Bad taste

Last week I ate the most appalling meal that I have ever had to pay for in my life and that includes the raw chicken stir-fry from San Francisco's House of Nanking. I had gone to a new mexican restaurant with my mother and sister to celebrate my sister finishing her dissertation. My sister had chosen the place, not that I blame her at all for subjecting my tastebuds to such abject horror. Anyhow, you get more authentically mexican food out of an Old El Paso packet than at the restaurant we went to. Ever since then I craved something to eat with actual flavour. Something actually edible.

So I got quite excited when I was reminded (thanks TUS!) of the Puerco Pibil recipe on the DVD of Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I'm a big, big fan of any meat cooked for a very long time and doubly so if it's pork. This particular recipe is just about perfect for me (it's maybe just a little on the tart side and I don't know if I'll fuck up the authenticity by adding onions to make it sweeter). But truly delicious. I highly recommend it to kickstart your tastebuds. It'll cure what ails you.

Robert Rodriquez' Puerco Pibil:

5 lbs. pork butt, cut into 2" cubes
1 tbsp. black peppercorns
5 tbsp. annatto
2 tsp. cumin
8 allspice berries
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
2 habanero peppers
8 cloves garlic
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp. salt
splash of good tequila
juice of 5 lemons
banana leaves or use foil if you can't find any leaves

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.



• Grind peppercorns, annatto, cumin, allspice, and cloves in a spice grinder and set aside.



• Chop habaneros and puree with garlic, orange juice, vinegar, salt, tequila, lemon juice, and reserved spice mixture.



• Rub the marinade all over the pork



• Line a deep baking pan with banana leaves. Place pork cubes on banana leaves, cover with more banana leaves, and seal with aluminum foil. Roast for four hours, or until pork is falling apart.