Instant Pot Red Chile Pork
Tags: Dinner Instant Pot Mexican Pork
- 1½ pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 10 dried guajillo chiles (about 2 ounces), stemmed and seeded (or ½ cup chile powder)
- 3 crushed cloves garlic
- 1 cup water (or chicken broth)
- Stem and seed the dried guajillo chiles by cutting the stem end off the pepper, slicing them open along one side, and peeling out the veins and seeds. Sprinkle the pork shoulder cubes with the fine sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and coriander. Put the pork in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, pour in the water, add the garlic, and top with the guajillo chiles.
- Lock the lid on the cooker, and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 16 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 minutes. (You can quick-release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes if you are in a hurry.)
- Move the cooked guajillo chiles to a blender, and use a slotted spoon to move the pork to a large bowl, leaving behind the cooking liquid. Pour the cooking liquid into a fat separator and let it settle for 5 minutes. Pour a cup of the defatted cooking liquid into the blender with the guajillo chiles. Remove the plug on the lid, hold the lid on the jar tightly with a towel, and SLOWLY increase the blender to high speed. (The still-warm liquid will want to blow the top off the blender). Blend the chiles for 1 minute on high, adding more cooking liquid if the blender is not moving the chiles around. Pour the blended red chile sauce over the pork. Shred the pork with a pair of forks and mix it with the chile sauce. Save for later, use in another recipe, or serve and enjoy!
- Soaking the chiles while cooking the meat: Most traditional recipes soak the guajillo chiles separately, but I take a shortcut and add them to the pot. They steam through while the pork is cooking and are ready to blend when the pork is done.
- Be careful blending hot liquid! I transfer a cup of the liquid from the pot to the blender, which is a little dangerous because it is still hot. Blending hot liquid can blow the lid off the blender, throwing it all over everything nearby - the walls, the cabinets, and the cook. And if it is hot enough, it can burn you. The explosion is air pressure; the blender releases all the hot air trapped in the liquid immediately, pushing the liquid up the sides and the lid off the top. That's why I start the blender on low, SLOWLY ramping up the speed to release the hot gradually. I also hold down the lid with a towel and remove the little plug in my blender lid to give the air a way to escape.
