Why not launch into the school week with the anticipation of a joyous Taco Tuesday by whipping up the marinade and steeping the pork on Sunday evening?
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 1 dried ancho chile
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 1 small orange, peeled and seeded
- ¾ cup chopped fresh pineapple
- 1 tablespoon each oregano, ground cumin, ground black pepper, paprika, and salt
- 3 cloves
- 2 pounds boneless pork loin
- tortillas
Cut chiles open and remove and discard stems and seeds. Place in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand until softened, about 20-30 minutes. Rescue the chiles, setting the soaking liquid aside and put them, along with the garlic, onion, orange, pineapple, and spices in a food processor. Blend, adding a little chile liquid if needed to get a smoothish marinade.
Slice the pork loin thinly across the grain and layer it with the marinade in a container with a lid. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but a day or two is better.
As dinnertime approaches and you are finishing up making the below accompaniments, remove the pork from fridge to take the chill off. Make a nice hot fire with hardwood or real charcoal and let it burn down to a sweet coal bed (or, failing that, preheat a propane-fired grill). When the accompaniments are in readiness, drain the marinade from the meat and grill the pork slices until crisp on the edges and just done in the middle. Remove to a cutting board and slice into strips. Serve with nice hot tortillas and pineapple salsa.
Recipe courtesy of Cheryl Farhat of Mix It Up Kitchen in Duxbury.
