Translation... Drowned Pork Sandwiches and Chicken Feed - sounds better in Spanish right? I had these yummy local foods on my Tequila making adventure in Mexico. Ahogadas means drowned, an appropriate name for these messy tomato sauce laden pulled pork sandwiches. These sandwiches are the street food of Jalisco; sold in sandwich shacks, and family style home cooking restaurants called "campestre" all over the region. After a little research, this is the recipe I came up with for them. It tastes pretty darn close to what I ate in the artisan rich town of Tlaquepaque at El Abajeno campestre. I used dried arbol chilies because I happened to have them, a gift from my brother-in-law from a previous trip to Mexico. I'm not sure if this is the authentic chili that would be used in Jalisco but they tasted pretty close. You can use whatever type you have on hand or your use your favourite prepared hot sauce. Tortas Ahogadas 3 lbs boneless trimmed pork shoulder 2 onions, cut in half 4 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs oregano 1 tablespoon salt 1 ½ cups water For the Tomato Sauce 3 lbs coarsely chopped roma tomatoes (about 12) 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp dried oregano or 2 sprigs fresh oregano ½ cup water or cooking liquid from pork 1 tsp salt For the Chili Sauce 1 oz dried arbol chilies 1 cup water ½ cup white vinegar ¼ tsp salt To Assemble Sandwiches 8 french rolls, split 1 red onion, thinly sliced 1 tsp salt ¼ cup white vinegar fresh limes Place the pork, onions, garlic, bay leaf, oregano and salt in a large oven proof pot or dutch oven. Add water just to cover meat, about 1½ cups. You can do this in a slow cooker if you like, just use about half as much water. Bring the meat to a boil over medium heat and then place in a 350° oven for 2 to 2 ½  hours until the meat can easily is be pulled apart with a fork. Place all of the ingredients for the tomato sauce in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes and onions are soft, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool a bit before pureeing the sauce in a blender. Strain the sauce. Place all of the ingredients for the chili sauce in a pan. Cook over medium low heat until the chilies are soft, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool, puree the sauce adding 3/4 of a cup of water and strain. Mix sliced red onions together with salt and vinegar and set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes. Split rolls and pull some of the bread from the centre of the roll. Ladle some of the tomato sauce on to the bread, add a generous amount of shredded pork, top with more tomato sauce. Serve chili sauce, limes and onions on the side and dress your tortas as you like. Some places serve these with the sauce ladled over the top and some serve with a bowl of sauce on the side to dip the sandwich in. Either way, serve on a plate – these are messy to eat! Pico De Gallo In other parts of Mexico, "Pico De Gallo" is a tomato, onion and jalapeno relish, but in Jalisco it is this refreshing salad of jicama, cucumber and oranges. Locals eat it as a snack topped with fresh lime and a mild chili and salt blend called Tajin.I can usually find jicama in Chinatown or at Latin markets but I couldn't find it when I recreated this dish so instead I used celery which was a pretty good substitute for the crunchy, fresh jicama. Pico De Gallo of Jalisco 2 large oranges 1 large English cucumber, peeled 1 jicama or 4 stalks celery 2 fresh limes, cut into wedges Tajin (or substitute 2 tablespoons of chili powder mixed with 1 tsp salt) Peel oranges, removing all of the pith. Cut the oranges, jicama and cucumber into about 1 inch cubes. Toss together. Serve limes and Tajin on the side and top salad as desired. If you can find it, Tajin is great on any fruit and vegetables, or sprinkled on popcorn. You can also buy it online if you want to try it.

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