Crispy Pork Sandwich in Chile Sauce — Torta Ahogada
Guadalajara torta of crusty birote bread split and filled with crisp pan-fried carnitas, refried beans, and pickled onion, then drowned in spicy chile de arbol tomato salsa and served on a plate with extra salsa and lime.
Mexican
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Cut 440g pork shoulder into 4cm cubes. Slice 120g red onion thinly; combine with 60ml lime juice, 0.5 tsp oregano, 0.5 tsp salt, scrunch, set aside. Stem 10 dried chiles de arbol. Roughly chop 1/2 cup white onion and peel 6 garlic cloves for salsa. Coarsely chop cilantro. Halve 6 medium tomatoes.
Simmer
Place pork in a large saucepan with 4 tbsp lard, 120ml milk, orange juice and squeezed halves, 4 bay leaves, 4 smashed garlic cloves, 1 tsp oregano, 1.5 tsp salt, and 500ml water. Simmer uncovered over medium-low 35–40 minutes until liquid reduces almost completely, stirring occasionally.
Char
Toast 10 chiles de arbol in a dry pan over medium 20–25 seconds until fragrant. Add tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, and chopped onion; char over medium-high 6–7 minutes until blackened in patches, stirring twice.
Build
Blend charred chiles, vegetables, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp cumin, 60ml vinegar, 2 tsp salt, and 360ml stock until smooth. Strain into a saucepan, simmer over medium-low 8–10 minutes until thickened to a pourable coating consistency, stirring occasionally.
Fry
Once pork liquid nearly evaporates, raise heat to medium-high. Fry pork in rendered fat 8–10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes, until deeply browned and crisp on all sides. Coarsely shred on a board. While pork crisps, heat 2 tbsp lard in a skillet over medium 1 minute, add 200g cooked beans, 0.5 tsp salt, and 60ml bean liquid; mash 4–5 minutes until thick and spreadable.
Crisp
Slice both birote rolls lengthwise without cutting through. Toast cut sides face-down in a dry skillet over medium 2–3 minutes until golden. Spread refried beans on bottom of each, layer carnitas and pickled onion, close sandwiches.
Plate
Place each torta in a wide deep plate. Ladle warm salsa over each sandwich, drowning generously; let sit 30 seconds for bread to absorb. Top with cilantro, serve with lime wedges and extra salsa alongside.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.