Jamón del País – My introduction to Peruvian Cuisine
After some menu testing with a good friend of mine who’s a Chef in Seattle, I’ve officially gotten hooked on Peruvian cuisine via Jamón del País, which literally translates to ‘Ham of the Country’ in English. Jamón del País is a pork loin which has been butterflied, seasoned with bold spices and a generous amount of Ají Amarillo: a sweet and fruity yellow Peruvian pepper with a mild piquancy. Boiled and basted with Achiote oil. Sliced and served with Salsa Criolla, a red onion and pepper relish with garlic, cilantro and lime, on a sandwich called known as a Butifarra.
Behold, the beautiful Buttifara
As you may know, I grew up in the central valley of California- a smaller town called Turlock, about 20 minutes south of Modesto and 4.5 hours north of Los Angeles on I-5. There’s a predominant Mexican and Middle Eastern culture in Turlock, so it’s actually a diverse little town. As a result, we had lots of good food options available. We may have had to travel to Modesto to find a bit more, but it was within reach. There’s a special place in my heart, and my stomach for taco trucks.
I also lived in Redding, about two hours north of Sacramento for a handful of years. I won’t get started about how much I actually dislike Redding, but it was an awakening in my diet: the absence of taco trucks. Don’t get me wrong, there were taco trucks available, but they weren’t real taco trucks. It wouldn’t surprise me that a southern Californian might say the same about the trucks in Turlock as well, but these were a totally different type of ‘we’re not even trying very hard’ taco truck.
They made good money from people who usually didn’t know what real Mexican food was. So did some of the brick-and-mortar restaurants, but they normally had a better, more diverse menu. For some reason, it seemed like real Mexican food wasn’t available past Sacramento.
What ingredients can I find to intrigue my palette and gain inspiration from?
It wasn’t until after I moved to Olympia that I really started to hone my culinary skills and interests. Beginning to work on everything from techniques to methods, I have obsessed over hours of watching YouTube videos and reading online forums and blogs. I don’t have a wide-ranging palette, so I’m constantly looking to expand it and question new flavors.
I generally prefer YouTube for research, and I know, there’s years’ worth of terrible food videos on YouTube. While that’s true, I think sometimes it’s important to see how everybody does it a little bit differently. I’ll watch everything from well-produced videos like Tasty and Bon Appétit, to home-made terribly lit and out of focus videos. Depending on the cuisine, those videos might be in their respective native languages, too. I seem to be able to follow along a little bit with the Spanish speaking videos, though I can barely speak it. Another instance of the Mexican culture I grew up with in me, perhaps.
I realize how much Mexican cuisine has influenced my life and I want to be able to feel truly free within its domain. I’ll spend time learning the fundamentals and techniques of Mexican cuisine to produce a rustic and authentic version of a dish- the predecessor to what I may have already tried. I always want to understand the initial calling of the dish and its flavors. Then I utilize them to reinvent it somehow within my kitchen.
This is what lead me to attach to Peruvian cuisine. I realized I knew absolutely nothing that was Peruvian. Sad as it may be, I didn’t even know that Ceviche was Peruvian- I was that naive! It intrigued me instantly when we discussed Jamón del País during menu testing. Something just stood out to me because I didn’t know anything other than what Katie had told me about it: it’s a Peruvian pork loin.
Ají Amarillo
After looking into Jamón del País, I discovered that it’s just a ‘country ham’ with many different preparations and ingredients, but it involved a new ingredient that I’d never heard of: Ají Amarillo paste. I would 100% agree with the first heading of this Serious Eats article:
“If there were a chili to taste like sunshine, this would be it.”
– Spice Hunting: Ají Amarillo by Max Falkowitz, Serious Eats
After learning of such an ingredient, I thought: ‘Oh, great, I’m definitely going to have to order that.’, but I was wrong! The Ramirez Mexican Store in Tumwater carries it, so I can have a relatively decent supply for experiments without having to order it. The Ají Amarillo paste I bought has a bold, sweet, fruity and peppery flavor, that packs a medium amount of piquancy to compliment. I immediately fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to try Jamón del País so I could taste it in action. It also involves another ingredient I was only slightly familiar with: Achiote (or Annatto) seed.
Jamón del País
While there is a good amount of variation in traditional recipes, generally the way to prepare Jamón del País starts with a pork loin which has been butterflied and scored to be rolled. Inside a combination of spices, garlic and Ají Amarillo paste is rubbed in. The roast is rolled and trussed (tied) just as I did with this pancetta post.
Once securely trussed, the pork loin is placed to into boiling liquid. Some recipes boil in broth with onion, carrot, celery and bay leaves. Others simply boil it in salted water, but that was a bit too boring for me. I opted to add bay leaf, carrot, onion and celery with a little Caldo de Pollo added since I was out of broth. Once the loin is simmered in the liquid until it reaches an internal temp of 150-155°, pull the roast and set on some type of roasting pan to catch excess juices. While it’s resting, you cut the truss and coat the outside with achiote and garlic oil which gives it a flavor complexity that raises the bar.
Typically, Jamón del País is sliced and served in sandwich form known as a Buttifara with Salsa Criolla, a Peruvian sweet onion relish with lime, peppers and cilantro. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the flavors complimented the taste of the pork instead of it becoming too over-bearing with the boldly flavored ingredients.
Instantly, I’ve fallen in love with Jamón del País. It’s not really much work and the results are a good base to explore. I thought about different ways to convert this newfound treasure into something different; something that is more Jamón del País inspired.
Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder Experiment
I decided to play around with slow cooking a pork shoulder with Jamón del País inspired flavors. First, I sautéed a finely minced mirepoix in a hot pan until the onions became translucent and begun to brown. I seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, Caldo de Pollo, Achiote powder, minced cilantro, the juice of 2 limes and a couple tablespoons of Aji Amarillo paste. Then, I caramelized it for a while before adding few cups of water.
I let it simmer on the stove while I cut off the pork skin from the shoulder and trimmed some excess fat. Placing the pork directly into the slow cooker, I poured over the cooking liquid which was just enough to cover the meat. I set it on low for 8 hours, and the bones came out beautifully clean. After removing the meat, I shredded it and added back a little bit of the cooking liquid.
At this point, for some reason, I decided to toss in 5-6 small russet potatoes and allowed those to cook in the braising liquid on high for about 2 hours, until they became fork tender. It really gave the potatoes some life, cooking in that liquid. It made me consider the flavors you can get a potato to absorb before mashing them, but that’s another experiment.
I then transferred the remainder of the cooking liquid to a saucepan and reduced by half, then added a scoop of corn starch to it for a gravy. The gravy turned out to be more of a pot-roast vibe, so I opted not to use it on my tacos, though it was delicious. I had made an Aji Amarillo sauce with mayo and spices to accompany it, which was a great decision.
For the Corn Tortillas
For the non-Peruvian tortillas, I kind of winged it by smashing up a can of corn into a rough porridge, then added some masa flour and AP flour until it came to a dough-like texture. After resting for a few, I divided into 6 equal portions, smashed and cooked into a tortilla. They worked out great, flavor wise. I just wish I hadn’t over kneaded them as they got a little chewy. Lesson learned, but they sure held up well.
I think the prominent corn flavor really added something to this mind-blowing combination of flavors in Jamón del País. It’s got a fruity aspect and some piquancy from the Ají Amarillo paste and a depth of flavor from the Achiote and other bold spices. A traditional Jamón del País recipe is surprisingly gentle on the pork’s flavor and, rather, compliments it subtly. The Salsa Criolla elevates it to a whole new level. You get a much deeper flavor from the slow cooking method I tried above, however.
Hey, don’t forget your potatoes!
I decided to put some oil in the cast iron pan I cooked the tortillas in since it was still hot so I could quarter and sauté the potatoes until a nice golden-brown crust appeared. I opted to top my taco with cilantro, Salsa Criolla, and another Ají Amarillo sauce I whipped up, which gave it a nice tangy brightness to balance the depth of flavor from the pork. The corn actually distinctly peaked through all of it with a sweetness that, I think, rounded it all off. Adding some of the crispy potatoes to the actual taco gave it another good texture, but I really wish I’d have had some cabbage for it.
I’m not prepared to stop experimenting with different versions of these flavors just yet. There are some better ideas for the future floating around in my head. So, thank you Katie, for getting me hooked on Peruvian. Also, I would like to perfect those tortillas, while I’m at it.
