- 3 lb skinless pork belly
- 2 medium onions- 1 sliced & 1 diced
- 4 tomatillos- cut in half
- 2 cups- orange juice
- 2 cups- chopped cilantro
- 2 tomatoes- diced
- 3 limes- cut as wedges
- 1 to 2 jalapeno or serrano peppers- diced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cups- shredded cabbage(optional)
- 12 dozen of your favorite corn tortillas (4.5 inch)
For pork belly- this can (and should) be done one day ahead of time. In a shallow pan, place a layer of sliced onion, chopped cilantro, tomatillos and the orange juice. In a separate saute pan, sear the pork belly on all sides to a nice rich brown – about 4 to 5 minutes.
Place the pork belly in the pan with the onion, cilantro, tomatillos and orange juice and cover with a layer of oven safe plastic wrap and a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil.
Place in the oven at 200 degrees for a minimum of 5 hours (up to 9 hours) if you have that amount of time. This is low and slow cooking! Remove the pork from the oven, remove the foil and plastic wrap and allow to cool briefly at room temperature and then place in the refrigerator.
The next day you will have a wonderfully cooked pork belly that will make great tacos a little later.
Remove the layer of pork fat that has risen to the top of the pan (you can save that for cooking something else later) and remove the pork belly from the pan. Reserve the liquid!
You’ll want to cut the pork belly into squares, however make sure you first cut it like you are cutting a slab of bacon then cut into squares. You can puree the cooking liquid and vegetables and place into a sauce pan and reduce by 2/3’s to make a sauce for the tacos. Using the tomatoes, jalapenos, remaining onion, cilantro & limes recreate your favorite pico de gallo or taquieria style garnishes.
To finish, using a non-stick pan over medium heat, crisp up the pork belly squares on both sides and season with a little salt & pepper.
Assemble your tacos the way you like. Try serving them with a little bit of shredded cabbage, pico and a squeeze of lime.
Sponsor: Red Iguana
