Slow-Cooker Pineapple Chipotle Pork Tacos
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Serving Size: 6-8
Ingredients
For the Pork:
2 pounds of pork tenderloin (I use 2 pork tenderloins)
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 chicken stock
For the sauce:
1/2 of a fresh pineapple, peeled cored and roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce (I use 1 – use 2 for spicy tacos)*
the juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
For serving:
corn tortillas
garnishes: diced fresh pineapple, feta cheese, pickled onions (see note below) or finely chopped red onion.
*You can use a dried chipotle chile instead of canned. Just rehydrate the dried chile in hot water till soft.
Instructions
For the pork: Combine the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry and rub the spice mixture evenly over the pork tenderloins. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side.
Transfer the pork to the slow cooker. In the now empty hot pan, add the chicken stock and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour into a blender.
Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour over the pork and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Shred the meat and mix with the sauce. Add a little more sugar if it tastes bitter and salt to taste if needed. Enjoy!
Notes
*For the pickled onions: Combine 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl and stir until dissolved. You can heat this mixture slightly on the stove or in the microwave to combine it thoroughly. Add 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or for a few hours in the fridge. Drain onions before serving. Chill leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
From meaningfuleats.com