Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes and Pickled Onions
(courtesy of thefoodnetwork.com)

Wine and Pork Tacos—Delicioso!

Nikki Berglund
Staff Writer

When my husband Paul and I headed for Puerto Vallarta for our one year anniversary, we were ecstatic to temporarily escape the insanity better known as “the Winter that will not end!”  Not only were we rewarded with some seriously scrumptious pina coladas on the warm, sunny beach while watching dolphins and even a whale breach, but we were also fortunate to happen upon some really authentic Mexican culinary experiences. Fortunately, I had made sure to do my homework ahead of time, enlisting the help of such experts as HPR’s own Cindy and Raul Gomez who provided us with some truly helpful insights!

One especially intriguing dining suggestion involved a Central Mexico dish by the name of “tacos al pastor.” These are basically marinated pork tacos, which are prepared on a vertical rotisserie, very similar looking to the spit used for making gyros. A pineapple is stuck on the top of the spit, so the juices dribble down to the meat, keeping it moist and adding to its unique flavor. It is thought that this dish was originally brought by Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico in the 1960’s. While “al pastor” means “shepherd style” in Spanish, the simplicity of these doesn’t make them any less delicious. Served on corn tortillas with nothing more than a sprinkle of cilantro and maybe some onions or Pico de Gallo this is a must-have experience of Mexico.

Although there are a variety of “tacos al pastor- type” recipes online, it’s a little tough to really duplicate this dish without your own vertical rotisserie, which shockingly we lack in our house (I know weird, huh?). On the other hand, this weekend seemed like a perfect time for some Crockpot-style pork cooking. We decided to go Mexican style in order to mentally transport ourselves back to that glorious place we were just a couple of weeks ago. Happily, with a little search of the internet, we hit pay dirt!

Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes and Pickled Onions
(courtesy of thefoodnetwork.com)

For Pork:
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 to 2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For Pickled Onions:
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

For Tacos:
24 corn tortillas
1 small green cabbage, shredded
2 avocados, peeled and thinly sliced
Pickled red onions
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

For Pork:
To the sleeve of a slow cooker add onion, garlic, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and cilantro. Add pork and season with salt and pepper. Cover and slow cook on high for 4 to 6 hours until tender.

For Red Onions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt, heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add onions and dried oregano. When mixture is cool pour into a quart container. You may need to add a bit of water just to cover. (Keep at room temperature for about 6 hours then place in the refrigerator.

Remove pork from slow cooker and shred using 2 forks. Toss with 1/2 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker.

To serve place 1/4 cup of the pork on a tortilla, top with cabbage, avocado, onions, sour cream and cilantro. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

For the most part we followed this recipe to a tee and it was incredible—not much need for tweaking. It was remarkably cheap and all of the ingredients were easy to find, which is always a plus. At first we were a little leery about the pickled onions, but all of the reviews raved about them and how much they added to the dish, so we kept them in. We didn’t have a “sleeve” in our slow cooker so all ingredients just got thrown in which was perfectly delicious. We did add a few more of the chipotle peppers since we both like the heat.  Also, we made our own taco bar, complete with homemade guacamole, refried black beans, Pico de Gallo and most importantly some delicious queso fresco.

This made a ton of leftovers, which is perfect for starting off your week.  I think we might just add some barbeque sauce to ours and have some delicious pulled pork sandwiches for dinner tonight.

Now let’s get to the main topic of my articles and suggest some perfect wines with this dish. I love to pair pork with wine because there are just so many great choices. Technically pork is a white meat, but I think it feels more like a red meat and can really stand up pretty well to either a red or a white wine. On the French white side of the spectrum, either an Alsace Riesling or a Vouvray would be delightful. Helfrich makes an inexpensive ($10) Alsace Riesling whose minerally richness with a hint of sweetness really complements the pork. Domaine Pichot makes an incredible Vouvray at a very reasonable $20 a bottle, especially given the great press this wine has been receiving. The off dryness of this wine partners well with the spice of the taco.

When you pair pork with red wines, you may want to stick with the lighter styles, though some of the bolder pork dishes can hold their own next to a heavier red. Beaujolais Village is a nice, light, fruity table wine and will appeal to both the wine novice and the wine expert. These inexpensive French wines are food friendly and won’t overpower the flavors of your dish. Michel Picard makes a nice example which can be purchased for around $12. Hands down, I think the best red wine pairing with pork is going to be a nice Pinot Noir. Although a quality bottle of one of these is not going to come cheap, you can make yourself feel better when you are reminded of how inexpensive your grocery bill was. I have been loving the Anne Amie Pinot Noir out of the increasingly popular Pinot growing region, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. You can get yourself a glorious bottle of Anne Amie for around $33 per bottle, and believe me it is worth every cent.

As summer gets closer and closer (we hope!), I am always thinking about outdoor gatherings with friends. I am happy to report that this dish will be a key player in my arsenal of easy, inexpensive, go-to dishes for summertime entertaining. Salud!

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