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Shredded Pork & Coloradito Tortilla Casserole with Caramelized Veggies

Course Entree
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword pork, tortilla, vegetables
Author TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

  • 1 4- lbs-ish (no need to be exact) pork shoulder, bone-in
  • 2 small-medium onions, sliced, divided
  • 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 12- oz bottle Mexican lager
  • Approximately 42 corn tortillas
  • 1 recipe Coloradito mole, see link above
  • 8 oz queso fresco, crumbled
  • 3 sweet bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • 4 small zucchini, sliced into half-moons
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Mexican crema for serving

Instructions

  1. Note that this recipe will give you extra shredded pork in mole--I froze mine to save for later use. I did not scale the recipe down because it is all based Zarela Martinez's recipe for Coloradito mole. (Note: recipe seo will not let me include accented e in mole.)
  2. Begin the day or evening before--for the day, preheat the oven 300 F and for the night preheat to 225 F. Heat a medium large Dutch oven (I used 5 qt oval) with some olive oil. Salt and pepper the pork all over and then brown it all over. Remove the pork and add half of the small onions with a pinch of salt. Use the liquid from the onions to deglaze the pan. Cook for 7 minutes and then add the 6-8 garlic cloves. Cook another 2 minutes and then add the beer. Bring to a boil. Add the pork with its juices back into the pan and sprinkle the remaining small onions over the top of the pork. Cover with a heavy lid and place in the oven. Cook around 4 hours at 300 F or overnight, up to 12 hours, at 225 F. When it is fork tender, remove and let cool.
  3. When you are ready to prepare dinner, about an hour or so before you want to serve it, preheat the oven to 375 F. Shred the pork and add it to the prepared Coloradito mole--use the maximum amount of chicken stock called for in the recipe.
  4. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with olive oil. Add the sliced large onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the 3 garlic cloves as well as the sliced pepper. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until a lot of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are caramelizing. Set aside.
  5. Spread a scant cup of the mole liquid onto the bottom of a large, deep casserole (9X13X3). Layer 6 overlapping tortillas over that, followed by spreading a cup of the vegetables over that. Then layer another cup of the shredded pork in mole, followed by crumbled queso fresco. Repeat, starting with the tortillas. When you get to the top, end with 6 tortillas followed by the shredded pork then the queso fresco.
  6. Cover the casserole with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and cook another 10-20 minutes, until the edges are browning and bubbling.
  7. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve drizzled with Mexican crema.