Moroccan Cubanos

June 22, 2009

I love Greek gyros, so when I saw this recipe in the Top Chef Cookbook, I knew I had to eat it.  Though completely different in flavor, gyros and these Moroccan Cubanos are similar in spirit – a spiced meat with vegetables wrapped in a warm pita.  It’s freakin’ awesome.

For Top Chef watchers, this recipe came from Season 1, Episode 5 where the contestants in teams (in this case Dave and Tiffani, a friendly pair) had to combine two culinary cultures of San Francisco into a street food.

The recipe itself is a slow-roasted shredded pork, flavored with ras al-hanout, then topped with pickled vegetables and served in a pita.

Morrocan Cubanos Recipe

For the pork, you’ll need a 4-5 pound pork butt, bone in (and trimmed), two tablespoons ras al-hanout, one cup chicken stock, and one cup veal stock.  For the vegetables, you need 3 cups red wine vinegar (I think I cut this down to two cups – three was practically more than a whole bottle, it was fine), a cup of sugar, one tablespoon fennel seeds, four carrots, a red onion, and a few fresh jalapeno chiles.  You’ll also need some pitas.

To begin, turn on your oven to 275º F and get your pork butt (be careful – it is not actually the butt, but the shoulder) out of the refrigerator.  If you need to, go ahead and mix your ras al-hanout.

Rub the pork all over with the ras al-hanout and some salt.

Heat a large cast iron skillet or other heavy pan over a high-ish heat – whatever works well for browning.  High heat would be way to high on my stove, so I used medium-high.  Brown the pork on each side (a few minutes each probably).  I’d also like to point out that the browning of the spices made me cough like crazy.  Be careful.

Move the pork to a roasting pan and add the stocks and a half cup of water.  Roast the whole thing for 4-5 hours at the 275º F.

You want it soft enough to pull apart with forks.  Note: I occassionally basted the pork and turned it.  Also, the liquid in my pan got a little too dry, so watch it and add more water if necessary.

At any point between when you put the pork in the oven and when it will be done, you can work on the pickled vegetables.  First, julienne the carrots and onion, and slice the jalapenos thinly.  Place them in a heat-proof bowl.

Combine your vinegar, sugar, fennel and 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

When boiling, pour your vinegar mixture over the vegetables and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  You need to let the vegetables steam for about 20 minutes before pouring out all but a cup of the liquid.  Then you can go ahead and stick the bowl in the refrigerator until the pork is ready.  The recipe says the vegetables should be about room temperature when serving.

When your pork is done, remove it to a cutting board or platter.  Also, pour the juices in the pan into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.  You want to reduce it to a little under a cup.

While the sauce is boiling, shred your pork with a couple forks, then mix it with your reduced sauce in a bowl.

To serve, warm a pita in a skillet over medium heat, remove it, then add some pork and pickled vegetables.  Next? Feast.

How Was It?

It was fantastic.  The ras al-hanout really gives the pork a different flavor than you’re used it.  The pickled vegetables on top add a fresh crunch, along with it their vinegar-y flavor.  It all goes really well together.

No-Look Cooking

Recipe

• Season a pork butt with ras al-hanout, brown it, then roast it at 275º F with some meat and poultry stock until it can be pulled apart.
• Top with pickled carrot, red onion, and jalapenos.  Serve on a pita.

Techniques

• Slow roasting pork / Shredded pork – Brown then roast at 275º F.
• Pork butts make good shredded pork.
• Pickling vegetables: combine equal parts red wine vinegar and water, add some sugar, boil then pour over vegetables.  Allow the vegetables to steam, covered, then pour away some liquid.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Pork:

• 4-5 lb. pork butt, bone-in, trimmed
• Salt
• 2 Tablespoons ras al-hanout
• 1 cup veal stock
• 1 cup chicken stock

Pickled Vegetables:

• Two to three cups red wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
• 2-4 carrots, julienned
• 1 red onion, julienned
• 3 fresh jalapeno chiles, cut into slices

• Pitas, warmed in a skillet

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 275º F.  Season the pork butt with ras al-hanout and salt.
2. Brown the pork in a cast iron skillet over medium-high to high heat on each side.  A few minutes per side.
3. Roast the pork in a roasting pan with the veal and chicken stock, plus about a half cup of water, for 4-5 hours, or until the pork can be pulled apart with a fork.  You may need to add more water throughout the cooking so the stocks don’t solidify.
4. Boil the vinegar and 3 cups water with the sugar and fennel seeds.  Stir to ensure the sugar is dissolved.
5. Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables, then cover with plastic wrap and let them steam for 20 minutes.  Pour off all but a cup of the liquid, then store in the refrigerator.
6. When the pork is done roasting, remove it from the pan and shred it with two forks.
7. Boil the cooking juices in a sauce pan until reduced to a little under a cup.  Combine the reduced juices with the pork.
8. Warm a pita and top it with the pork and pickled vegetables.

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