Here it Is

The moros came out great.

I have figured a few things out, however.

First, the texture of the restaurant congri Val and I used in the stuffed pig was abnormal. Restaurants cheap out on the beans, and they use converted rice, so their congri is lighter and less starchy. I'm not going to keep fooling around, trying to achieve a texture which is wrong to begin with.

Second, part of the gooiness of homemade congri comes from the bean juice, which restaurants apparently don't add.

Third, restaurants don't drain off the first batch of water they use to soak or boil the beans. This is supposedly where like 70% of the farts reside, but it also adds a lot of color to the dish, so the next time you have restaurant moros and you're moaning about how pretty it is, get ready for a sleepless night.

Fourth, you don't want to stir this stuff too much when you make it. It gums it up. Still tastes great, but it doesn't look as good.

Fifth, fresh oregano is not merely better than dried; it's very different. You won't get the same bite from it. You may actually prefer to use dried.

Anyway, the moros I just made were fantastic. I used a lot more ham hock fat than most restaurants, but then I like eating ham hock fat. And more pork means better flavor; sorry, restaurant guys. The moros were really fragrant, and the rice was perfect, and I'm all done fooling with the recipe. In the book, I'll just tell people to use converted rice and half as much beans if they want restaurant-style moros.

This is a ridiculously time-consuming dish to prepare. I started at 12:30, six hours ago. But most of that time, you're off doing your thing while the beans simmer.

Very nice. Now, what do I do with it?