Pulled Pork Tacos – ‘Tinga de Puerco’

Rich in roasted tomatoes, tender shredded pork, and smoky chipotle chiles, this recipe is ideal as a taco filling. This dish first requires several hours of cooking the pork until the meat falls off the bone, then making the salsa using roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, and dried chiles. Many recipes recommend using canned tomatoes and fresh onions and garlic for the salsa, however I like to first roast (and char) these ingredients in the oven to give more flavor.

Although there is some question about the Spanish translation of tinga (torn, shredded?), without chipotle peppers this dish can no longer be considered a tinga. I like to add a few other dried chiles to the dish such as guajillo or pasilla, in order to round out the flavor of the salsa. Like most kinds of food, Mexican has to have the right balance of flavors, between the spiciness of the chiles, the acidity of the tomatoes and onion, the crunchiness of the cabbage, and the herbal quality of the coriander.

The Process:

First roast the tomatoes, onion, red pepper, and garlic in the oven along with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. In a separate pan, toast the guajillo or other dried peppers for several minutes each side. Add these ingredients, including the chipotle pepper, to a blender and pulse until smooth.

Roast tomatoes, onion, garlic, red bell pepper in oven

Test for that perfect balance of flavors

Pour the blended salsa into a fry pan, heat for a few minutes and taste test for that perfect balance of flavor. Need more salt- more chile flavoring? This is the place to achieve perfection!

Final Serving

Add the shredded pork to the salsa and serve on a tortilla with your favorite garnishes: cheese, avocado, shredded cabbage, lime, and cilantro! You won’t believe how tender that slow-cooked pork is!

Pulled Pork Tacos- Tinga de Puerco
Print Recipe
Serves: 8-10 Cooking Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients

Cooking the pork:

1.5 lb uncooked pork shoulder

1/2 raw onion

1 Bay leaf

Enough water to cover the pork

For the salsa filling:

2 large tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 raw onion

5-6 garlic whole garlic cloves

1/2 red bell pepper

splash of olive oil

salt

5-6 dried chile peppers (guajillo or pasilla)

1 canned chipotle chile en adobo sauce + 1/2 tsp adobo sauce

1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)

For the taco garnish:

8-10 medium-sized tortillas

cotija cheese

1 avocado, cut into 1/2 inch chucks

shredded cabbage

Chopped coriander

radish slices

lime slices

diced onion

Instructions

1

To cook the pork shoulder, place it in a large pot or Dutch oven, cover with water, add 1/2 roughly sliced raw onion and one Bay leaf, and bake covered in oven at 350 F for several hours until the meat is tender and falls apart. Let meat cool then shred using several forks to separate the meat.

2

While the meat is cooking, prepare the salsa. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the following ingredients on the tray: one large tomato cut in half, 1/2 onion, and 1/2 red bell pepper, Sprinkle the tray lightly with salt and drizzle a good amount of olive oil over the ingredients. Bake in the oven at 350 F. for 10 minutes, then add the garlic cloves. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes until the ingredients soften and become a little charred. Remove from oven, and place ingredients in a blender along with the cooking liquids (but don't blend yet).

3

To prepare the dried guajillo chiles, remove the stem, cut in half and remove the seeds. Place the chiles in a fry pan and over medium heat, press down with a spatula, cooking each side 2-3 minutes each until the chiles change color. Cut the chiles up a bit then place in a cup of hot water for 5-10 minutes to re-hydrate. Place the chiles and 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid in the blender containing the salsa ingredients- blend for about one minute until smooth, then add the chipotle pepper and 1/2 tsp adobo sauce from the can. Turn the ingredients into a fry pan, stir and add salt as required. Also, add cumin if using. Once you are satisfied with the taste, add the shredded pork to the mixture, only adding enough to match the amount of sauce.

4

To prepare the tortillas, add a small amount of vegetable oil to a fry pan, cook each tortilla about 1-2 minutes each side, pressing down with a spatula as you cook.

5

To serve, place 1-2 tablespoons of pork filling in each tortilla, garnish with cotija cheese, shredded cabbage, avocado, lime slices, radishes, and chopped coriander.