Tag: Mexican
Tacos Arabes
Tacos Arabes
This is not your typical Mexican taco. Tacos Arabes has its origins from Christian Arab refugees from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq forced into displacement to what is now the Mexican city of Puebla. An estimated 113,000 Arabs had made there home in Mexico in the 1870s. They introduced the concept of shawarma, roasting meat to an open flame upright on a spit, to the Mexican culinary world. Instead of serving the meat in a tortilla, the meat is served on a pita-like flatbread. Originally, lamb was used. But since lamb isn’t very popular in Mexico and is more expensive, the recipe had evolved into pork.If you were to get tacos arabes in Puebla today, you would see a large stack of thinly sliced herb marinated pork shoulder roasting upright on a spit. The meat is shaved off, much like the same way the meat is for a gyro or even tacos al pastor. It will be served with a simple vinegar based chipotle salsa. Since the overwhelming majority of home chefs don’t have an upright spit, you can sauté the marinated pork in a pan for 15 minutes.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork shoulder cut into thin strips
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lime juiced
- 4 tbsp oregano
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 4 tsp vinegar
- 3 tsp salt
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Authentic Arabes Salsa
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tbsp chipotle paste
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together except the cooking oil.
- Marinate the pork in a gallon sized storage bag for at least 8 hours.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Drain the pork of any marinade juices. Add the pork to the sauté pan.
- Cook the pork for 15 minutes. The pork is done when the onions have cooked down.
- To make the salsa, purée all of the ingredients together in a blender or food processor.
Pita Bread
Pita bread can trace it’s roots over 14000 years ago to the Stoned Age in the Middle East. Today, pita bread is a staple of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. The yeast leavened flatbread dough is rolled flat. The edges are then tucked up underneath itself into a ball. This allows air to be trapped, creating steam to puff up the flatbread and make a pocket once the dough is baked. There is also pita that is just rolled flat and use more as a wrap, such as is Greek cuisine.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together.
- On a floured surface, knead the dough fo 7-8 minutes.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place.
- Let dough rise for 2 hours. It will double in volume.
- Roll dough out on a floured surface.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces.
- Flatten the dough into a circle.
- Tuck the edges up under into itself to form a ball. This helps trap air inside, making the pita light and airy.
- Roll out the dough ball into 1/4” thick discs.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
- Cook the pita for 4 minutes a side.
Chilorio
Chilorio
Chilorio is a popular dried chili pepper pork stew, hailing from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Dried ancho chilies are used, making this dish fairly mild. If you want some spice, add in a couple of dried morita chilies. This chili sauce traditionally has vinegar in it, but you can also use orange juice. Chilorio can be found already prepared in delis at Mexican markets. It is even sold in a can.Chilorio is a great protein for tacos, burritos, tortas, gorditas, sopes, tamales, quesadillas, etc.
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 3 dried ancho chilies
- 3 dried morita chilies
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Add the pork, salt, bay leaves, and water to a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil 0ver medium high heat. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- While the pork is simmering, soak the dried chilies in hot water for 20 minutes.
- Add the dried chilies plus a 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, garlic, oregano, cumin, and 1/2 cup of orange juice to the blender.
- Purée until smooth.
- After the pork has simmered for 45 minutes, remove the cover and let the liquid evaporate. Let the pork fry in it’s own fat for a few minutes.
- Pour in the rest of the orange juice, deglazing and scraping up the brown bits from the pot. Pour in the chili sauce. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place in a 300 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Take off the cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
Lengua Barbacoa (Instant Pot)
Lengua Barbacoa (Instant Pot)
Lengua is my favorite protein to go into a taco. The tongue meat is unbelievably tender and melts in your mouth. Roberto’s in Las Vegas make some of the best lengua tacos that I’ve ever eaten. Los Ocampos in Saint Paul makes a damn mean one as well. While most Americans might consider tongue a delicacy, it’s not for the rest of the world, especially in Mexico. This cut is relatively inexpensive and is becoming more and more common on menus.Lengua is usually prepared in a pot of water with onions, garlic, and bay leaves. It is simmered slow for about 8 hours. A crockpot would be a great choice instead of leaving your oven on all day. I’m using my Instant Pot, taking only 50 minutes. Once the tongue is finished, let it cool. Peel off the skin and shred with 2 forks. You can also chop it up and fry it in a little bit of lard.Be open minded and give lengua a try the next time your out at a real taco joint.
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef tongue
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp salt
- water enough to cover the tongue
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
To Serve
- corn tortillas
- white onion/cilantro/green onion mix
- red and green salsa
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Wash your beef tongue.
- Add the tongue to the Instant Pot along with the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Pour in enough water to cover the tongue. Set the function to Pressure Cook on high for 50 minutes. Put the lid on. Push start.
- Save the braising liquid.
- Let the tongue rest until cooled.
- Make a slit in the tongue with a knife and peel the skin of. Trim off any excess fat from where the tongue was severed. Cut up into bite sized pieces.
- Heat cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté for 10 minutes, slowly incorporating some of the braising liquid into the meat.
