Sizzling Pork Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa and Salsa Crudo
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A Basketful of Tomatillos
Summer cooking should be as easy as this every day of the week. These tacos are great fun to make. Sitting around
the table with a stack of corn tortillas, filling as many as you like with a delicious stuffing of pork and two salsas is summer at its simplest. The salsas, which you put together in a matter of minutes, take full advantage of summer’s ripe tomatoes and freshly harvested onions. It’s also a great way to discover the tomatillo—if you haven’t already. In Mexico, they’re called “tomate verde” and they are the backbone of salsa verde and any number of both fresh and cooked green sauces throughout Latin America. This dish has its roots in Mexico but let’s be honest, tacos are as American as apple pie at this point. And that only makes life easiersince you can readily find everything you need at your supermarket.
Here on the East End of Long Island, we’ve seen an influx of Latin Americans. It’s actually said that without their arrival, our population would have declined in the past few years. They are wonderful people whose hard work is evident everywhere here –from stone work to gardens, from farms to farm stands.
Since they put a high value on education, their children are thriving in our schools, pulling the native-born along with them and raising reading and math scores. I marveled at the Valedictorian of our local High School graduating class last year. She’d arrived in this country as a child speaking no English whatsoever. In a few short years, she was at the head of the class.
Along with their terrific work ethic, they’ve also been responsible for the abundance of Latin American foods in our local markets. When I went to buy the corn tortillas this dish calls for, there were no less than four brands to choose from, in at least three sizes and in both flour and corn flavors. The choice you should make for this dish is the 4 ½ inch size corn tortilla. It’s perfect for a couple of quick bites. You may be surprised to know that tacos are a healthy food, especially if you make them on the small side, which is how they’re served
here. You are not making a Burrito just using soft, warm tortillas that you can readily heat in a cast iron skillet, then cloak in a slightly damp dish towel or napkin and have at the ready. Then you put a little pork on them, follow that with a dash of green salsa, ripe tomato and sweet onion, fold them up and there you have it. A deliciously fun thing to have for dinner. Here are the recipes:
Recipe for Sizzling Pork Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa and Salsa Crudo adapted from the
New York Times:
1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, not too lean, in thin 1/2-inch strips or cubes
Salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons ground guajillo, ancho or other medium-hot red chile
1 teaspoon toasted, coarsely ground cumin
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 dozen small corn tortillas, ideally 4 1/2 inches, for serving*
Tomatillo salsa, for serving
Salsa cruda, for serving
Radishes, trimmed, for serving.
Cilantro sprigs, for serving.
Lime wedges for serving.
1. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, chile powder and cumin, and mix well, massaging the seasoning into the meat with fingers. Let the meat marinate for at least an hour, or refrigerate overnight.2. Heat the oil in a wide cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the oil looks wavy, add the meat and let it sizzle, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep meat warm.
3. Heat the tortillas on an ungreased hot griddle or cast iron pan. Turn them once or twice until hot and slightly puffed. As they come off the griddle, stack them on a cloth napkin to steam, with another napkin on top.
4. To assemble the tacos, stack 2 hot tortillas on a plate. Spoon on a
little sizzled pork, then top with a spoonful of tomatillo salsa and another of
salsa cruda. Garnish with radishes and cilantro sprigs. Serve and eat
immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
* 2 dozen tortillas are a gracious plenty. We ate three a piece.
To make the Tomatillo Salsa:
12 tomatillos, husked and quartered,
about 2 cups
2 cups roughly chopped cilantro leaves
and tender stems
1 or 2 serrano chiles, split lengthwise
and chopped*
1/2 teaspoon salt. *Serrano chiles are 5 times hotter than Jalapenos. If you like things less spicy, substitute seeded, chopped Jalapenos.
Puree the ingredients in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup ice
water. The salsa is best the day it is made but will keep a couple of days in
the refrigerator. Makes 2 cups.
3 thoughts on “Sizzling Pork Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa and Salsa Crudo”
That looks delicious! I keep making homemade salsa with different variations of veggies.
This past weekend, I had 3 roma tomtatoes, a yellow tomato, 1 banana pepper, 1 jalapneo, 1 white onion, 1 poblano pepper, 5 cloves garlic and a squeeze of lime juice.
I just charred the veggies on the grill, put it all in a blender and done!
I've never made pork tacos before though. I will definitely try it.
These are the best!! I luv luv luv Tacos and pork are the most easily the most flavorful. And this is including ground meat, shredded beef, chicken, shrimp, etc. A really good crispy pork with fresh salsa.. Muy Delicioso!
Did you know that New York State is the second largest apple producer in the whole country? Only Washington State tops us. Trust a resourceful friend of ours, Wendy Brovetto, native New Yorker and grandchild of an Upstate New York Farm family, to create truly incredible Rustic Apple Jams in 4 extraordinary flavors. When she did, Croton Trading Co. was born.
Wendy explains ”We created our apple jam after one of those overzealous days of apple picking yielded a larger-than-usual haul. With more apples than any family could consume, the experimenting began and gave way to what we think is the perfect blend of apples and cinnamon.”
“We source our apples from local NY Orchards -- Thompson's Orchard in Westchester Co andl Richters Orchard on Long Island. I have a special fondness for these family-owned farms. Richters Orchard was a big part of my childhood, as my sistersand I would go on weekly outings with my dad to stock up on apples and cider"
"We carefully blend different apples to create our flavor profile and find inspiration from seasonal spices to create our Apple Jam”. Wendy proudly states.
Now Croton Trading Company is up to 4 flavors: Fall Harvest Blend, Ginger Pear Fusion, Chai, and Brown Sugar. You can see the whole range here:
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to put Croton Trading Company’s Apple Jam to work making our Skillet Apple Pork Chops. This one-pot recipe is perfect for weeknights but so good you may want to serve to company. The chops finish cooking in Croton Trading’s Apple Jam and we always serve it on the side to give even more great apple taste to the dish. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-oz.) bone-in pork chops
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 cup Croton Trading Rustic Apple Jam (we used Ginger Pear)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
Chopped Parsley for garnish.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and 3/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork chops to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until pork chops beautifully browned. Remove from pan. Set aside pan and drippings.
In a small bowl, combine stock and Croton Trading Apple Jam, stirring with a whisk. Set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan with drippings, swirl. Add remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/8 teaspoon pepper, sage, rosemary, and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork chops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Plate each chop individually. Top with chopped parsley as a garnish. Serve with plenty of Croton Trading Apple Jam on the side.
That looks delicious! I keep making homemade salsa with different variations of veggies.
This past weekend, I had 3 roma tomtatoes, a yellow tomato, 1 banana pepper, 1 jalapneo, 1 white onion, 1 poblano pepper, 5 cloves garlic and a squeeze of lime juice.
I just charred the veggies on the grill, put it all in a blender and done!
I've never made pork tacos before though. I will definitely try it.
Thanks Jenn for your post. Sounds delicious and I will give it a try. All best to you. Monte
These are the best!! I luv luv luv Tacos and pork are the most easily the most flavorful. And this is including ground meat, shredded beef, chicken, shrimp, etc. A really good crispy pork with fresh salsa.. Muy Delicioso!