Hi All!
I’m down to the last four recipes, and it’s so crazy how quickly this has all gone by! One of the last four is this recipe from my Tia Gorette. I never really ate torresmos growing up, because the fat content just didn’t look appealing to me, but everyone around me was raving about it, so I knew I was missing out. Turns out, torresmos do taste really good! You can include chunks that are very fatty mixed along with others that aren’t as much. The chunks with the fat, though, are what makes it taste so good, because the pork is basically left to cook in its own fat which gives it a lot of flavor and texture.
Enjoy!
Yields: 2-4 servings
Ingredients:
4 pounds pork butt or shoulder, cut into chunks and should contain fat
6 whole garlic cloves
1 cup red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons pepper
3 tablespoons hot sauce or malagueta (recipe found in archives)
1 cup red wine
3 tablespoons lard (or bacon fat)
Directions:
1) In a large bowl, add pork chunks, garlic, red wine vinegar, paprika, salt, pepper, hot sauce, wine and mix together really well. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours or at least overnight, marinating.
2) Preheat oven to 375°. Remove pork from the marinade, and place in a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add the lard. Instead of lard, I cooked 8 slices of thick bacon, drained the fat and poured it over the pork. Feel free to use either option. Add half a cup of the marinade and a heavy dash of salt and pepper.
3) Cover the pot, place in the oven, and cook for 1 hour, and then uncovered for an additional hour. Throughout the two hours, turn the pork over every 30-45 minutes. Cook for an additional 20 minutes, if needed. Pork should be tender and crispy, and all or most of the liquid should be gone.
The Five Marias 