Puerco Pibil II: The Puerco Strikes Back

I was able to revisit the puerco pibil sooner than expected - yesterday evening. After a haphazard afternoon of planning, a dash to 4 different places, and a night of cooking and waiting (mostly waiting)... I now present to you the Puerco Pibil ver. 2:

This round of cooking was done with the same circle of friends and 3 more making for an even 6. With that many people, the tasks were not only evenly distributed but also executed faster. Also, knowing the ungodly amount of cooking time that went into this dish, we made sure to start earlier in the night.

We split up into two groups and headed towards the liquor store. Remember the tequila used in the video? This time we planned on acquiring the same tequila to try and replicate the recipe as closely as possible. The same brand of tequila was there but the one that was actually used was a tad bit too expensive at USD~90+ or so (it was a collector's bottle now), hence, we got the next one (newer bottle style); slightly smaller but still the closest to the actual thing, setting us back somewhere around USD~65-70. We also got beer - Stella Artois - for later.

Afterwards, my group first headed to a nearby supermarket to acquire annatto seeds, lemons, and habanero peppers, then to an asian market for the banana leaves. The other group went to another supermarket to buy the pork. They also bought some donut holes for us to munch on during that grueling 4 hour wait, not to mention to assuage our raging stomachs.

And then we got to work. Each of us, with our assigned tasks, went right down to business; some were assigned to the meat, some to the spices, and one to do the juicing. I myself chopped garlic and peppers. We threw the spices into the once-coffee-grinder-now-spice-grinder and made sure those were near obliterated. After that, we tossed everything else but the tequila into the blender to make that lovely lovely sauce. The top shot had camera flash while the bottom didn't, just to give you guys an idea of the resulting color.

We made sure to scrape the sides so that the spices won't be sticking since we might end up losing some of that awesome flavor (hey, we have no idea if that little bit of leftover mix will affect the flavor but it's the thought that counts, right?). And then we added about half a small glass of tequila, initially. We (I) added a bit more of a splash since we were using a bit more meat than what was in the recipe. Wasn't my intention to add.. that much of a splash.. psh, like I'd know about fluid dynamics and flow rate and whatnot. Anyway, what's important is that it turned out good.

This process was repeated a few more times - blend, scrape, blend, scrape. The concoction... it's a kick to the nose. Seriously - after we blended all the ingredients together, we opened the top of the blender and the whiff... the mixture of everything together hits you all at once; the spices (especially cumin), acidity of the lemon and orange juice, the tequila, and last but definitely the most prominent - the peppers.

This dish is gonna have a kick just like last time, but this time hopefully the usage of authentic (...and more) tequila will push the dish over the previous one's bar. We placed the meat-n-mixture into a large zip-top bag and made sure to shake it so that the sauce mix would cover every inch of the meat. We thawed the banana leaves, prepared the baking pan, shook the meat more, and then popped it into the oven.

Now, the real battle begins - waiting.

For FOUR hours.

The donut holes definitely helped with the starvation pangs as some of us either had a paltry lunch or none at all. We definitely hadn't had dinner yet. Still, waiting wasn't entirely about the hunger... it was also a mind game. We tried numerous things to pass the time - played a round or two of starcraft, chatted online, played Call of Duty 4 on Xbox live, slept, etc. As minutes turned into hours, that particular aroma emanating from the oven slowly - but certainly - permeated the entire house. Soon, there was nary a place to hide. It was everywhere. And just as we were stretched to the limits of our sanity... that sound, that lovely sound...

It rang from the kitchen, throughout the house, through our ears as if that was what it was especially made for, but no, just when you thought it had stopped, it would go on again, ringing from here to eternity, stretching until forever, the infernal summons from that dreaded machine... screaming, screaming into our very souls... "it is done." The herald of this once-welcomed-now-dreaded sound, the very vehicle of both our madness and salvation came upon us like Death stealing into the night, carrying another future inhabitant to his morose domain... It sounded very much like... an oven.

"ding!"

Oh, hey guys, the food's done!

We all scurried from our respective spots into the kitchen and stood at the mouth of the oven. We took it out and gently unwrapped the steaming hot delicacy. The 4-hour wait was definitely worth it: the meat was very tender and the sauce - delicious. We were all pretty much salivating ala Pavlov's dogs, so after procuring a sizeable spoon, we dug in.

More rice had been cooked, nearly the full pot, enough for all - and more - of us. We were expecting second servings and we definitely had them - this was awesome. Served over white rice moistened with some of the puerco pibil's sauce, it made for a really great dish. The taste wasn't entirely too different from the previous one though we did decide that it was better. The alcohol had already gone leaving only the flavor of the tequila. The kick was... well, still pretty good. One of my friends who was eating kept panting through the ordeal. On that cold night, I think he was even sweating.


After the pleasant ordeal, with our energies already being diverted to digesting this delight, we kicked back and relaxed. We talked about the dish, the complexities of the flavors, that special smell... One of my friends busted out the Stella Artois he bought earlier for us to try. I have never tried this beer before and am not an avid beer drinker (or even just drinker for that matter, ignoring the tequila-splash accident entirely), but as far as beer goes, it was pretty smooth.

I still hate beer though. Haha.

-=-
It's only been a day after I had it and already I'm craving more. As we get better at making the whole thing, we'll slowly start to try other variations. Next time we're thinking of using chicken. Pollo pibil, anyone?

- W