Chuletas de Cerdo al Chile Cascabel
The translation of “casabel” is bell/rattle; these peppers take their name from the sound they make when shaken, the seeds rattle inside the shell. It is not widely available outside of Mexico, and even in all my visits to Mexico I have not encountered recipes for this pepper. For this reason I wanted to explore cooking with it.
They are different from other dried chiles because it retains its round shape and doesn’t flatten out once it is dry. It is a milder “hot” level; 1500-2500 Scoville heat units, less than a jalapeño and more than chile ancho. The skin is thick.has an earthy, slightly smoky, and a pleasantly nutty flavor.
Cascabel peppers are relatively expensive; I see them priced from $1.50 to $3.25 per ounce but they are delicious.
I’m cooking thinly slices pork chops a la Chile Cascabel. Given the outer shell is thick I decided to pickle these peppers and scrape out the edible pulp for my pork chops. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
Serves 2
Pickled Cascabel (Escabeche)
6-8 peppers
½ cup vinegar
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
8 peppercorns
4 slices onion
1 bay leaf
Preparation
1 ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2-4 thin sliced pork chops, about 8 0z
Salt
Ground pepper
½ medium onion , thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
4-5 canned whole, peeled marzano tomatoes,
drained and crushed by hand
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 ½ chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
Preparation
Pickled Cascabel (Escabeche)
Remove stems and seeds. In a glass or plastic container with sides, add the vinegar, water, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, onions and cascabel peppers. Cover the container and 2-4 hours. Remove the peppers from the marinade, scrape off the pulp and set aside. Given the small amount of peppers, scraping off the pulp yields more puree than using a food processor and sieve to separate skin from pulp.
Chops & Sauce
- Heat 1 ½ tablespoon oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Season the chops with salt and pepper. Sauté the chops until browned 3-4 minutes each side depending on the thickness. Transfer the chops to a serving platter. Brush the top sides of the chops with Cascabel chile pulp. Keep warm.
- Add or drain-oil to keep 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Add onions, cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil, cook stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan until reduced by half. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, and salt. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 4-5 minutes.
Stir in the cilantro, oregano and lime juice. Spoon the sauce over the chops and serve.
Note
The photos show olives but because they are brined they overpowered the other flavors of the dish. I removed olives from the above list of ingredients.
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