to the broth and stir well.
8. Add the chopped pork to the broth and vegetables and mix well.
9. The beef broth needs to be sufficient to mostly cover the ingredients. The meat is going to be slowly broiled with all the spices and vegetables to made it tender, easily shredded, and highly flavored. Do not over fill the baking dish with beef broth/ingredients, as boiling over incidents create large quantities of smoke and mess.
10. Place the pork in the oven. Bake the pork until it is tender. This will take multiple hours. If the liquid level diminishes too much, replenish it with additional broth.
11. Remove the pork from the oven. Check the taste. Adjust the seasoning as desired.
12. When the pork has cooled sufficiently, sort the pork chunks from the other ingredients. Discard the other ingredients. At this point, if the taquitos are going to be completed the next day, place the pork in the refrigerator to cool.
13. Shred a large quantity of cheese if needed. I buy shredded Mexican flavor cheese now.
14. Sort the pork. Remove gristle and fat. Shred the chunks of pork with your fingers as desired and place the shredded pork meat in a container. The last time I made this I'd chopped the pork initially all the way to morsel size. That meant that enough of it came apart in the bake that I was able to simply leave the remaining chunks intact. This is often a spot where I break for the day.
15. Pour oil in a fry pan and heat over medium high heat until hot. Have enough oil in the pan to half plus ~ cover the taquitos.
16. Get a corn tortilla. Place the pork mash on it. Form a firm line across the middle, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4 inch space from the end of the tortilla. You want the pork pressed together so it won't fall out in the oil. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the pork. Discard any seasoning vegetables (onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno).
If you don't have a microwave you can heat the tortillas first on a pan or over the burner. Then you'll immediately add the meat and cheese and roll it.
17. Microwave for 30 seconds or until supple and steamy. Roll into a taquito. If it isn't warm enough the tortilla will bust.
18. Fry the taquitos in the pan to a crispy point, flipping once. Generally, about ~ 40 seconds a side, which matches well with the time to microwave and can be done based on the microwave and roll time. Make sure to place the taquitos in with tongs so that it remains rolled at first.
19. Remove from the oil, allowing excess oil to drip back into the pan, and set aside.
20. Repeat until desired number of taquitoes are made. Shake salt over the finished batch of taquitos as desired.
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