Pork Belly al Pastor Tacos
Recipe courtesy of Nick Ritchie, Signature Kitchen Suite
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Pork
2-3 pounds pork belly
4 oranges, juiced
2 limes, juiced
4 dry guajillo chilis
4 dry ancho chilis
2 garlic cloves
1 yellow onions, peeled and large dice
½ pkg. achiote paste, crumbled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
Water as needed
Tacos
16 corn tortillas
1 small head green cabbage
1 bunch scallions
1 cup cilantro leaves
8 slices pineapple
1 Salsa Verde recipe
Method
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Lightly char the onions and the garlic in a dry pan or seasoned cast iron skillet and add them to a small pot, top with water and boil all until soft.
Mix in the citrus juice, achiote and spices. Blend all together and season with salt and pepper.
Pour marinade over pork belly in a large braising pan and add some water to braising liquid consistency. Cover and braise for 3-4 hours or until tender.
Remove the pork, reduce the juices to a sauce consistency and strain. Meanwhile, slice the rested pork into ¼ inch thick slices.
Using a griddle or cast iron pan over high heat, sear the pork slices until browned and crisp on both sides. Spoon the pastor sauce over each slice to glaze.
Mix the cabbage, scallions and cilantro leaves. Warm the tortillas. Stack 2 tortillas for each taco. Drizzle tortillas generously with the salsa verde and top each taco with a slice of glazed pork, some of the cabbage mix and a slice of pineapple.
*Sous Vide Variation:
Alternately if sous vide preparation is preferred.
Preheat sous vide bath to 154 degrees F.
Pack the pork belly into a sous vide pouch with enough marinade to coat the meat.
Cook sous vide for 10-12 hours and continue to step 5.
Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa Verde
Recipe courtesy of Nick Ritchie, Signature Kitchen Suite
Servings: 1 quart
Ingredients:
8 tomatillos
½ yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 serrano peppers
2 avocados
12 sprigs cilantro, leaves and stems
2 limes, juiced
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Chop all ingredients. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
*Roasted Salsa Variation:
Quickly roast the tomatillos, onion, peppers and garlic in a dry pan or seasoned cast iron pan over high heat until lightly charred. Allow ingredients to cool and then proceed with recipe directions.