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I started making this dish a few years ago. I had planed out a slow smoked pork BBQ dish and as fate would have it pouring rain that day and I had friends coming over for diner that night and to top it off I had no way to get to the store. So I was stuck using what I had on hand in the kitchen. What I came up with was to braise the pork shoulder in tomatoes then serve it over some black beans and rice.

Well it came out great and over the years I have started to use the meat in many other dishes that I make. The best part is this dish makes a lot of food. Most of the time I am able to use this one dish to make three different meals one that I eat that night and the other two tend to be dishes that can be frozen and easily cooked in the oven at a later date. (The last time I made the dish I had it that night, made a pan of enchiladas, a pan of stuffed bell peppers and there was still enough for 8 burritos)

A quick note before I begin the recipe: You can use either chicken or beef if you don’t like pork just if using chicken use legs and thighs with beef a rump roast works great.

10-12 pound pork shoulder I have the store de-bone, take the skin off and cut into large cubes about 2-3 inches (any store that sells meat should do this for you)
1 red bell pepper
2 medium yellow onions
1 poblano pepper
2 jalapenos
6 garlic cloves crushed
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
6 oz can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons cayenne
2 cups beef stock
As needed canola oil
Kosher Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

1.First preheat your over to 350 degrees. Then we need to cut the onions, red pepper, poblano pepper, and jalapenos into strips.

2.We are going to braise the pork so we need either a large braising pan that has a lid, you can use a large stock pot that has a lid if you don’t have a braising pan. Which ever pan you are using need to be able to go in the over and fit all the ingredients.

3.Heat pan on the stove over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add a little oil to the pan just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Now we need to start browning off the pork. It takes about 2-3 to minutes per side just until you get a nice light brown color on the pork. Once you have browned that pork remove from the pan and set aside for now. Depending on the size of your pan this may have to be done in batches. The pork should have a little space between pieces and should not be stacked on each other. There is no reason to rush this stage.

4.We now need to sauté the onions and peppers. Using the same braising pan add a little more oil then add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the red bell peppers, poblano peppers, and jalapenos and sauté for another 5 minutes. Then we need to add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes more. At this point we need to take about ½ of the onions and peppers out of the pan and reserve for later use.

5.Ok at this point I season with salt and pepper I normally add about 2 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon of pepper. Take about ½ cup beef stock to the pan to deglaze, add the can of diced tomatoes with the juice to the pan. Add all the pork back to the pan and the remaining beef stock. Bring up to a simmer cover with a lid then place in the preheated oven.

6. This is going to cook anywhere from 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours. While the pork is cooking we need to stir it around about ever 15 minutes. After it has cooked for about 1 ½ we start checking to see if it is done when we go to stir the dish. The easiest way to do this is take a pair of tongs and grab a piece of pork and squeeze with the tongs. If the pork easily falls about then it is done if not continue cooking, until it falls apart with easily.

7.Once the pork falls apart with little or no effort remove the pan from the over. Now we need to take the pork out of the sauce and shred it. I have a large baking dish and as I take the pork out squeeze the pieces with tongs that causes the pork to fall apart. Set the pork aside for a minute.

8.Now we need to make the sauce. Strain what is left in the braising pan into a sauce pan (make sure to lightly press the juice out of the ingredients in the strainer). Throw what is left in the strainer away all the flavor is already in the sauce. Bring the sauce pan to the stove and bring to a simmer, add the tomato paste, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Taste and season with salt and pepper. You should end up with about 6-8 cups of sauce. (We won’t use all the sauce in this recipe but save it for other recipes, it can be frozen if needed)

9.Remember the onions and peppers we saved, well now we need to reheat those I just microwave them for a couple a minute of two. When there hot add them to the shredded pork along with 2 cups of the sauce and toss together.

10.Just before the pork is done I will make a little Spanish style rice and heat up some black beans and keep them hot while I finish off the pork. I also set the table with a few condiments lime wedges, sour cream, guacamole, shredded pepper jack cheese, a roasted poblano salsa and flour tortillas. Bring the pork, rice and beans to the table and dig in.

Everyone tends to eat this a little different, at the same table I have see one person make them like tacos having the rice and beans on the side, the person next to them was made a burrito with the rice an beans inside and condiments on top, while another person just mixed it all together and used the tortillas to scoop it up. I couldn’t tell you the right way to eat this dish so I won’t try just enjoy.

Normally the day after I make this dish I use what is left to make a few other dishes:
Enchiladas with a Roasted Poblano Pepper Salsa, Stuffed Bell Peppers and if there is any thing left after that I make a few burritos. This is a few ideas that I came up with what ideas do you have?

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