Spring always inspires me to clean up a little, and this year I found a delicious solution to a major problem. I tend to hoard bits of ingredients past the point of functionality. So, I made a marinade out of all the leftover things in my cabinets. I also got rid of doubles- who needs 2 bottles of cumin? Not this household!
Originally, I wanted this to be a hot sauce, but that didn’t work out, so I ended up making a marinade instead. I waited until I used the marinade in a recipe because I wouldn’t want to remember how to make something gross. But, earlier this week I used the marinade in a recipe and it was so good!
Pantry Marinade:
Ingredients:
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups dry chile de arbol
1/3 cup white raisins
3 Tablespoons cumin
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup black strap molasses
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup salt
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup chile con carne mix (aka taco seasoning)
1/4 c coffee extract
5 cups water
Method:
1. Saute shallot in olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic.
2. Add everything else.
3. Puree with an immersion blender
4. Simmer for 3 hours
5. Strain, cool, and store ( I froze mine into single use portions)
So, as I mentioned above, I used the marinade this week. I bought a 4 pound bone in pork shoulder from Butcher and Larder, marinated it for about an hour in this pantry sauce and then braised the whole thing in gluten free beer (Estrella Daura) for about 3 hours. After it was done, I served it as pulled pork. I made a slaw from red cabbage, orange pepper, lime juice and mayo. I put everything on a corn tortilla, topped it with some avocado and called it a night.
gogochicago 