cilantro | nate elston

Chipotle Pork Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Its been a while since I have been able to really cook, like really break down and cook something. We have been way to busy. So finally this week I broke down and decided that no matter what I was going to make these tacos tonight. They have been on my radar for a while and was looking forward to making them. Its been a long week knowing this is what I had to look forward to on Thursday. Well today was Thursday and my stomach is full, almost too full after my repeat visits up to the counter.

I must caution that even though they may look delicious, and they are; they do take quite a while to make, I wish I had thought of that prior to starting them that they would take longer than I thought, by you live and learn I guess. With that one caution here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ancho chile poder
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 slices of fresh pineapple, 1/2″ thick
1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 tbsp thinly sliced red onion
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
soft corn tortillas

Instructions
Begin by mincing chipotle, then combine with olive oil and rub evenly over pork. In another bowl combine oregano, chile powder, cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper. Sprinkle spice mixture over both sides of pork and let pork stand for 30 minutes. Prepare the grill for a hot fire. Once the grill is ready oil the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Once the grate is good and hot throw pineapple on over indirect heat, cook 5 minutes per side. Once pineapple is cooked chop roughly and combine with ground chipotle pepper, remaining salt, cilantro, lime juice and onions in a medium bowl. Set aside. Grill pork over indirect heat until an instant read thermometer reads 145°F. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes on the counter. Roughly chop, prepare tortillas according to their instructions. Pack each with equal parts pork and pineapple salsa. Enjoy

Its sweet, its spicy and delicious. This is a recipe I think that will make its way into the rotation, this was a good dinner and will make an excellent lunch tomorrow.

Korean BBQ Beef Short Rib Tacos

If that isn’t a mouthful, Korean BBQ Beef Short Rib tacos, I am not sure what is but figuratively and literally there were a mouthful and they were something special. This was not an original creation but rather a stab at the KogiBBQ shortrib beef tacos they sell our of food trucks in LA. I was lucky enough to get to sample one of these this past spring on a trip out there and it left such an impression I thought I would like to recreate it at home. Well I failed to recreate it but I still came up with something amazing that had a flavor and texture set unlike anything I have cooked before.

We started out with the beef shortribs this was perhaps the easiest part. It was providential almost, I recently began to subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine and the July 2011 edition had a recipe for a Korean BBQ Marinade. The recipe was good, actually it was really good we tried it a couple of weeks ago on some shortribs just for fun and I think I would be evicted by my wife if I don’t make it again. It was really good. We did let our shortribs soak in this marinade for about 16 hours, and the flavor was good, it permeated all the way through but was not too strong.

Next came the condiments, I started by tossing some shredded romaine and cabbage with a Korean Soy Vinaigrette, arriving what was affectionately known as dirty lettuce. This was really easy to make and I made the vinaigrette the morning of so it had some time to meld and mature. You can find the recipe below.

Ingredients
2 c shredded napa cabbage
4 c shredded romaine lettuce
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic (finely minced)
2 tsp rice vinegar
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
generous squeeze of lime juice
dash of sesame oil
a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
Combine all but lettuce and cabbage in a bowl and let sit refrigerated at least 8 hours. Just prior to serving shred cabbage and romaine and toss with vinaigrette. Only toss as much as you need otherwise it will get soggy.

The last condiment that needed assembly was the Cilantro-onion-lime relish and it was something crazy it was easy to assemble but added such depth to the overall combination of flavors it would be tragic to leave it off. You can find its recipe below.

Ingredients
1/2 red onion minced
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt

Instructions
Mince onion and combine in a bowl with vinegars, allow to set for 5 minutes. After five minutes drain, rinse and allow onion to thoroughly drain. Add remaining ingredients to a bowl with onion, stir to combine.

There was one final condiment we topped these babies with to give them a bit more of a kick, a little bit of a punch in the side of the face, it was a little Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, you know the stuff in the clear bottle with the green top that is absolutely incredible.

So once the short ribs were grilled, de-boned and shredded, it was assembly time. We heated up a skillet with little heat in it and warmed our tortillas in there the then piled on the meat and condiments and enjoyed. These are pretty good, they are worth the effort and are on the menu again soon.

If I pulled one learning from this it would be that corn tortillas may be a bit better than the flour ones for this. So next time we know.