Tender pulled pork marinated and slow cooked in a sauce made with chicha de jora (fermented corn drink), garlic, cumin, achiote, paprika, orange, oregano, onions and more. This South American Andean inspired pork can be served with rice, plantains and lentils or as a filling/topping for sandwiches, sliders, empanadas, nachos, tostadas or patacones.
Course Main dish
Cuisine Andean, Ecuadorian inspired, Latin American, South American
Can also be served on bread or slider rolls with your choice of toppings - or on top of corn tostadas or patacones
Instructions
To make the marinade, add half of the garlic, the cumin, achiote, cayenne, paprika, oregano, salt, and ½ cup of orange juice to a blender or mini-food processor. Pulse and blend until all the ingredients are well mixed.
Add the blended mix, the rest of the orange juice, the fermented corn chicha, and the apple cider vinegar to a deep baking dish.
Add the pork shoulder to the marinade and marinate for 1-2 hours. You can also skip the marination part and start the cooking process directly.
Add the onion chunks and rest of the whole garlic cloves to the slow cooker, add the pork shoulder on top, and pour over the marinade.
Cook on Low for 8 hours, flip over the pork after 4 hours if possible. The pork will be done when you can easily shred it using a fork.
Remove the pork shoulder from the cooking liquid and shred it into small pieces.
To make a thicker sauce with the cooking liquid from the slow cooker, place it in a medium sized pot and cook the sauce down over medium high heat until it reduces by half, about 30 minutes.
Mix the shredded pulled pork with the reduced chicha sauce.
To make crispy pulled pork:
Take the fattier pieces of the shredded pork and let them cook in a skillet until they release their natural grease.
Then add the rest of shredded pork and cook until crispy and golden. You can also serve it the reduced chicha sauce.
To serve:
Serve the pulled pork (mixed with the sauce or fried until crispy) with rice, lentils, plantains, or your preferred side dishes
You can also serve it on a sandwich roll or on slider rolls, I served the rolls with mashed avocado or guacamole, coleslaw, pickled red onions and fried plantains.
To serve it on corn tostadas, you can garnish them with avocado sauce, pickled onions, coleslaw, lime wedges, cilantro, etc.
This pulled pork is also delicious served on top of patacones or tostones (green plantain chips), with nachos, or as a filling for empanadas.