Tortas Ahogadas

Ingredients

• 900g pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, quartered, plus 1/2 onion thinly sliced for serving
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt
• 20 dried chile de árbol, stemmed and seeded
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 crusty bread rolls (bolillo or birote)
• Refried beans, warmed
• Pickled onions and radishes, to serve

Before you cook

• Cut the pork shoulder into large chunks.
• Quarter one onion and thinly slice the other half.
• Stem and seed the dried chiles.

Steps

1. Put the pork in a large pot with the quartered onion, garlic, bay leaf, oregano and 1 tablespoon salt.
2. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer the pork for 1 hour 30 minutes, until very tender.
4. Lift the pork out of the pot and shred it with two forks.
5. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.
6. Toast the dried chiles for 1 minute per side, until fragrant, taking care not to let them scorch.
7. Put the toasted chiles in a pot and cover with 1 cup of water.
8. Simmer the chiles for 10 minutes, until soft.
9. Blend the softened chiles with their cooking water, the vinegar, cumin and a pinch of salt.
10. Strain the chile sauce through a sieve into a clean pot.
11. Simmer the strained sauce for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
12. Split each bread roll lengthwise without cutting all the way through.
13. Spread a layer of warm refried beans inside each roll.
14. Fill the rolls generously with the shredded pork.
15. Ladle the hot chile sauce over the filled sandwiches, or dunk each one fully into the sauce for a more drenched version.
16. Top with the thinly sliced onion and sliced radishes.
17. Serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.