Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos with Chayote Squash and Apple Slaw
The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the pulled pork:
1 ½ lb. pork butt
1 cup dark beer
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten free if that’s important to you)
1 tablespoon pureed chipotle peppers in chipotle sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cumin
2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane or very finely minced
1 dried guajillo pepper
For the tortillas:
2 cups masa harina (corn flour)
1 ⅓ cups water
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons grape seed oil (or any neutral flavoured oil)
For the slaw:
¼ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ tablespoon lime juice
1 small garlic clove, grated on a Microplane or very finely minced
Pinch of sea salt
½ chayote squash, julienned into 2-3 inch strips
1 crisp apple, diced
½ cup finely shredded red cabbage
¼ cup finely sliced red onion
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Optional: chilli oil
Instructions
For the pulled pork:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and simmer gently for 4 hours, or until the pork is very tender.
Remove the pork from the pot and increase the heat to high. Boil the liquid until it reduces to ⅔ cup, about 10 minutes. Discard the guajillo pepper.
Shred the pork using 2 forks then pour the reduced cooking liquid over top. Gently toss so that the pork is well coated.
For the tortillas:
Combine the corn flour, water and salt in a medium sized bowl. Work the dough with your hands until it comes together to form a soft ball. Divide the dough into 16 pieces – the easiest way to do this is to divide the dough in half, then each half again until you have 16 pieces. Leave the balls in the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel.
Flatten one ball using the palms of your hands. Place the flattened ball between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out the tortillas so they are about 5″ across. Use your fingers to ‘crimp’ the edges back together if they split.
Add ½ teaspoon (or a small splash) of oil to a cast iron pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot drag one side of the tortilla through the oil in the pan then place the tortilla in the pan so that the oiled side is on top. Cook for 50 seconds then flip it over and cook for another 50 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the pan and set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
For the slaw:
Add the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, garlic and sea salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the chayote squash, apple, cabbage, red onion and cilantro and toss to coat everything well.
To serve:
Place a heap of the slaw in the centre of a tortilla and top with some pulled pork and optional chili oil.
From theendlessmeal.com