Cooking From The Homesick Texan Cookbook - Pork Tacos, Dallas Gas Station Style and Austin-Style Black Beans

Texas holds a very special place in my heart...It's where my brother and my two nephews live...and it's where I have done some of my best eating.  So when I was invited to be part of the The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted by girlichef...I jumped at the offer...I've always been a fan of Lisa Fain's blog, Homesick Texan...so getting a free copy of her soon to be released cookbook just made my day.

For the next few weeks, me and a group of bloggers will be cooking recipes from The Home Sick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain.

Normally I read cookbooks just like they are novels, but this past week has just been too busy for any leisure reading...but I have flipped through the book and just let me tell you I already have about ten post it notes stuck on pages, marking recipes that I MUST try...Everything looks wonderful and this book is beautiful...which makes it hard to stay focused on this weeks assignment.  This week we were to cook two recipes from the book...Pork Tacos, Dallas Gas Station Style and Austin-Style Black Beans...Great recipe choices Heather.

Last summer when I was in Dallas...I ate at some very nice expensive restaurants, but the place with the best food was this little hole in the wall taco shop in Grapevine.  They had the best pork tacos and the most wonderful mamey shake...So I was excited to try recreating those tacos at home...and Yes these were pretty close...now if I could only make that mamey shake, but I have yet to find any mamey growing in Alabama.

For the tacos all the ingredients were pretty easy to find...Well I did have to drive across town to the Mi Pueblo Supermarket to get the pasilla chiles, but that was a fun little adventure.

Then the pork is marinated for 8 hours in a chile paste you make from the pasilla chiles, chipotle chiles, garlic, oregano, cumin, orange and pineapple juice, vinegar, and a pinch of cloves...Cloves sounded weird to me...but every great recipe needs something unexpected.

Pork Tacos, Dallas Gas Station Style

Recipe adapted from the Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain

For The Pork:

4 dried pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed

2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 canned chipotle chile in adobo

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

a pinch of ground cloves

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1 tbs white vinegar

2 tbs olive oil

salt, to taste

1 tbs vegetable oil

For The Tacos:

6 jalapeno chiles

tortillas, either corn or flour (I used flour)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 medium yellow onion, diced

1 lime, cut into wedges

salsa, for serving

In a dry skillet over high heat, toast the pasilla chiles for about 10 seconds on each side or until they start to puff.  Fill the skillet with enough water to cove the chiles.  Leave the heat on until the water begins to boil.  Then turn off the heat and let the chiles soak until soft, about 30 minutes.  Drain and rinse the chiles.  (I forgot to rinse mine)  Place the chiles in a blender along with the chipotle chile, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, orange juice, pineapple juice, vinegar, and olive oil.  Puree until smooth.  Taste and season with salt.  In a nonreactive bowl toss the pork with the chile puree, cover and store in the refrigerator for 8 hours.  Before cooking, let the pork sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Fry the pork for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.  While the pork is cooking, place the jalapenos under the broiler and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until blackened.  Serve the pork in warm tortillas, topped with cilantro and onions, with the roasted jalapenos, lime wedges, and salsa on the side.

Then to the other recipe for this week Austin-Style Black Beans...honestly I'm a refried bean kind of guy, and I really wanted some refried beans with my tacos...and there is a recipe for refried beans in the book...I marked it with a post it...or maybe I marked the recipe for beef flautas on the opposite page...like I said there are so many recipes I want to try....But since I'm a team player...I cooked the black beans...and yes they were good.  Not too spicy...just the right heat...I did use bacon grease instead of vegetable oil...Trust me use bacon grease!

Austin-Style Black Beans

Recipe adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain

1 lb dried black beans
1 tbs vegetable oil, I used bacon grease
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic,  minced
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs tomato paste
1/4 cup lime juice
salt, to taste

Rinse and pick through the beans, removing any stones.  Put the dried beans in a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water.  Bring the water to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse (I forgot to rinse mine) the beans in colander.  Rinse and dry the pot, then return the empty pot to the stove over medium-low heat.  Add the vegetable oil (I used bacon grease), saute the onions and carrots, until the onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 more seconds.  Add the beans, the chipotle chiles, and 1/4 cup of the chopped cilantro.  Cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 & 1/2 hours.  Then add the remaining cilantro, cumin, tomato paste, and lime juice.  Taste and season with salt.  Cook uncovered for 30 more minutes, or until the beans are tender. (Mine cooked for about 3 hours total)  When done, mash a few beans against the side of the pot with a spoon to thicken the broth.  Stir the pot and serve.

And to round off this meal I recommend a couple bottles of Dos Equis...This was not mentioned in the book, but it should have been.

*This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.