I am delighted to join Michael Lee West’s fourth gathering in her Mystery Ingredient Club!
Michael is an amazing author, blogger and noted ‘Foodie’! She has a wonderful blog, Rattlebridge Farm where she chronicles her adventures restoring her beautiful home nestled among serene hills as well as beautiful tablescapes and mouthwatering recipes. She is also the gracious hostess of the weekly blog party, Foodie Friday!
The mystery ingredient chosen by her son, Bandwidth is…
Chipotle!
What a challenge! I’ve never prepared anything with Chipotle as an ingredient. Actually, it was a bit of a challenge finding the ingredient in the grocery store. After a bit of searching, I found three wonderful sources of Chipotle.
Chipotle Salsa! This product could be used as is or as part of a sauce or marinade.
Dried powdered Chipotle – this could easily be used in recipes or in a dry rub.
Whole Chipotle in Adobo sauce – this could be used in sauces or soups.
We tend to shy away from hot-spicy food in our home! I have little tolerance for the heat of peppers – Dearest and our Son used to love the heat, until recently…nevertheless, I was excited for the challenge – my daughter – a connoiseur of Mexican cuisine said we’d love it…as it turned out we did – and I found a way to tame the heat!
What is Chipotle?
Basically, Chipotle is a smoked, dried jalapeño. Jalapeños are generally used in Mexican cuisine.
I decided to make sauces for two different meats for sliders!
Sliders seem to be quite popular, they’re a wonderful way to enjoy different flavors in small version. We love them! I decided to make a Chopotle and Lime sauce for chicken and a Chipotle Bar-b-que sauce for pork loin.
To cut the heat, I decided to also make a Broccoli Salad to serve on the side,
or as we like it – on top of the meat. It makes a wonderful flavor combination!
Chipotle Chicken and Lime Slider
Ingredients
- 1 whole Rotisserie Chicken - meat removed and shredded
- 3/4 cup Frontera Mexican Salsa - Chipotle - hot
- 3 Tablespoons Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- Slider Rolls
- Slaw - optional
Instructions
-
Remove and shred the meat from the rotisserie chicken (regular flavored).
-
In a small bowl combine the Salsa, Lime Juice, and Honey, until well incorporated.
-
In a saucepan warm sauce over medium heat until the sauce slightly thickens. If the sauce gets too thick, you can add some apple juice to thin it slightly.
-
Combine sauce with meat until you've reached your desired consistency. You want the meat to hold together, but not be overly juicy.
-
Place on slider bun or hamburger bun and top with prepared slaw.
Chipotle Bar-b-Que Pulled Pork Slider
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork loin
- 2 Chipotle whole in adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/4 vidallia onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 to 3 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 dashes liquid smoke
Instructions
-
Place pork loin in a slow cooker sprinkling top with Chipotle seasoning and garlic sauce. Cook meat until nearly done.
-
Combine sauce ingredients stirring thoroughly. Pour over pork loin and continue to cook. If the sauce gets too thick, you can add apple juice to thin the sauce.
-
Shred cooked pork and place it on the bun. Top the pulled pork with Brocolli Salad (optional).
Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Heads Broccoli
- 1/2 Vidallia onion chopped
- 1/2 cup bacon bites in salad dressing aisle, or 1/2 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup honey roasted Sunflower seeds
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons red wine or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
Instructions
-
Chop the broccoli into small bites - the smallest florets. Add chopped onions, raisins, real bacon bits, honey-roasted sunflower seeds. Mix well.
-
Combine the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar to make the dressing.
-
Pour over the broccoli mix stirring well.
-
Refrigerate and allow to completely chill.
Recipe Notes
You can serve this salad on the side or atop the meat in the slider
NOTE:
How do I tame Hot foods: acidic ingredients can tame the heat such as vinegar and lime juice. You can also tame the heat by adding something sweet such as honey and molasses. Dairy products do a wonderful job in taming heat, as a matter of fact, if you’ve eaten something too hot for your tastes – drink milk! Sour cream can be added to hot dishes to offset the heat. A surprising ingredient – peanut butter – can be added to hot foods. Just take care in amounts and heating – the flavor of the peanut butter can overpower the smokiness of the Chipotle.