Tag: pork
Pork Tongue Tacos with Tlaquepaque Sauce
Pork Tongue Tacos with Tlaquepaque Sauce
While this looks like a recipe for the open minded adventurous eater, it’s really meant for everyone to try. While tongue isn’t eaten very much in American cuisine, it is eaten by pretty much every other culture across the world. Tongue in Spanish is called lengua. While labeled an organ meat, it really is a big muscle. When prepared properly, it is one of the most tender and flavorful cuts on an animal. You will question yourself why you haven’t eaten this for your entire life. Because, tongue tastes…normal. Nothing gamey or organy tasting. There’s no tendons or veins running through it. It is very finely marbled with fat. Cooked like this, it looks like a pan of shredded pork. The same goes for beef tongue. One of the best parts of pork tongue is that it comes in fresh at my Asian market for $2.19lb. So get over yourself and give tongue a try sometime. If you don’t want to make this at home for fear of not liking it, try a lengua taco at a real Mexican restaurant first. You will learn the way…
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Pork Tongue
- 3 pork tongues
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt to taste
- 2 cups cooking water
Tlaquepaque Sauce
- 1 lb tomatillos
- 12 arbol peppers
- 2 guajillo peppers
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- cilantro finely chopped
- white onion finely chopped
- green onion finely chopped
Instructions
Tlaquepaque Sauce
- Over medium high heat, bring the tomatillos, arbor and guajillo peppers, and garlic to a boil in a pot of water for 15 minutes.
- Add the tomatillos, peppers, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking water and instant coffee. Puree until smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Pork Tongue
- Wash your pork tongues.
- Turn your Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes. Add your pork tongues, white onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme, and salt. Cover with 2 cups of the leftover cooking liquid that the Tlaquepaque sauce ingredients boiled in. Put on the cover and press start.
- Remove the tongues from the Instant Pot and let cool.
- Make a slit with a sharp knife down the center of the tongues across the skin.
- You should be able to peel the majority of the skin right off. Any skin still attached should be cut off.
- Slice the tongue into chunks. Add the tongue to a skillet over medium high heat. Sauté for 15 minutes, slowly incorporating some of the braising liquid from the instant pot.
- The tongue should be fairly shredded and tender. You almost wouldn’t know it was tongue unless someone told you.
Taco Assembly
- Heat up some corn tortillas on an oiled griddle for a minute on each side.
- Add a small amount of the pork tongue to the center of the tortilla and roll it. Roll up a bunch of them.
- Place some of the rolled up pork tongue tacos on a plate. Ladle some of the Tlaquepaque sauce over the tacos. Garnish with cilantro/green onion/white onion mix.
Mexican Chorizo
Mexican Chorizo
Chorizo is one of my favorite sausages. I’ve made thousands upon thousands of pounds of it as a butcher. Chorizo’s main flavor comes form ancho chili powder, which is very mild. If you are looking to have a spicier chorizo, add cayenne pepper to the mix. Chorizo is great in tacos, eggs, soups, with potatoes, and much more. If you happen to have a Kitchen Aid mixer with the sausage attachment, you can make this into links. Chorizo is even better smoked, like myself.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground pork, medium grind
- 20 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium white onion grated
- 6 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 3 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp Mexican dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp coriander
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp cloves
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- If not using within 3-4 days, wrap in freezer paper and toss in the freezer.
Drunken Noodles
Drunken Noodles
Drunken noodles are also known as Pad Kee Mao in Thai cuisine. Kee Mao in Thai means drunkard, referring to both the cooking wine used in this dish and the dish being great for the drunkards sobering up. This is a really quick and simple dish that can use any type of protein. If you aren’t a fan of pork, you can substitute ground chicken, regular chicken, shrimp, or tofu.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz 1/4″ wide flat rice noodles cooked
- 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
- 1/4 cup thai red and green chilies
- 1 head minced garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 16 oz cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup thai basil
- 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- In a large pan or pot, heat cooking oil over medium high heat. Stir in Thai chilies and minced garlic. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Add in ground pork. Brown. Stir in fish sauce, dark and light soy sauces, sugar, and tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium low. Stir in the cooked rice noodles and the basil. Cook for 5 minutes
- Garnish with more basil. Chow down.
