Saturday, October 25, 2008

Patas de Puerco Cocidas (Boiled Pork Feet)

This is a very simple typical Mexican dish , they are pork feet boiled in a pot with water and heavely spiced and salted, then they are drained and served with freshly squeezed lime juice, salt and tapatio sauce (a type of loose vinegar based hot sauce that to me I find it very mild)

No one in the household likes pork feet (only me and my mother) so whenever we make pork feet we make another meat dish for my father and sister. Me and my mother love the fatty, chewy pork feet, it's so delicious!

Ingredients:

-3 pounds pork feet
-limes (to clean pork feet)
-water heavely salted more salty than normal
-1 onion halved (unpeeled)
-3-5 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
-2-3 bay leaves
-1 teaspoon dried oregano
-1 teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients to dress cooked pork feet:
-Freshly squeezed lime juice to taste
-hot sauce to taste
-salt to taste

Directions:

(1)You will need to clean the pork feet very well, when buying them ask the butcher to cut them in segments, about each foot should be cut in 2's or 3's.
(2)Wash the pork feet well in a bowl, squeeze lime juice and rub them with the limes, rub them with salt, wash them with salt, water, and limes. Rinse them again under water.

(3)Now bring water to a boil in a pot with plenty salt it should be salty. Add the pork feet, boil about 15 minutes, then drain them well. This will get rid of most of the scum.


(4)Now bring water to a boil with onion, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, black pepper and salt in a large pot. Add pork feet and boil covered for 1 hour until tender.

(5)Drain them, discard broth (throw it away you don't need it, it's to salty, and what use could you possibly have for salty pork feet broth)

(6)Serve with limes to squeeze over to taste, sprinkle salt to taste, and some hot sauce to taste :) Enjoy.

P.S: It may feel like you used a lot of salt, but remember the salt is in the broth, you are throwing away the broth anyways, and draining the pork feet, the pork feet need to cook in salt or they will be bland.