Pork Belly Tacos with Roasted Pineapple and Habanero Salsa
Chef Diego Galicia
Mixtli
San Antonio
Chef Galicia serves these tacos at the bar of his San Antonio restaurant. Pairing a roasted pineapple salsa with pork is inspired by a Mexican street-food classic—Tacos al pastor.
Ingredients
1 gal. apple cider
16 oz. salt
16 oz. sugar
5 lb. pork belly
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced
3 lb. Roma tomatoes
1 lb. white onions
1 head garlic, peeled
3 habanero peppers
24 corn tortillas
1/2 cup micro cilantro, for garnish
10 limes, for garnish
Steps
1. In large pot, bring apple cider, salt and sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Stir to incorporate all ingredients; remove from heat and chill brine.
2. Score top of pork belly; submerge in brine. Cover and refrigerate 5 hours.
3. Rinse belly and pat dry. Vacuum seal and sous vide for 15 hours at 165 F. Press in refrigerator for 10 hours with a heavy weight on top of bag.
4. Once pork belly is pressed, remove from bag. Remove excess fat and place pork belly, fat side down, in skillet. Over medium heat, sear pork belly until golden brown; turn and sear other side. Finish off pork belly in 350 F oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let rest.
5. Sear pineapple slices on hot grill along with tomatoes, onions, garlic and habaneros. Once vegetables show signs of charring, remove from heat.
6. Place pineapple and vegetables in blender container; process until thoroughly combined. Add salt to taste.
7. Slice pork belly. On warm skillet, heat corn tortillas. On each tortilla, place several pork slices; top with roasted pineapple salsa. Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.