Chicharrón prensado:
6 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
4 cloves garlic
½ medium white onion, roughly chopped
1 pound carnitas, including as much of the cueritos (pork skin) as possible
Salsa verde:
2 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and quartered
½ white onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh cilantro
About 4 serrano chiles (adjust quantity to your desired heat level)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
½ avocado, pitted and peeled
Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1 plum tomato, minced
¼ white onion, minced
2 sprigs of fresh cilantro, minced
1–2 serrano chiles, minced
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Gordas:
4 cups (about 1 pound) corn masa
8 tablespoons pork lard or olive oil
For serving:
8 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
½ medium white onion, finely chopped
½ bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 limes, quartered
Chicharrón prensado:
To make the chicharrón prensado, toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, for about 2 minutes; they should be richly aromatic but not burned. Put in a blender with the garlic, onion, and 2 cups water, and blend until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
In a large pot combine the carnitas with pork skin and the salsa over low heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the salsa is reduced enough to thickly coat the meat. You shouldn’t need to add any salt here, as the carnitas should be well seasoned.
Salsa Verde:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth (some people prefer a coarse purée). Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Guacamole:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, using a spoon to mash the avocados into the other ingredients. It’s up to you how much to mash—I like mine pretty lumpy!
Gordas:
To make the gordas, knead the masa with the lard or oil until it’s fully incorporated (it’s impossible to overwork masa since there’s no gluten, and in fact it only improves in quality the more you work it). Separate the masa into 8 equal portions and roll into balls. Place a ball between two sheets of plastic (cut from a plastic bag) and flatten to create a ½-inch-thick tortilla shape with a tortilla press or with this cookbook. Repeat for all the balls.
Heat a griddle or large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add as many gordas as will comfortably fit in the skillet. Cook for about 20 minutes, flipping every 3 minutes or so. They should get golden brown on the outside, with some charred specks; reduce the heat if they brown too quickly. They’re done when the inside is soft and fluffy, and the outside crisp and crunchy. (Gordas are best straight from the griddle, but can be kept in a 250ºF oven until ready to serve, if necessary.)
Assembly:
Slice open the gordas three-fourths of the way around, then fill each pocket with about 2 tablespoons of the chicharrón prensado, then queso, onion, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, and lime to taste.