What are tomatillos, you may ask? I kind of assumed the full name was "tomatillo pepper," but apparently it's a Mexican tomato wrapped in a cool husk. Easy to find at your local Colorado Whole Foods. Onward!
Recipe
2 lbs pork shoulder (or loin if it's way cheaper...), chopped into big-ish chunks
1 lb tomatillos, de-husked and quartered
1 bottle dark beer
12 oz orange juice
28 oz diced tomatoes
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
1 can black beans
oil, salt & pepper
sour cream, lime (optional)
Boil your tomatillos and tomatoes in the beer and OJ, then simmer while other stuff goes on. Season your pork chunks with salt & pepper. Heat about a quarter cup of oil in a sturdy dutch oven, toss in your garlic, and brown the pork in batches. Once that's out, in go the onions, cilantro, and jalapeno, then the pork and tomatillo mixture. Simmer for 2 hours (or pop in the oven at 300). Last, add in your black beans until heated (and mash up your garlic cloves if you can find them). Serve with your fixings of choice.
Notes
Really interesting combination of flavors! To be honest, I was not hopeful smelling the initial tomatillo mixture - all OJ, didn't seem to get much other than foam from the beer. Meanwhile, I didn't handle the pork quite right - probably should have been bigger chunks, and gotten the oil much, much hotter and crowded the pan less to really let it brown. (Also added a can of corn with the beans, why not?) In the end it came together nicely! Thanks to King Sooper's almost suspiciously-good pork deal, I got like 4 meals-worth of meat- and veggie-rich food for like $10!
