Cola, Coriander & Lampong Sous Vide Carnitas with Aji Limo Rojo

What this dish lacks in finesse of presentation it makes up for in flavor. Wow - is this one ever an instant personal classic. The concept was to use sous vide as a technique for carefully controlling the slow cooking required of carnitas while imparting deep seasoned taste. The sous vide medium was 4 cans of 365 cola (cane sugar not HFCS), 2 tablespoons coriander seeds (toasted & put through the mortar & pestle), 1 teaspoon toasted cumen (ground), 2 tablespoons Lampong Peppercorns (ground), 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 6 stalks celery (chopped), 2 yellow onions (chopped), and 4 Aji Limo Rojo chiles from Marx Foods. After sealing the pork butt and the braising elements in a vacuum sealed bag, the bag was placed into a large pot of 145F water for 5 hours.

From gastronomic guesswork

Next, the braising liquid was separated from the roast, reduced by half, blitzed with a stick blender, then strained through a chinois. The roast was coated in duck fat and caramelized briefly in a 450F oven (~10-15 minutes), rotating to brown each side. The roast was then returned to the reduced braising liquid and allowed to steep at 200F for 40 minutes longer.

From gastronomic guesswork

The carnitas topped some grilled ciabatta, were doused with some of the braising liquid to form an open faced sandwich, and accompanied by some thinly sliced avocado. Total creature comfort food here, the flavor of the cola melded well with the toasted coriander. the Lampong pepper left a little heat in the back of the mouth, the fruitiness of the Aji Limo Rojo rounded out the coriander and cumin - addictive. Thanks to Marx Foods for the sample chiles, truly a great ingredient, one of the most complex and interesting chiles I've ever tasted.