[Homemade] Al Pastor(ish) Ribs, Jalapeño/Scallion/Cotija Cornbread, Romaine w Avocado/Lime/Cilantro Dressing and Pickles

Marinated the ribs overnight in orange juice, lime juice, a couple sazon packets, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, a little adobo from can of chipotles, some cumin as well.

For the sauce I started with a cup of water with bouillon powder and put that on the stove to start simmering. Separately I blended together guajillos, ancho chilies, guajillos, chipotle in adobo, tomato, sazon, honey, oregano, paprika, brown sugar, bouillon powder, cumin, cinnamon, an onion, garlic, soy sauce, cider vinegar, bit of mustard, lime juice, bit of orange juice and a bunch of sesame seeds for some richness and texture. I sieved that mixture into the bouillon/water and let that sauce reduce. Adjusting along the way as the flavor develops.

Baked the ribs uncovered bone side up at 350 for an hour. Flipped the ribs, added some sauce, covered with foil and the went another hour. Then uncovered and basted 3 times for another 30mins.

For the last baste (only a few mins in the oven) I took a bunch of pickled pineapple and onions I made that morning, blended them, sieved them and added with some of the pickle brine + a little cornstarch to give it a little shine. When consistency was good I pulled the sauce off the heat, added a big handful of cilantro and then brushed it on. I garnished the ribs with sesame seeds for a little bit of texture and added earthiness. Thought it was a nice touch after the final glaze with the pineapple gave the ribs a nice pop. Also it looked nice.

Cornbread was just literally a box of jiffy but I didn’t have milk so I used butter and an extra egg to the box recipe. I also added scallions, jalapeño, whole corn kernels and cotija cheese. The butter and extra egg made it a little cakier, which I was not mad at. Was like cornbread pudding, almost.

Salad was just heart of romaine with avocado cilantro lime dressing: avocado, cilantro, lime, avocado oil, splash of vinegar, garlic, honey, pinch of salt. Pickled onion and pineapple on that was great.

Pickles: for the onions just a simple 2:1:1 water:sugar:vinegar brine. For the pineapple and jalapeño, same thing, little less sugar, 2 cloves, little cinnamon and cumin.

Everything was pretty delicious and I felt uncharacteristically satisfied with the result. Also watched all 3 LOTR extended during the cook. Fantastic Sunday.