Recipe Trifecta: Pickled Onions, Arroz con Gandules y Pernil
I spent yet another weekend beasting in the kitchen. The last trifecta's theme was hearty/homestyle. This theme is a tribute to all my Latino brethren and sistren out there with recipes for....(drumroll please) pickled red onions, arroz con gandules and pernil.
I had a base recipe for all of these but altered them based on suggestions from my Boriqua, Dominicana and Cubana girlfriends.
Feel free to steal them and let me know how everything turns out. Wepa!
Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients:
1.5 cups sliced red onion
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1 cup white vinegar
Lo Note: I used capers instead of peppercorns. I understand they’re not the same thing…I just really love capers.
Directions
1. Thinly slice the red onion and peel the garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
2. Add the sugar, salt, and peppercorns to a small sauce pot. Add the vinegar and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Place a lid on the pot and bring the mixture up to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Once boiling, pour the vinegar over the sliced onion and garlic*. Press the onion down so all the pieces are submerged, then let the mixture cool to room temperature.
4. Once cool, use the onions immediately or transfer the onions and all the brine to a lidded non-reactive container (glass, ceramic, or plastic) for storage in the refrigerator. The onions can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
Recipe Note: For onions that remain crunchy, pour the boiling vinegar over the onions in the bowl. If you prefer soft onions, add the onion and garlic to the sauce pot and allow them to boil in the vinegar for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a non-metal bowl to cool.
Lo Note: I just put the onions and garlic directly in a mason jar and poured the boiling mixture in that. When it cooled I sealed the jar. I like to cut down on transferring ingredients if I can cus I’m messy AF.
Recipe inspiration found HERE.
Arroz con Gandules
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/3 cup onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 teaspoons chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons tomato paste
4 cans (15 oz.) Green Pigeon Peas, undrained
4 cups water mixed with 1 packet of Cubitos Chicken Bouillon
2 cans (13.5 oz.) coconut milk
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups Canilla Extra Long Grain Rice
6 thighs
1 cup chopped olives
1 pack Sazon
Lo Note: I doubled the amounts from the original recipe I found on Goya.com because I wanted to make a giant pot of rice I could have for the week.
Directions:
1. Heat oil in medium, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, cilantro and oregano and Thighs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, until paste begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes more.
2. Add pigeon peas, chicken bouillon mixture, coconut milk, Sazon and salt to pot; bring to boil. Stir in rice; return water to boil. Boil 1 minute.
Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, without stirring, until water completely evaporates. Stir rice from bottom up. Reduce heat to lowest setting and add olives; cover pot. Cook, covered, until rice is completely tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Fluff rice with fork.
I highly recommend not eating the rice until the next day. It always tastes better on day 2. Also, when putting away the rice I separate the pegao into its own bowl because while it’s not my husband’s favorite, I LOVE it.
Recipe inspiration found HERE.
Pernil
Ingredients:
7 lbs. pork shoulder - picnic cut (with fat)
9 garlic cloves (You may use powder garlic or ground garlic sold in glass jars - 1 tsp. equals one clove.)
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed oregano
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoon salt
Lo Note: Picnic cut may not be available. If not, then just buy a pork shoulder. It won’t have the fat, ergo you won’t be able to make cueritos (pig skins) with it.
Directions:
1. Crush the garlic in a pilon. If you don’t have one then cut into small pieces. Mix the garlic with the salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil.
2. Wash the meat and pat dry. If the piece of meat you bought has a thick piece of fat on the top, cut the fat away from the meat. Leave part of it attached so that you can flip the fat aside while you season the meat. You’ll flip it back over the meat while it cooks.
3. Cut deep slits into the meat and fill them with the garlic mixture. Save a little bit of the seasoning for the inside of the fat piece. Flip the fat back over the meat and season the top of it with salt only.
Lo Note: If you have time, season the meat and place it in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
4. If you’ve refrigerated the meat overnight, allow it to return to room temperature before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400° for 30 minutes before placing the meat inside.
Lo Note: Make sure you have a deep pan for cooking. There will be a lot of grease. You’ve been warned.
5. Cook meat at 400° for one hour. Reduce the temperature to 300° for 4 hours. Don’t turn the meat. When done the meat should shred easily with a fork. If using a meat thermometer, wait til the temp reaches 185°.
Cueritos:
1. Once the meat is done, if the cuerito is not crispy enough for your satisfaction, leave it in the oven and raise the temperature again to 400º and cook another 15 or until it is crispy. It will crisp fast so keep your eye on it.
2. Remove the cuerito completely from the meat and cut it into pieces.
This may take forever to cook, but it’s not only easy, it’s guaranteed to be tasty AF.
Recipe inspiration found HERE.
I topped the arroz with pernil and cuerito and then topped the pernil with the onions and fuck me running, that shit was BOMB!
Follow us on Twitter @FlairHuxtable, Instagram @Flair.Huxtable and @HomeBrewedLove, and Facebook at @Flair Huxtable! Then buy Lo’s first book, “The Semester,” HERE!