Spicy Pork Tinga and Rice
I'm typing this recipe up largely for my own benefit. 😉
I found it in an America's Test Kitchen cookbook years ago, and it was a library copy, so all I have is a photo of the original recipe. And I really wanted to have it on my blog so I could access it anywhere.
My main issue with the original recipe is that it calls for cooking the pork for only 75-90 minutes, and man, every time I make this dish, I forget that it needs way longer than that.
My pork butt chunks are never, ever tender and falling apart after 90 minutes, so then I always end up serving dinner much later than I mean to.
So, I'm typing this up with a note to allow for more oven time, so that maybe next time I serve it, I will have dinner on the table in a timely manner.
Anyway! This is a handy recipe to serve a dairy intolerant person, although I always top my serving with some chipotle sour cream. And you could certainly sprinkle some cheese on top too.
Plus, I like that it uses pork butt, which is often available at a good sale price, and chicken broth, which I always have in my freezer.
And all you have to do is add a veggie side to make a complete dinner.
To start out, brown some salted, peppered chunks of pork butt.
Remove the pork from the pot, add the chopped onions and cook until browned, and then add in garlic, chipotle peppers, oregano, and thyme.
Next up, stir in chicken broth and a can of tomato sauce.
(Here's how I make my chicken broth.)
Add the pork chunks, cover the pot, and bake in a 300°F oven for 2.5-3 hours, or until the pork is tender.
All that's left is to stir in the uncooked rice and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
Right before you serve this, stir in cilantro, scallions, and lime juice...and if you're like me, you can serve some chipotle sour cream on the side (just stir blended chipotles into a small bowl of sour cream. Make it as spicy or mild as you like!)
And in case you haven't seen this before, here's how I store a can's worth of chipotle chilies in my fridge (because who uses a whole can at once??)
Alrighty. I think that's all I've got to say about this! I typed the ingredients below, and if you scroll down a bit further, you'll find the printable recipe with instructions.
(I'm sorry it shows up after the related posts; I think it's weird how Mediavine has that set up.)
Spicy Pork Tinga and Rice
1 (2-pound) boneless pork butt roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped fine
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried
2 cups chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
3 scallions, sliced thin
1 tablespoon lime juice
Spicy Pork Tinga and Rice
A dairy-free pork and rice dish; add a veggie and dinner is served.
Ingredients
- 1 (2-pound) boneless pork butt roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped fine
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 - 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
- 3 scallions, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
Notes
Remember that the pot handles are gonna be burning hot from the oven! I've burnt myself several times because I forget the lid/pot handles are hot.
I like to serve this with chipotle sour cream; just mix blended chipotles into sour cream. Experiment to figure out how spicy you like it!
Here's betting this would be great in an instapot (and quicker too!)
@Shannon, Oh man, I bet you're right!
@Shannon, Yes the instant pot was the first thing that came to my mind! and of course the fact that the recipe looks yummy!
Thank you for this! And for the tip on the peppers too.
I'm always looking for new-to-me pork recipes.
Do you think this would also work with a whole piece of meat (not chunks) and cook all day in crockpot and then pull into chunks?
I hate cutting raw meat and it might take care of the undercooking factor?
I wonder if spices would need to be increased though?
Just talking it through to myself…
@Vallie, had the same thought. No real harm done by trying it, for sure!
@Vallie,
I would think that a long braise in the oven would work for a larger piece of meat. In my experience, the spice level would need to be increased (our family loves BIG flavors & we almost always increase garlic, onion, & even hot spices) BUT beware of increasing the liquid levels. I have found that doubling a recipe, especially a braise or other long cooking one, tends to have too much liquid if I double what's listed in the ingredients. I typically start with original amount and if it looks a like it may need more, I'll add 1/2 the amount. I've braised 4-5 lb pork roasts for 3-4 hours in a variety of sauces using an oven temp of 275 - 300 degrees. I generally start these earlier in the day to give me a window of time if I need to extend the cooking time. And these have always been MUCH better the next day that sometimes I'll cook them ahead of time to free up the schedule for the actual 'eating' day. Enjoy!
I think if you opt for the crock pot, it would still be good to brown the meat and onions, garlic etc on the stove top. The browning and the bits from the bottom of the pan help give the dish flavor.
You could certainly just leave the pork whole; during the browning step, just get all the sides of the pork browned, and you should be good to go.
Yum, I love all things pork and Mexican food! I even have pork in my freezer, so look out!
Thanks for this Kristen! I have 3 pork butts in my freezer after a recent sale and am looking forward to trying this out. Love that it is very hands off which allows me to do other things while dinner is cooking 🙂
My first thought also was either crock pot or pressure cooker for the pork, then add in the rice. I would hate to have the oven on that long in warm weather. I love, love my Crock Pot and Fagor pressure cooker (and my kids love, love their Instant Pots).
I wonder if I could alter this for AIP? I can't use the peppers or tomato sauce, which would really affect the flavor, but maybe there is a way to at least approximate it. I might choose to serve it with cauliflower rice although I can eat a little actual rice. It sounds so good as written, that I'm craving it now.
Definitely I would leave out the cilantro, though. I'm one of the people to whom cilantro tastes soapy.
I find often pork is a more affordable protein when on sale so great to have another recipe to draw on.
As it happens, I have almost all the ingredients for this on hand, so I'll give it a try tomorrow. I'll probably be halving the recipe (since it's just for me) and making a few other tweaks (for instance, I'll be using boneless country-style pork ribs instead of pork butts, since I have the rib meat in the freezer).
Thank you! Yay yay yay
So glad you posted this! I have two pounds of pork stew meat in my freezer and this sounds like a great way to use it. I will make it on the milder side though...can't handle as much spice heat as I have gotten older. Will probably sub a much smaller amount of pickled jalapeno rings for the chipotles, hubby can add Tabasco at the table if we wants.
Or chipotle sour cream, like I do! That way I can make my serving as spicy as I want.
I always have pork butt in the freezer too so this could be fun to try.
Is it actually spicy? I am tempted to throw a jalapeno in to add heat.
If you use 2 tablespoons of the chipotles, that can be a bit spicy. I mean, it all depends on your own heat tolerance. I have always been the most spice-tolerant person in my house, so I've dealt with that by making the actual dish not TOO spicy, and then I top it with seriously spicy chipotle sour cream. 😉
@Kristen,
I guess I should try it with 2 Tablespoons of chipotles first and worry about adjustments when I make it the second time. My family loves spice but I have overdone things a time or two.
One of the readers here used an entire can of chipotles in a recipe once. THAT would have been a spicy dish!
Sounds yummy; for UK readers I just looked up the cut - here it’s pork shoulder I think.
@Effie, I’m sure you’re correct. A pork butt is from the shoulder of the pig.
Yum! Definitely will make this---thank you so much!!!
On a different note: Still praying for all y'all.
Looks and sounds so delicious!
Thanks!