Yet Another Tasty Taco Recipe

Good evening everyone!  After last week's botched dish, it's tough to find a recipe that would yield delicious results.  I must of thrown caution to the wind, because I fell head first into a recipe that 1) has a lot of spice that could have a lot of heat and 2) lots of time to dedicate to it.  I must have been up for the challenge, because this is one taco recipe you'll definitely want to duplicate!

The Recipe:  Tacos Al Pastor with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Original Recipe Found On:  www.myrecipes.com

What You'll Need:
Pork:
1 Chipotle Chile, canned in Adobo Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 (1 Pound) Pork Tenderloin, trimmed
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Oregano
2 Teaspoons Ancho Chile Powder
1/2 Teaspoon ground Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Salsa:
4 (1/2-inch thick) slices fresh (or canned) Pineapple
1/4 Cup fresh Cilanto leaves, roughly chopped
3 Tablespoons thinly sliced Red Onion
3 Tablespoons fresh Lime Juice
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Jalapeño, thinly sliced and deseeded

Remaining Ingredients:
8 (6-inch) Corn Tortillas
8 Lime Wedges

To start, mince the chipotle chile and mix the chile and olive oil in a small bowl.  Place the tenderloin on a clean plate and rub the chile/oil mixture over the pork.  In another small bowl, combine the oregano, ancho chile powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Sprinkle the spice mixture over the pork and rub in.  Place the tenderloin in the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes.  

Prior to taking the pork out of the fridge, preheat a grill to high heat.  Once the grill is heated, place the pork on the grill grates.  Grill for six to ten minutes on each side, or until a cooking thermometer reads 145 degrees.  Remove the pork from the grill, tent with aluminum foil, and let stand for five minutes.

While the pork rests, place the pineapple slices on the grill grates and grill for five minutes on each side.  Once cooked, roughly chop the pineapple and add to a medium mixing bowl.  Add the cilantro, red onion, lime juice, salt, and jalapeño.  Toss the ingredients to combine.

After the pork has rested, roughly chop the pork.  If desired, warm the tortillas.  Serve two tacos evenly with the pork.  Top each taco with three tablespoons of salsa.  Serve with lime wedges and enjoy!

The End Result:

Although, we have created a pork tacos before, this recipe blew that one out of the water.  One difference being that we have a grill to use, that we didn't in the first two years of the blog.  The overwhelming heat, due to the spice content in the recipe, that I thought might occur, didn't happen.  The pork was quite flavorful and juicy, no heat whatsoever.  The spice coating made a nice crust for the pork and was delicious.  The true start of these tacos is the salsa.  The pineapple could have grilled a wee bit longer, but it didn't matter.  Combined with the onion and fresh cilantro, it was a mouthwatering feast.  The lime juice helped to cut out some of the burn from the jalapeño, but I was able to handle it - which surprised even me!  Overall, a recipe definitely worth trying, if you feel adventurous with your taco quests!

Thanks for joining us tonight.  Check back over the weekend for a muffin that will blow your socks off!  Until then,

~Cheers!