SANDY'S DELICIOUS PULLED PORK PATACON

Sandy's Delicious Pulled Pork Patacon image

Patacones are a very popular Venezuelan dish, it's one of our various sandwich creations. At home we stuff them with any leftover meats, or even deli meat and cheese, just anything yummy you might have. It's bound to taste delicious.

Provided by Food Network

Time 11h

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 24

Ingredients

4-pound piece pork cushion (a deboned cut of meat from the large muscle of a pig's picnic shoulder)
1 cup Sofrito (see recipe below)
1 cup water
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup Italian seasoning
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
1 bunch of green onion stems
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
8 garlic cloves
Oil, for frying
6 plantains at any stage of ripeness, yellow (soft and sweet) or green (firm)
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup shredded mixed cheese
1 bunch green onions
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7 garlic cloves
Half yellow onion
2 tablespoons oil

Steps:

For the Pulled Pork: Cut up the pork in small pieces and put into a large Dutch oven. Add the Sofrito (see recipe below), water, Worcestershire, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, black pepper and salt. Toss to coat the pork. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 8 hours up to 2 days. (The longer you marinate, the better.)
Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Cover the Dutch oven and braise the pork until very tender, about 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Once you take the pork out, it will be so juicy and tender you will be able to separate it with the gentle touch of a fork.
For the Garlic Sauce: Blend the scallions, mayonnaise, water and garlic together until smooth (then sample and taste the power of this sauce!). Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For the Plantains: Fill a large pot about halfway with oil, attach a deep fat-fry thermometer and heat to 350 degrees F. Peel and cut plantains in half lengthwise. Add in batches to the hot oil and fry until golden, about 6 minutes. Remove and flatten each half (I like to use a heavy flat dish). Return batches of the flattened plantains back into the oil about for another minute. Remove to paper towel-lined plate and set aside until ready to
use.
Assemble: Place a piece of fried/flattened plantain on a plate, top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and pulled pork. Drizzle with ketchup and garlic sauce and sandwich with another plantain. Enjoy the messy deliciousness. You could eat with your hands, but I prefer using knife and fork to keep appearances.
Finely chop the green onions, crushed red pepper, garlic and onion in a food processor. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent. Cool and refrigerate for up to 1 week.