pork belly tacos

Crispy Pork Belly Tacos with Pico de Gallo

Serves 4. Try this out from the September 2015 issue of Food and Wine magazine!  The technique left us with leftover succulent pork belly that we used on tostadas and with fried eggs.  The braised pork belly can be refrigerated overnight; return to room temperature before frying.  The Pico de Gallo can be refrigerated for 6 hours.

            Braised Pork Belly:

            one 2 lb. piece of meaty pork belly

            1 c. olive oil

            1 c. melted lard or shortening

            3 garlic cloves, crushed

            1 white onion, coarsely chopped

            2 dried chipotle chiles

            2 tsp. kosher salt

            Pico de Gallo:

            ½ lb. cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

            4 oz. tomatillos – husked, rinsed and finely chopped (about ¾ c.)

            ½ small red onion, finely chopped

            1 chile de arbol, crumbled

            ¼ c. Mexican beer

            ¼ c. fresh lime juice

            kosher salt

            Tacos:

            1 Tbs. oil

            twelve corn tortillas, warm

            lime wedges, for serving

Braise the pork belly:  Heat oven to 250 degrees.  In a large ovenproof saucepan, combine all the pork belly ingredients and bring to a simmer over moderate heat.  Cover, transfer to oven and braise until very tender, about 3 hours.  Transfer pork to a plate to cool slightly.  Discard the braising liquid. 

Make the Pico de Gallo:  In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the salt.  Season with salt and mix well.

Make the tacos:  In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil.  Add the pork belly, skin side down, and weigh it down with another heavy skillet.  Cook over moderately low heat until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.  Transfer the pork, skin side up, to a cutting board and let cool slightly.  Slice across the grain ¼” thick, then halve the slices crosswise.  Top each tortilla with a few pieces of pork belly and a little Pico de Gallo and serve warm.