Why, hello melt-in-your-mouth amazingly delicious enchiladas. When I had a hankering for some kind of pulled pork dish, I had no idea how smitten I would find myself when I came across a recipe for bourbon-chipotle pulled pork – it simply just spoke to me. Likely because I have nothing short of an adoration for both of those delicious ingredients. And together? A match made in heaven. Now, I grappled with this dish because it is by no means beautiful (and I tend to be a bit compulsive about food looking delectable!). But if it’s what’s inside that counts, my goodness you’re in for a treat. A teensy, weensy bit labor intensive, this recipe is best suited for a dinner that allows you some time to prepare. But don’t let that deter you! This is truly and labor of love. And I promise, you will most certainly love this beautiful mess of cheesey, pulled pork goodness.
Bourbon-Chipotle Pulled Pork Enchiladas (servings: 5):
- 3 lb. pork shoulder
- 1 cup bourbon (we used Jack Daniel’s Honey Bourbon)
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped + 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 15 ounce can pureed tomatoes
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mined with the seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 anaheim peppers, thinly sliced
- 5 tortillas (we used sundried tomato wraps)
- 1 can black beans, rinsed
- 1 cup mexican cheese blend
- Sour cream, for garnish
Okay, okay. This seems a tiny bit overwhelming, but bare with me! Let’s rewind to the night before, when you get most of the hard work out of the way. Begin by sauteing your 1/2 cup of chopped onion with the garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Once translucent, add the red wine vinegar, pureed tomatoes, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, honey, molasses, sriracha and brown sugar.
Mix well to combine.
Then, transfer the mix to a blender and blend until smooth.
Next, add the bourbon and blend for about 15 more seconds.
There you have it, your gorgeous barbeque sauce just awaiting the arrival of the pork shoulder. Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Fast forward to day of: Place the pork shoulder in a slow cooker. Add about 1/2 of the barbeque sauce we made the night before. Let cook on low for about eight hours. After the time has passed, remove the lid and find your tender, fall-apart pulled pork.
Using a two forks, pull apart the pork and incorporate it with all of the juices. Add the remaining barbeque sauce.
Generously season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Alright, moving on. Let’s preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next, rinse the black beans.
After thinly slicing the remaining onion and anaheim peppers, saute them in the last two tablespoons of olive oil.
Once soft and translucent, set aside.
Alright, final step: our red sauce. In a medium sauce pan, heat the vegetable oil. Add the flour and whisk well, removing all lumps. Quickly, add the chili powder, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, salt, cumin and oregano. Slowly, pour the chicken broth into the sauce pan, whisking continuously to remove the lumps.
Simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken. Meanwhile, microwave the tortillas for about 30 seconds allowing them to become more pliable.
Alright – we’re almost there! We have all of our components made, so let the construction begin.
With our tortillas laid out, spoon a couple of tablespoons of the red sauce onto the face of the tortillas. Smooth the sauce to the edges using a spoon. Next, place the pulled pork, black beans and onion/pepper mixture atop.
Roll up and place in a large pyrex pan with the seam side down. Repeat for all tortillas.
With all of the tortillas nestled next to each other, ladle the remaining red sauce atop the enchiladas.
Top with the Mexican cheese blend.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and enjoy!
I don’t even have to tell you to enjoy because these are so, so good. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that a cerveza would complement this dinner perfectly.
With that, salud!
