Beer-cooked Pulled Pork Tacos with Avocado Cream

OH MY GOD.

Taking a little break from the sugary sweet theme that the blog has had for the last forever, with some savoury perfection.

So, I am making it my mission to find and make that *perfect* recipe from all my favourite cuisines. I’ve nailed Japanese: DAT RAMEN. I’ve kicked ass for Swedish desserts.

And now.. Mexico, it's ON. 

These tacos are the best things I’ve eaten in a long time, and one of the best things to come out of my little old kitchen. It is incredibly simple, you brown the meat, then saute the veggies, make a spicey sauce with beer and broth, and then stick that whole mess in the oven. Then it’s just tearing the meat, reducing the sauce, mixing and serving. And then commence a food coma.

The avocado cream is simple, smooth, flavourful and awesome. It also stays green for AGES! No browning guacamole style disappointment here!

I would make this every day of the week. I recently saw a guy at a barbeque place (where you can pretty much find me skulking around at any time) with these awesome gloves that allowed him to pull the pork hot, by hand. Christmas list!!

serves four, or just one if you really can't share
adapted from OMFG. So Good blog

Ingredients for the pork tacos

• 500g pork loin
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 small jalapeno
• 1 pepper, slices
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• ½ orange, cut into two
• 200ml beer
• 250ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp pasatta
• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cinnamom
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Tortillas, to serve
• Handful of grated cheese, to serve.

Ingredients for the avocado cream

• 1 avocado
• 125ml sour cream
• 1 lime
• Few sprigs fresh coriander (I just used dried as I had no fresh)
• Salt

Method

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius

Heat oil in a pan, and sear the pork for 2 minutes on each side. Then set aside.

In the same pan, salute the onion,pepper, garlic and jalapeno (seeds removed if you don’t like it pretty spicy). 

Squeeze in the orange quarters and then add the rest to the pot. Add in the beer, stock, sugar, tomato pasatta, spices, salt and pepper.

Bring to a low boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Place the pork into a deep dish, pour over the spicy beer sauce and bake in the oven for 2 hours.

Meanwhile make the avocado cream near the end of the cooking time. It couldn’t be easier. Place the avocado in a food processor and blitz. Add in the sour cream, then the lime, coriander and salt and blitz again until beautifully smooth and creamy.

Green green green

Remove the pork from the oven when cooked. Set the pork on a plate and pour the rest through a strainer, discarding the large chunks of vegetables, and keeping the sauce.

Bring the sauce to the boil and simmer 10-15 minutes until thickened and reduced slightly.

While that is reducing, shred the pork with two forks. I use one for tearing and one for stabilising the meat. It is pretty therapeutic. But I want them gloves.

Two forks, poised and ready to go

Job done

Put the pork back in the sauce pan and stir through.

To assemble: get your tacos or tortillas or whatever you are using. Heat, add the saucy pork, some cheese, and avocado cream.

Wrap up and devour.

Snug as a bug IN MY BELLY