|
Baking Corner
| Regional
Foods | Cooking
Articles
|
Hints & Tips
| Culinary
Dictionary
|
Newspaper
Columns
This very easy-to-make Pork Adobo Tacos' recipe and photos were shared with me by Karen Calanchini,
Food Stylist and Photographer, of Redding, CA.
This is a wonderful version of tacos that uses lean
pork tenderloin and dried Ancho chile peppers. The peppers offer a
lovely richness to a beautiful deep mahogany sauce.
Learn about
the history of
Tortillas & Tacos.
Pork Adobo Tacos
Recipe Type:
Pork,
Chile Peppers,
Onions,
Corn Tortillas
Cuisine:
Southwest
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time:
6 hr
Ingredients:
8 dried ancho
chile peppers (the dried version of poblano peppers)*
1 dried arbol
chile pepper**
2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup chopped yellow
onions
1/2 cup chicken stock (preferable home made)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
6
garlic cloves, minced
3 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into bite size cubes
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Corn Tortillas (purchased or homemade)***
6 to 8 Assorted toppings (see Toppings below)
 *
Chiles de arbol or arbol chile (ARE-bowl) are narrow, curved chiles that start
out green and mature to a 3-inch to 5-inch bright red pod. The arbol chile is
very hot, and related to cayenne pepper. These chiles register around 50,000-65,000 on the scoville heat unit scale (or about 7-8 on a 1-10
scale). These chile peppers are found Mexican Food Stores and in most hispanic food sections
of grocery stores. If you can't find arbol or guamillo chile peppers, substitute dried cayenne
chile peppers.
 **
Ancho
or Poblano Chile Peppers: Pronounced AHN-choh. A dried deep
reddish brown chile pepper about 3 inches wide and 4 inches long with a
sweet hot flavor. When fresh they are referred to as poblanos. They look
like small bell peppers. Anchos are flat, wrinkled, and heart shaped. They range in
color from very dark red to almost black. Anchos are mild to moderately
hot and often soaked and ground for use in sauces.
***
Learn How To Make Honemade Corn Tortillas
Preparation:
Put on a pair of latex gloves before beginning this recipe. Always wear gloves when working
with hot chile peppers (fresh, dried or roasted
chiles). Never touch your eyes when working with
chiles. Please don't learn this lesson the hard
way!
 Preparing
the Chile Peppers:
- Heat a heavy frying pan or
cast-iron
skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and
toast until they blister, turning often.
Transfer toasted chile peppers to a medium saucepan and add water and vinegar.
Bring just to boil, reduce heat and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove peppers with a slotted spoon and then strain the liquid. Set peppers
aside to cool. Set strained liquid aside.
- Remove stems from cooled chile peppers and discard. Open
peppers and remove seeds. Use a chef's knife to roughly chop
peppers. Transfer peppers and one cup of the cooking liquid to a
blender. Cover and blend until a smooth paste forms.
 In your slow-cooker (crock pot), combine onions, chicken stock, orange
juice, brown sugar, tomato paste, cumin, and garlic. Stir in the
prepared chile pepper paste. Add pork and stir well. Cover and cook on low for
approximately 6
hours. Taste and add salt, to your preference.
When ready to serve, heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Fry corn tortillas until
slightly crispy. Remove from pan and let drain on paper towels.
Fill each corn tortilla with some of the
pork mixture, fold and place on warmed platter. Continue until
you have used up all the tortillas.
Serving suggestions: We like to eat these like regular tacos,
using the topping suggestions to make a salad. We put the salad
into the crisped taco with the meat, pour taco sauce over, or
use the sauce that the meat was cooked in. You can also serve the pork/sauce mixture in a bowl, and sprinkle
the assorted toppings over the top. Wrap the tortillas in foil,
warm in the oven and serve on the side.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Toppings Ideas:
Shredded lettuce such as Romaine or Iceberg
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Raw red onion
Avocado
Monterey Jack Cheese
Your favorite taco sauce
|
