Pork Tinga with Potatoes, Avocado and Fresh Cheese

 Serves 4 to 6

 Recipe from Season 7 Mexico One Plate at a Time (with slight modifications)

 Click here for photo

I made this dish about 4 years ago or so.  No photo. We had a group Mexican night dinner party, and this dish was a real hit.  To celebrate today’s special date, I’ve posted the recipe from that year.  I am going to make this dish today using Pork instead of the beef I utilized years ago.  And I will have my own pics when finished. It is a very tasty dish!  

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 pound lean, boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 ounces chorizo sausage, removed from its casing
• 4  to 5 medium (about 3/4 pound total) red-skinned potatoes, quartered
• 1 large white onion, sliced 1/4–inch thick
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1  28-ounce can diced tomatoes, in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
• 2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles, en adobo, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons chipotle canning sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• Salt
• About 1/2 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like salted pressed farmers cheese
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and diced
• Warm corn tortillas

Directions

Heat the oil in a stovetop-rated slow cooker liner over medium-high heat.  (If your slow cooker liner isn’t made from a material that can be used on a stovetop, use a very large (12-inch) non-stick skillet.)  Once the oil is very hot, add the pork and chorizo in an single layer and cook, stirring until the meat has browned, about  6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and if you’re using a skillet, transfer the meat and its juices into the slow cooker.  Add the potatoes.

In a large bowl, combine the onions, garlic, tomatoes, chipotles, adobo sauce, Worcestershire, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Pour mixture into the slow cooker and stir to mix thoroughly.  Cook for 6 hours at the highest temperature.   

After six hours, gently stir the tinga.  If the sauce seems too thick, stir in a little water.  Taste, and season with salt if you think the dish needs it.   Scoop into a large bowl, sprinkle with the fresh cheese and diced avocado, and serve with warm tortillas.

NOTE : I used beef instead of pork and utilized blade steak (which I was told is the same as beef chuck).  You can substitute with both.  I also added small diced sundried tomatoes and some garlic salt.  

I had lots of juice and removed some and then thickened it a bit with flour.  So everyone’s version may vary?   I also used regular oregano.  I could not find chipotle peppers, so I used canned jalapenos, removed the seeds and I added about ½ tspn of smoke flavoring for that smokey flavor.  Do not add too much of that or it will be overpowering.