The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites (2 page)
Authors: Deborah Schneider
Take a moment to read the recipe all the way through before you start to cook. The recipes in this book will satisfy 4 to 6 average appetites. If you are cooking for fewer people, the recipes can be halved to serve 2 or 3, in which case they can be cooked in a smaller slow cooker, such as a 4-quart variety. Everything in this book freezes well, with the exception of the fresh salsas.
Some recipes call for browning or sautéing ingredients before placing them in the slow cooker. This extra step adds color and an extra layer of flavor, but in most cases it can be skipped if you are in a hurry. One exception is charring or toasting chiles (see below), which is necessary to get the desired results.
Chiles are primarily used to add flavor—
not
heat—and many famous dishes, such as mole, are not at all spicy. Any step involving fresh or dried chiles, such as roasting, toasting, soaking, pureeing, or frying them, is essential for developing authentic Mexican flavor. These very simple steps will make an enormous difference in the taste, color, and texture of your finished dish and should not be skipped. (If you’re concerned about a chile being too spicy, you can knock down the heat factor by simply removing the seeds and ribs.)
FRESH CHILES
, turn on a gas burner and set the whole chiles directly in the flame, turning occasionally, until evenly blistered and lightly charred on all sides. Alternatively, the chiles can be charred beneath a hot broiler. Wrap the charred chiles in paper towels until cool, then remove the stem, split open, and remove the seeds. Rub off the charred skin with your fingers and use the chiles as directed.
, line the bottom of a heavy skillet with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Place the whole chiles in the pan (without oil) and roast on all sides until blistered, turning occasionally.
Diced bell peppers, usually red or green but also available in yellow, orange, or purple, can either be sautéed or added raw.
Small, pointed, and bright red, fresno chiles (sometimes called lipstick peppers) are mild and sweet with thin flesh. They are usually used raw, but may be roasted or stuffed.
Also known as California or chilaca chiles, these large but narrow pale green chiles have a mild flavor but a true chile taste. They must be charred, peeled, and seeded before use. When dried, they are called guajillo chiles.
These large, shiny, dark green chiles have a rich, almost smoky flavor. They may be spicy, and they must be charred, peeled, and seeded before use. When dried, they are known as ancho or pasilla chiles.
Similar in shape to an Anaheim chile, these are darker in color and predictably spicy. They must be charred, peeled, and seeded before use.
Small, plump, and shiny green, sometimes with red patches, jalapeños may be minced (with or without their seeds) and added raw to fresh salsas. Roasted and seeded, they may be used in salsas or cut into
rajas
(strips). When ripe, dried, and smoked, they are known as chipotles.
Pale yellow with a waxy sheen, güero chiles pack a spicy punch. They may be used raw in salsas, but are more often roasted and eaten whole or stuffed.
Small, dark green, and slender, serranos are hotter than jalapeños. Usually minced (with or without their seeds), they are often added raw to fresh salsas.
This small, bright orange chile has a pervasive burning heat that makes the lips tingle.
DRIED CHILES
, stem, split, and seed the chiles and remove any ribs. Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles to the dry pan and press down firmly with a spatula until the chiles blister, soften, and darken, being careful not to burn them. Turn the chiles and repeat. Transfer the chiles to a bowl and pour hot water over them as directed in the recipe. Once they have soaked for the time indicated, transfer the soaked chiles to a blender and puree with the reserved soaking liquid, according to the recipe instructions. Puree the chiles for several minutes, until perfectly smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender once or twice. At this point, you can pass the pureed chiles through a food mill to remove any traces of skin or fiber from the sauce, if you like. The chile puree may now be added to the slow cooker, or it may be cooked in a skillet to thicken it and concentrate the flavors.
Deep flavors of fruit, hay, tobacco, and chocolate characterize this wide chile, 3 to 4 inches in length, with wrinkled skin that is reddish-black to black.
Similar in flavor to the ancho chile, this long, narrow chile has smooth, thin flesh that is dark brown to black in color.
The most commonly used dried chile in Mexican cooking, narrow guajillos are 4 to 6 inches in length and have smooth reddish to dark red skin and leathery flesh. This sweet-smelling chile, often used in enchilada sauce, has a pure chile flavor.
Similar in appearance to the guajillo, this chile may be dark red to red-brown and usually has medium-spicy leathery flesh. Not sweet, this herbaceous chile features the flavors of hay and tobacco.
Narrow and 3 to 4 inches in length, this red, smooth-skinned chile, also known as a japonés chile, is medium-hot, with a fruity taste.
A smoked dried jalapeño chile, a chipotle is light to medium brown with dry-looking skin. It is smoky, slightly bitter, and very spicy.
A small, thin red chile with many seeds, this is hot, with a bitter edge.
This tiny red chile is very hot.
Dry toasting whole spices and grinding them just before adding them to the slow cooker will give you a remarkable boost in fragrance and flavor. Long cooking times can dull the taste of spices, so the quantities in these recipes have been increased slightly to compensate. Some salt should be added at the beginning of cooking, but always taste the final dish and adjust the seasoning to your taste before serving.
Slow cooking coaxes the juices out of the food and intensifies natural flavors, so don’t be tempted to add too much liquid to your slow cooker. If necessary, you can always thin a well-flavored sauce at the end of cooking, which is better than drowning your food in a watery sauce.
Meat will cook faster than vegetables in a slow cooker, so arrange hard vegetables on the bottom and around the sides of the slow cooker insert. Cut vegetables in cubes of about ½ inch so they cook evenly. Root vegetables—carrots, potatoes, and the like—must be peeled.
Cooking times may vary slightly depending on the brand of your cooker. The food is done when the meats are very tender and the food smells wonderful. If you want something to cook faster, preheat the cooker and use hot ingredients, like browned meats and hot stocks. If you want something to cook more slowly, start with cold ingredients. And, though it might sound like odd advice in a book on slow cookers, don’t overcook the food. Longer is not necessarily better. A slow cooker with a digital timer and an automatic
warm cycle
will ensure that your lovely
guisado
doesn’t cook to mush while you are away.
Long, slow cooking works magic on food, so nearly all of the recipes in this book are cooked on the low setting. Slower cooking allows flavors to develop, sauces to thicken, and meats to become meltingly tender. Foods cooked on high might be done more quickly, but they also might taste watery and boiled.
After the ingredients start to simmer, it is perfectly okay to stir the food occasionally; the cooking time should not be affected.
If the lid of your slow cooker clatters while it simmers, slip a small piece of folded paper towel under one edge of the lid.
Slow cooker food tastes even better the next day, and once a dish is chilled overnight, it’s easy to remove any excess fat, which floats to the surface.
Chill leftover food as soon as possible. Remove the food from the slow cooker insert as soon as it is done and spread it in a thin layer on a rimmed baking sheet until cool enough to refrigerate. (
Caldos
and soups should be transferred to smaller containers and either immersed in ice or stirred until cooled.) Next, thoroughly chill the food
uncovered
to minimize crystallization, then freeze. I fill quart- and gallon-sized zippered freezer bags with the food, date them, and freeze them flat. The food freezes quickly, stores neatly, and thaws in a hurry.
Thawing is best done overnight in the refrigerator. To reheat, place the thawed food in a pot or pan, bring to a high simmer or boil, and cook, stirring, for at least 5 minutes. Never thaw or reheat food in the slow cooker.
Tools
Having the right tools makes cooking easier. For an efficient kitchen, try to purchase fewer, smaller, and more versatile tools. Call me old-fashioned, but simple is often best.
BLENDER.
A basic 2-quart blender with simple settings is all you need. I prefer one with a narrow-bottomed jar, which makes it more efficient for blending small amounts.
COMAL
OR GRIDDLE.
A heavy cast-iron griddle, known as a
comal
in Mexico, is useful when making these dishes, but if you have limited space, a large cast-iron skillet works just as well for toasting ingredients and cooking and warming tortillas. Nonstick
griddles are not suitable for high-heat cooking.
CUTTING BOARDS.
Buy wood or plastic cutting boards that are generously sized. Use one for vegetables and a separate one for raw meat or chicken. Wash and sanitize cutting boards immediately after using them.
FOOD MILL.
A plastic or metal food mill (I like the Moulinex brand) sits over a bowl and quickly cranks out velvety moles and salsas. It can also be used to make fluffy mashed potatoes, creamy purees, and perfect sauces.
FOOD PROCESSOR.
A processor with a 2-quart bowl and on, off, and pulse switches is all you need.
KITCHEN TIMER.
A small digital timer with a large display is always useful. Mine, which clips to my apron, helps me stay on track when I have many jobs going on at once.
KNIVES.
You will spend a lot of time with your knives over a lifetime of cooking, so I recommend that you buy at least one top-quality knife, preferably an 8- or 10-inch French-style chef’s knife, and a good sharpening steel. Have your knives professionally sharpened every 6 months and use the steel before each use. A couple of inexpensive paring knives and a serrated knife are all you need to complete your set.
PANS.
For high-heat cooking, such as dry roasting or browning, you can’t beat well-seasoned cast-iron skillets. They never warp or break or lose their handles, and, if you treat them right, they will last at least a couple of lifetimes. I buy mine for a few dollars apiece at yard sales or swap meets and reseason them myself. If you buy new pans, buy the heaviest ones you can find. Nonstick pans are not suitable for high heat cooking.
SIEVES.
Inexpensives sieves are useful for rinsing, straining, and sifting. A 4-inch nylon or metal fine-mesh sieve and an 8-inch metal coarse-mesh should be all you need.
SLOW COOKER.
The ideal slow cooker should have low, high, and warm settings and a digital timer. A moderately priced cooker with these features works just as well as a high-end one. If you plan to use the slow cooker a lot, buy a few in different sizes.
SPICE GRINDER.
An inexpensive coffee grinder should be reserved for grinding spices only. Wipe it out with a paper towel after each use.
UTENSILS.
Metal tools will scratch the earthenware insert of your slow cooker. Silicone and wooden spatulas and spoons, on the other hand, won’t scratch your cooker and don’t get too hot (ow!). Metal tongs are always handy for handling hot foods, turning chiles or meat in a
frying pan, or transferring chiles from the soaking liquid to the blender. I often use simple wooden chopsticks for handling food, and they can double as a rack in the bottom of an oval slow cooker.
