The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites (24 page)

AGAVE SYRUP.
Made from the juice of the agave plant, agave syrup has a neutral flavor. It is a good all-purpose sweetener for drinks and sauces, but it cannot be substituted for sugar in baked goods. If possible, buy an organic syrup.

ASIENTO.
Also known as fresh lard,
asiento
is a semiliquid pork fat that is sold in tubs at Mexican groceries. You can also use the white fat that is rendered when making
Carnitas
.
Asiento
is not the same as the blocks of white lard sold in supermarkets, which is a hydrogenated fat used in baking and making tortillas.
Asiento
smells and tastes delicious—like carnitas—and it browns food beautifully while adding a subtle, rich flavor. If you don’t have access to
asiento
, use a neutral vegetable oil such as corn or canola oil instead.

AVOCADO.
The best-tasting variety is the Hass avocado, which has dark, pebbly skin and pale green, creamy flesh with a high fat content. A ripe avocado should just yield to gentle pressure at the stem end.

BANANA LEAF.
Also called
plátano
or plantain leaf, banana leaves add a unique flavor when used to wrap baked or steamed foods. They are best fresh, but frozen banana leaves can be used in a pinch. Look for them at well-stocked Latin or Asian grocers. See the directions for
cleaning and toasting
them.

BEEF.
Don’t buy expensive cuts of meat for slow cooking. Most of the recipes in this book use
well-marbled boneless beef chuck (sometimes packaged as “pot roast”), which you can dice to the appropriate size or slow cook whole and shred for tacos. Choose choice grade beef. Bargain (ungraded) beef has little taste, and prime beef will cost you more without any improvement in flavor. Avoid precut “stew beef,” which may contain odd bits and gristle. Do not trim off any fat. It will add great flavor as it renders out.

BROTH.
See Caldo.

CALDO.
Caldo
refers to broth or stock, as well as to a family of soups based on clear broths. Great-tasting
caldo
is very easy to make in the slow cooker. I make both chicken and beef
caldo
and freeze it in 1-quart freezer bags so it’s on hand for soups or
guisados
. You can substitute a good-quality low-sodium or unsalted canned chicken or beef broth diluted with an equal quantity of water.

CHEESE.
Salty, crumbly, and sometimes slightly gamey flavored,
cotija
is the cheese most commonly used in Mexican
cooking. If you can’t find it, substitute a dry, aged goat cheese or a salty ricotta salata. I don’t think feta is very similar in flavor, but it will do in a pinch. Mild, soft
queso fresco
is similar but has a fresh, creamy taste; farmer’s cheese or hoop cheese is the closest substitute. Chihuahua cheese, also known as
menonita,
is a mildly flavored soft block cheese that melts at a low temperature and does not turn stringy. Substitute mild Gouda, Muenster, or mild Monterery jack cheese. Oaxaca cheese is similar to mozzarella and will form long strings when melted; it is not suitable for use in a slow cooker.

CHICHARRÓN.
Deep-fried in lard, pork skin will turn into crispy, melt-in-the-mouth sheets of golden yumminess. Needless to say, a little goes a long way. I use it like croutons to add crunch and flavor.

CHICKEN.
The better the chicken, the better the dish. Free-range chicken (preferably organic) is the best-tasting chicken around. Kosher chicken is also tasty. Supermarket chicken, however, has improved in the last few years, even though it is almost too tender for the slow cooker. As in Mexico, the recipes in this book call for cooking whole chicken parts, complete with the skin and bones, which add flavor and nutritional value. It is easy to remove the skin and bones before serving. You can, however, substitute the same weight of boneless chicken. Be careful not to overcook chicken: it can easily turn into a paste. The chicken is done when you can easily slip the tip of a knife into the thickest part, which usually takes
about 4 hours on the low setting.

CHILES.
In many of the recipes in this book, chiles must be prepared in some way, such as by toasting and soaking, pureeing, or roasting. These simple steps bring out the authentic flavor of the chile and should not be skipped. Chiles are primarily used to add flavor—
not
heat—and many famous dishes, such as mole, are not at all spicy. However, you should still wear gloves when handling any kind of fresh or dried chile. You can knock down the heat factor by simply removing the seeds and ribs. For more on chiles, see
Using Fresh Chiles
and
Using Dried Chiles
.

CHIPOTLE CHILES IN ADOBO.
Sold in small cans, these smoked dried jalapeños are simmered in an adobo sauce of garlic, vinegar, and tomatoes.

CHOCOLATE.
Mexican chocolate comes mixed with ground almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and
cardamom. The best brand is Ibarra, which is sold in a distinctive red and yellow box. Tiny amounts of chocolate are used in the
Mole Negro
and
Asado de Bodas
, in which the sweetness is a perfect foil for the strong chiles. If you can taste the chocolate flavor, however, you’ve added too much. Crushed Ibarra is a great dessert garnish.

CORN.
Fresh corn is called
elote
. Grilled, boiled, or cooked on a griddle with butter and chiles, it is a favorite snack in Mexico. Fresh yellow corn is preferable to the sweet white varieties. Once dried, the corn (now called
maiz
) is treated with edible lime and boiled to make
nixtamal
(what we call hominy), which is ground to make corn masa for tortillas and tamales. Nixtamalized corn kernels also appear in pozole (both
Pozole Rojo
and
Pozole Verde
).

CREAM.
Thick Mexican
crema
is a luscious garnish for soups, enchiladas, or desserts. Sour cream may be substituted.

DULCE DE LECHE.
Sweetened condensed milk is boiled for hours right in the unopened can until the sugar caramelizes into a dense, rich confection.
Cajeta
is the same but made with canned sweetened condensed goat’s milk.

GARLIC.
For the best flavor, buy whole heads of fresh garlic and peel the cloves as needed. (Prepeeled or minced garlic, sold at some stores, tastes foul; your cooking deserves better!) To peel garlic, tap the clove with the side of a chef’s knife to loosen the skin and remove it. When mincing garlic, slice it first, then sprinkle it with a pinch of salt before mincing. The salt will prevent the garlic from sticking to the knife.

HERBS

Cilantro.
Fresh cilantro has a distinctive smell and taste. It’s a necessity in fresh salsas, is often used as a garnish, and plays a lead role in
Salsa Verde
and
Arroz Verde
. The fresh taste disappears quickly, so chop it just before using it. There is no substitute for the flavor, but if you dislike cilantro, minced flat-leaf parsley can be used to add a touch of green to dishes instead.

Epazote.
A native of the Americas, epazote has a strong and unusual flavor that is slightly reminiscent of both
oregano and mint. Generous handfuls flavor corn, beans,
guisados,
and soups. Dried epazote leaves may be substituted for fresh. I buy it fresh whenever I see it and dry it myself. Epazote is very easy to grow in a kitchen garden.

Marjoram.
This mildly flavored herb, which came from Spain with the monks in the sixteenth century, is reminiscent of an earthy, floral oregano. It can be used in any recipe calling for oregano.

Oregano.
Mexican oregano is very fragrant, with a sweeter and milder flavor than Mediterranean (Greek or Italian) oregano. It is sometimes available fresh at Mexican markets, or you can grow your own. If you can’t get Mexican oregano, substitute fresh or dried marjoram.

Parsley.
This mildly flavored leafy herb can be sprinkled on dishes for a burst of green color and fresh flavor, added to soups, or stirred into a meat mixture to make
albondigas
(meatballs). If you can’t abide cilantro, substitute parsley.

LARD.
See
Asiento.

LIMES.
Freshly cut limes are served alongside many soups and tacos. A bright spritz of lime juice wakes up the flavor of food in a way no other seasoning can. Small, thin-skinned yellowish limes have the best flavor. Do not substitute lemon juice or bottled lime juice.

MASA.
See
Transforming Masa
.

MOLE.
Mole
is an Aztec word that means crushed or pureed (as in “guacamole”). Mole sauces—of which there are many—predate the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Complex combinations of chiles, nuts, corn, spices, vegetables, and fruit that have been toasted, ground, simmered, pureed, and strained, moles are usually served with meat (cooked separately), such as turkey, venison, chicken, or tamales. Mexican groceries sell very good mole pastes packed in plastic tubs, which can be reconstituted with the broth from a cooked chicken. Avoid mole sauce sold in jars.

NOPALES.
Nopales are the small, tender paddles of beavertail cactus. The thorns are scraped off and the paddles are cut up and boiled until tender. The flavor is similar to cooked green beans. Nopales are very nutritious.

OIL.
For cooking, use a neutral-flavored vegetable oil, such as canola or corn oil. Olive oil is too strongly flavored for the recipes in this book.

ONIONS.
For cooking, white onions are preferable, but yellow onions may be substituted in a pinch. For fresh salsas, such as
Salsa Mexicana
, or garnishes, use white or red onions.

PEPITAS.
Raw pumpkin seeds can be toasted and ground to season and thicken moles, salsas, and pozoles. They add flavor and richness.

PILONCILLO SUGAR.
Dark brown raw sugar, mildly sweet and with a gentle molasses taste, piloncillo is sold in rock-hard cones that must be crushed before use. It is generally dissolved in liquid, such as for
café de olla,
but it is also delicious sprinkled on cakes or fruit. To crush, place the sugar in a plastic bag, wrap in a kitchen towel, and pound with a mallet or a small cast-iron pan (my weapon of choice). Dark brown cane sugar is a good substitute.

PLANTAIN.
Also known as
plátanos machos,
plantains are large, starchy members of the banana family. For frying into
tostones,
choose ripe plantains whose skin has turned black but that are still firm. Plantains are sold at Asian, Mexican, Latin, and Caribbean markets.

PORK.
Boneless pork shoulder (also known as pork butt) is the perfect choice for many recipes in this book, from carnitas to
guisados.
Do not trim the fat before cooking; it will add terrific flavor as it renders out from the meat. If possible, cook the pork the day before you want to eat it and refrigerate it overnight. The fat will rise to the surface, where it can easily be removed. Save the fat
(asiento)
for browning and sautéing.

POTATOES.
For slow cooker use, choose firm white rose, red, or Yukon gold potatoes. Russet or baking potatoes will crumble when cooked. Always peel them for slow cooker use.

RICE.
For slow cooking, I get best results with converted (
not
instant) rice, such as that made by Uncle Ben’s. Regular long-grain rices, because of their inconsistent quality and moisture content, cook unpredictably and may become sticky during the long cooking time. Short-grain Arborio rice is the best choice for rice puddings. Do not use Asian short-grain rice.