| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 7 hr 25 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 6 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork shoulder loin, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons California chile powder
- 2 tablespoons New Mexico chile powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups soybean oil
- 8 to 12 white soft corn tortillas
- Diced white onion, for serving
- Chopped cilantro leaves, for serving
- Limes, for serving
Instructions
- Place the meat into an 11 by 12-inch baking dish. Toss the meat and dry ingredients with 2 cups soybean oil. Marinate overnight or for 6 hours covered in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake, covered, in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
- When slightly cooled chop meat into small cubes. Serve on 2 warm soft white corn tortillas. Sprinkle with diced white onion and chopped cilantro, and of coarse a squeeze of fresh lime!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1300 |
| Total Fat | 116 g |
| Saturated Fat | 26 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 161 mg |
| Sodium | 324 mg |
Reviews
I made this recipe for a party to rave reviews. It’s not hot, it has a smoky flavor, but the pork just melts in your mouth. My grocery stores are Italian-centric, so I ordered the chile powders online and they were not expensive at all.
To Where do you get those ingredients… try looking in a mexican market. Maybe they are not plentiful where you live, but here in the west these chili powders are very easy to find locally. All regions have things that are specific to their cuisine. It does not make the recipe bad.
Promised myself if this recipe turned out I’d post my review.
First, this recipe is fantastic!!! It tastes amazing and since you can make it the day before to marinate, and cook the next day, it ranks very high on the convenience scale.
Cilantro, white onion and lime are all you need for these tacos. Don’t be tempted to use salsas because they’ll cover the wonderful flavor you get from marinating the meat.
Here are my keys to improving the recipe:
– Reduce the heat to 300? and cook for 1.75 – 2 hours
– Add Tbs of salt
– Reduce cayenne pepper by about 25%
Bonus Tip:
If you can’t make your own corn tortillas, go to your local taqueria and buy a dozen fresh to use for dinner. The fresh tortillas make the meal.
The book gives you temperature of 350 for over an hour OR until tender. It also does have salt in the recipe. Tablespoon kosher or more to taste. I am making tomorrow so I will let you know how it comes out!
I tried this recipe and my husband and I just loved it. It is authentic. One time I used just a small cut of lean pork (I think it was called ‘Ball’ pork) and another time I used country style ribs pork meat a little greasier but the fat renders out. I marinated it just 2 hours the second time and it was just as tasty. I baked it for about 45 minutes, chopped it up and served with corn tortillas that were grilled with a little oil enough to make it slightly crisp yet soft.
This has been a favorite recipe at the El Burro Restaurant in the Pruneyard shopping center in Campbell, Ca. for almost 40 years. It is, however, served as pork steaks with tortillas, rice and refried beans rather than as tacos. I’ve seen the video of this recipe a few times, but I still have some questions. How much salt do you add? How long to you cook it? What temperature do you cook it at?
I agree that this recipe is way vague. I did not have the New Mexico chili powder(online spice purveyors have the specific chili powder) so I subbed some Chipoltle Powder and added salt and a tablespoon of garlic powder. It came out awesome. The pork was soft and I refried it to crisp it up. In food network’s defense, there is a disclaimer at the end of the recipe that says it was a recreation of the food network chefs and that it was NOT tested. I think they should test these recipes and make it easier for newbie chefs, some can improvise but most are looking for directions!!!!
I get really irritated with recipes containing ingredients not commonly found in a normal grocery store! I’m sure the two different types of chili powder make a difference in how this dish tastes but, come on, I’m not going to Whole Paycheck, 40 miles away, just to find these ingredients. Get into the real world!
Apparently whoever wrote this recipe didn’t watch the show. Two crucial things are wrong and will have a negative impact on the outcome. First, if you watch the video (I have three times) you will see that they add a lot of salt. Note that the recipe does not list salt. Next, and more importantly , there is no way you will get good results cooking this at 350 for only 45-60 minutes. On the video you can hear the cook’s response to Guy as to how long – “a couple of hours”. If you check Bobby Flay’s Recipe, he uses 3 hours. I am currrently cooking this a 300 for two hours. At that point I will decide if it needs more time.
Come on Foodnetwork editors, do your job!!
I made these this evening for dinner. They were very tasty. The pork falls apart and it is really good with the onion, cilantro and lime. My son put salsa on it too. I could see eating these with some sour cream, cheese and lettuce.