Pork Chile Colorado

Ingredients

• 3 lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of thick fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 8 dried guajillo chiles Label: dried guajillo chiles, and nothing else
• 2 dried ancho chiles
• 2 cups chicken broth, divided Label: chicken, water, vegetables, herbs, and salt, with no sugar, natural flavors, or oil
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano, Mexican if you have it
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage, to serve
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced, to serve
• 2 ripe avocados, sliced, to serve
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, to serve
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve

Instructions

1. Salt the pork: Pat the pork dry and toss it with the salt in a large bowl. If you have time, do this the night before and refrigerate it covered. Salt given a few hours dissolves into the meat and seasons it through rather than only the surface.
2. Toast the chiles: Pull the stems off the guajillos and anchos, split them open, and shake out the seeds. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and press the chiles flat against it, a few at a time, for 15 to 20 seconds a side, until they turn pliable, smell toasty, and darken slightly. Pull them right away, since a chile toasted until it scorches turns bitter.
3. Soak the chiles: Put the toasted chiles in a heatproof bowl. Bring 1 cup of the broth to a simmer in the skillet and pour it over them. Set a small plate on top to keep them under and soak for 20 minutes, until soft. The hot broth rehydrates the skins and carries their flavor into the liquid you will blend.
4. Sear the pork: Wipe out the skillet, add the avocado oil, and heat it over medium-high until it shimmers. Sear the pork in batches, without crowding, for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until well browned, and move each batch to the slow cooker. Browning builds a roasted, savory flavor that the moist heat of a slow cooker cannot create on its own.
5. Soften the onion and garlic: Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and garlic to the fat left in the skillet, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the onion is soft and the garlic is golden in spots.
6. Blend the sauce: Scrape the onion and garlic into a blender. Add the chiles with all of their soaking broth, the cumin, oregano, and vinegar, and blend on high for a full minute, until completely smooth.
7. Strain over the pork: Set a fine sieve over the slow cooker and pour the sauce through it, pressing with the back of a spoon until only a dry paste of chile skin is left. Discard the paste. Rinse the blender with the remaining 1 cup of broth, pour it over the pork, and tuck in the bay leaves. Stir so every piece is coated.
8. Slow-cook: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is fork-tender. The pork passes 145°F (63°C), the safe temperature for whole cuts of pork, early in the cook; the long, gentle heat is what melts its connective tissue until it turns soft and juicy.
9. Reduce the sauce: Lift the pork into a bowl with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves. Skim most of the fat from the surface of the sauce, then pour the sauce into the skillet and simmer it over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon. Slow cookers trap steam, so the sauce needs this short reduction to gain body. Return the pork to the sauce and taste for salt.
10. Serve: Spoon the pork and sauce into bowls and top with the cabbage, radishes, avocado, and cilantro, with lime wedges to squeeze over.