Modernist Seven-Layer Dip

A seven-layer dip is part of the quintessential Super Bowl experience, especially as far as my wife, Rose, is concerned. So this recipe is for her.

Johnny Zhu, Development Chef

Recipe

We liked using a beaker for this photo, but recommend using a deep casserole dish when serving this dip to guests.

Shred the meat, using two forks. Try not to leave in too many big chunks.

Freezing extra stock in ice cube trays makes it easy to store.

Use an immersion blender to puree the whole, cooked beans.

Finely chop all of the ingredients to ensure consistency in every bite.

Slowly add the cheese to the simmering liquid until the cheese has completely melted and achieved a smooth texture.

For tips on our Carnitas recipe, click here.
The carnitas keep up to five days when refrigerated, or up to six months when frozen.

You can use store-bought stock, or make your own. See page 89 of Modernist Cuisine at Home for a recipe.
Store excess stock in ice cube trays for easy access.
If you use water instead of pork stock, it is important to use pure water, such as distilled or deionized water. In low-calcium water, the beans will burst and become tender.Tap water may contain chlorine, calcium, or magnesium, which can cause the beans to not cook thoroughly. For more on this, see page 3·278 of Modernist Cuisine.
If your pureed beans are too thin, slowly add heavy cream until they reach your desired consistency.
These beans will keep for one day when refrigerated.

If you are scaling the yield of this recipe up or down, you can calculate how much sodium citrate to use by weighing the liquid and grated cheeses together, and then multiplying by 2.8% of the total weight.
You must use sodium citrate for this recipe. Citric acid will not work. For more on using sodium citrate to create melty cheese, check out our Mac and Cheese recipe.
The cheese will thicken slightly as it cools.
The cheese keeps well; you can store it up to 10 days when refrigerated, or up to two months when frozen.
For this dish, we prefer pepper jack cheese, but you can use any kind of cheese, or a combination of cheeses.
We find that using an immersion blender greatly helps in emulsifying the cheese.

We find that there are so many flavors in this dip, you don't need to add anything to the avocado. But if you have a preferred recipe for guacamole, feel free to use it!
You can use any variety of store-bought sour cream.
We like to slice our scallions as thinly as possible, but that's just our preference.

We shot the final dish assembled in a beaker because we liked the look of it. When we actually serve it, we use a deep casserole pan.
Use a glass pan at least 5 cm / 2 in tall. If you have an even deeper dish, use it.
You can make the layers as thin or thick as you want.
Be careful not to make the bottom layers too thick, or you may run out of room.
Tamp down the layers to make them even. This is especially important with the carnitas, which can be lumpy.
In the end, though, we feel that assembly is less important than using really great components. Use your own creativity and judgement!