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Recipe: Rostizado’s Sope with Pork Belly and Salsa Mexicana

When the trio behind local taco shop Tres Carnales, Dani Braun, Chris Sills and Edgar Gutierrez, opened up Rostizado in the historical Mercer building, Mexican-food-lovers flocked to the new location. Earlier this summer Rostizado was recognized as one of 32 finalists in Air Canada’s enRoute magazine annual top 10 new restaurants across Canada. (I’m sure the demand for their slow-roasted platters of Four Whistle Farms pork had something to do with it). 

There is still time to vote for Rostizado in the enRoute contest – to register your vote visit the website and vote now. 

The man in charge of the kitchen, Edgar Gutierrez, is a huge fan of cooking with Alberta pork and shared his recipe for sope with pork belly and salsa Mexicana. 

Sope with Pork Belly and Salsa Mexicana
Recipe courtesty of Edgar Gutierrez, Rostizado

Pancita Pibil
1 Alberta pork belly, cut in quarters
½ package banana leaf
200g Achiote paste
18g chipotle powder
2g whole cumin
8g w hole Mexican Canela
4g Mexican oregano
8g whole allspice
1g whole bay leaf
4g whole black peppercorns
1g whole cloves
170g white onion, rough chop
66g garlic
50g Habanero, stemmed
450g Naranja Agria juice
200g Mexican cola
60g Worcestershire sauce
50g salt
1 kg tomatoes thick sliced

1. In a dry pan, toast cinnamon, allspice, cumin, cloves, pepper, and bay leaf. Let cool.
2. Toast banana leaf on both sides, until shinny and slightly charred. Set aside.
3. Grind spices in a spice grinder. Add all spices, herbs, onions, garlic, habaneros, Naranja Agria, cola, Worcestershire & salt to the blender and puree to make a marinade. Set aside.
4. Line a 4 inch casserole pan with ½ of the toasted banana leaves. Place approx. 12 slices of tomato on top of the banana leaf, spread out. Shingle the 4 quarters of the pork belly on top of the tomatoes. Place the remaining tomatoes between the belly, where it overlaps. Pour the marinade on the belly, ensuring even coating. Place the remaining banana leaf on top then cover with a lid. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Cook pork for 4-6 hours or until tender at 300F.

Salsa Mexicana

1 kilo of onions
1.5 kilos of tomatoes
2 bunches of cilantro
Juice from 6 limes
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve.
Sope (fried corn tortillas)
4.5k corn flour (maseca)
900g pork (delete Alberta) lard (can be found in Latin grocery stores)
30g salt
7.3k warm water

1. In the mixer bowl, add maseca and lard. Add salt to the warm water in a separate container. Using the paddle attachment, mix at low speed while slowly adding the salt water. As mixture becomes blended.
2. Increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Form sopes (tortillas) using 85 g each. Cook sopes on a dry frying pan for 5 min each side at medium high heat. While sopes are still hot, shape into little bowls then shallow fry in oil until they are crispy.
3. Cut pork belly into 4” slices (should yield 50 pieces). Spread refried beans on the sopes. Place the pork (delete Alberta) belly slices (Pancita) on the sopes. Top with salsa mexicana.