Fiesta Night!

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use up a piece of pork tenderloin I had in the freezer. I tried eating pork tenderloin in this entry, but I don’t know why, I just don’t like pork… unless it’s shredded. It’s a texture thing, I’m very picky when it comes to the texture of my food.

So first thought was BBQ shredded pork, but it’s been done before, and I’m sure I’ll make it again, I wanted something lighter and fresher, so I decided to do pork soft tacos. I had some leftover cabbage, so I made a tangy red cabbage slaw, and a fresh guacamole and Pico de Gallo for the tacos. I put the pork in a slow cooker with marinade, and it came out perfectly. This can be made with chicken or beef though, and it will be just as good.

Because I’m a dork for education and culture, I asked my sister, who is fluent in Spanish, to tell me what Pico de Gallo meant. I was expecting something about tomatoes, but she told me it translates to beak of a rooster. We researched a little more and found a few explanations for this, one is because of the color of the tomatoes, another is because of the spice, it’s like a rooster biting your tongue, and last is because it was traditionally eaten with the thumb and forefinger, echoing the actions of a rooster. Now who knew that?!

Pork Shredded Soft Tacos, Red Cabbage Slaw, Guacamole, and Pico de Gallo

Pork:

1/3 lb. pork tenderloin

½ bottle of Lawry’s Baja Chipotle Marinade

2 cups chicken stock

Cabbage Slaw:

½ head red cabbage, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. honey

Juice of 1 lime1

tsp. coriander

Salt and pepper

Pico de Gallo:

2 tomatoes, diced

¼ red onion, diced

2 tbsp. cilantro, minced

½ lime, juiced

½ jalapeno, seeded and minced

Salt and pepper

Guacamole:

1 avocado, mashed

½ jalapeno, seeded and minced

½ lime, juiced

¼ tsp. cumin

Flour tortilla shells Place the pork, half the bottle of marinade, and chicken stock in a slow cooker. Turn on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.

For Slaw – Mix all ingredients except cabbage in a bowl, add cabbage and toss to coat.

For Pico de Gallo – Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

For guacamole – mix all ingredients in a bowl, keep covered so it doesn’t brown.

When ready to serve, warm tortillas in the microwave in a damp paper towl.

Remove pork from the crock pot, shred in a bowl, and toss with ½ cup more of the marinade.

Spoon pork into taco, top with slaw, pico de gallo, and guacamole.