there's something incredibly satisfying about eating with your hands, but it seems like everything in the world is held by gluten. pizza, burgers, wraps, sandwiches — all held together by gluten. then there are tacos. breakfast-tacos, vegetarian-tacos, and THESE. modelled after a taco stand at jean talon market in montreal, these tacos are what we have come to love as cochinita pibil.

they start with the pork shoulder slowly braised in achiote paste, garlic, and orange juice. then comes the refried beans, lending a soft texture to round out the pork. throw in some pickled onions, hot sauce and cilantro, and you’re set.

the tortilla is really important in this equation. seek out fresh, quality tortillas and heat them through. or make your own corn tortillas here!

Variations

refried beans are fantastic in this recipe, but if you’re not up for making them, you can swap them out for store-bought refried beans or guacamole instead.

Ingredients

2 lbs. pork shoulder
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsps. achiote paste
1 1/2 cups valencia orange juice (can be substituted with equal parts lime, orange and grapefruit juice)
2 tbsps. white vinegar
1 tbsp. oregano
1 stick cinnamon (ceylon preferred)
Pork stock to cover (about 1 cup)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250°F. If using a pressure cooker, skip this step.

Cut the pork into 1.5 - 2" slices

Brown the pork in a dutch oven or pressure cooker over medium high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

Remove the pork, turn down to medium heat and add the garlic and achiote. Sautée for a few minutes, until the garlic is fragrant, breaking up the achiote paste with a wooden spoon.

Deglaze the pot with a few tablespoons of orange juice, scraping off the browned bits at the bottom.

Add the rest of the orange juice and the vinegar. Whisk until the achiote dissolves. If the paste is not dissolving, an immersion blender will help. Add pork, oregano, cinnamon and pork stock to just barely cover the pork. Bring to a light simmer over medium heat. Cover the pot and place it in the oven on the middle rack.

Keep the pork in the oven for about 2 hours, checking for tenderness after an hour. If using a pressure cooker, cook at pressure for about 35 minutes. When it's done, you should be able to break the pork up with the side of a wooden spoon.

Remove the pot from the oven and use a slotted spoon to take the pork out of the cooking liquid.

Reduce the liquid over medium high heat until it is reduced by half. Meanwhile, break the pork up into small bits on a cutting board using a pair of forks.

Add the pork back and stir the mixture to coat the pork.

Serve with refried beans, pickled onions, hot sauce and cilantro on a tortilla.