Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos

*Post by Angela.

Um, so apparently Halloween in West Hollywood is a big deal. We took the opportunity to have our first real dinner party, and decided on a taco party. The main attraction? Gorgeous, slow-cooked, tender, flavorful pork from the cookbook Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless, which had the added bonus of being super simple, despite the long list of ingredients. 

List of ingredients:

• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 28-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 4 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, sliced 1/4" pieces
• 1 tbsp sauce from the chipotle chiles
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
• Salt
• 8 oz Mexican chorizo sausage
• Warmed corn tortillas
• Crumbled queso fresco (maybe 1 cup or so?), optional
• Sliced avocado, optional
• Salsa/srirach, optional
• Baby arugula/shredded romaine, optional

I got out my brand new slow-cooker (Morris, my old slow-cooker, found a good home with my best friend back in D.C.), spread the potato cubes out over bottom of the slow-cooker, then layered the pork cubes on top. I haven't named my new slow-cooker yet. Maybe I'll have a contest to pick the best name, winner gets a slow-cooked dinner...okay. Let's do it. Leave your entry for best name in the comments below.

By the way, mmm, pork cubes. I like the sound of that.

I mixed together the tomatoes and their juice, the chipotles with their sauce, the Worcestershire, oregano, garlic, onion and 1 1/2 tsp salt, then poured it over the pork. At this point, Mark's face suddenly appeared over my shoulder and he sighed very contentedly. Me too.

I covered the cooker, cranked that noise up to high, and cooked it for 6 hours. Just before I was ready to serve the pork, I browned the chorizo on medium high heat. I spooned some of the liquid off the pork, then stirred in the chorizo and let the mixture cook for about 5 more minutes. I served the pork with the warmed tortillas, the queso fresco, salsa, and greens.

...yeah, this was good stuff. Hit with the guests, hit with us. I cannot wait to make it again. And it fueled us for our fun but strange journey into the craziness of downtown West Hollywood.

Comments

[Bianca De la Cruz]

I suggest you call your new slow cooker "General Tso."

[Angela]

...OH. That just made me really sad. I'm going to do it, though. Thanks, Bianca.