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[vambot5]

I'm making some red chile pork. I thought about making standard beef chili, but I didn't quite feel up to it. Making beef chili is almost a religious rite for me. I didn't want ritual, I wanted something more experimental. I have never made red chile pork before. I've eaten it lots of times, sure. But the version I made was different from anything

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[vambot5]

Trying it now. Notes:
--I did not add enough salt early enough. The pork needs more salt.
--The pork is still rather tough. I'm not sure that these cuts--rib and sirloin--are going to get tender no matter how long they simmer. With beef, after an hour and a half of simmering pretty much any cut will be tender. Maybe I should marinate the pork overnight with some tenderizing agents. That really complicates the whole mess, at that point, I may as well do beef chili.
--During cooking, I went back and added at least a tablespoon of vinegar. When I make beef chili, I use some tomatoes, which add a little bit of acidity. I wouldn't use tomatoes here. The dish craves acidity. Maybe consider marinating the pork in lime juice in the future.
--I could have done two red bell peppers instead of one. The peppers shrunk during cooking, but the meat did not. I could stand more peppers.
--I could stand more onion, too. But it is difficult because the onion adds a lot of bulk early on in the cooking. Two onions instead of one would add a lot of active cooking time.
--That habanero would have been welcome, as far as I'm concerned. Despite containing seven types of peppers, the dish just isn't spicy. All of the peppers included in the dish were mild ones, except for the pequín powder. If I make this again, I will definitely add some fresh hot pepper when I add the stock. Depending on the clientele, let it be a jalapeño, serrano, or habanero.

Verdict: Meh.

The meat came out of the lengthy process pretty bland. The broth is alright, but the meat chunks are pretty much worthless. I will stow the pot overnight in the fridge and try it again tomorrow. Pork is funny sometimes; it does not like to add flavors while it's cooking, much less afterwards. Pork really prefers a pre-cooking rub or marinade. My style is much more "go down to the store after work and see what's on sale." If the pork does not improve after resting overnight, I probably won't try this again.