Tacos De Cecina (Pounded Pork Tacos)

from "La Comida del Barrio" by Aaron Sanchez. Needs to refridgerate overnight.

Ready In: 1 hr

Serves: 4

Ingredients

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Directions

  1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, in a dry cast-iron skillet, toast the chilies over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant; turn them and shake the pan so they don't scorch.
  2. Put the toasted chilies in a bowl, cover with the boiling water, and let them soak until softened and reconstituted, about 15 minutes.
  3. Using a sharp knife, make a deep slit down the length of the tenderloins and open them up so they lay flat.
  4. With the smooth side of a mallet, pound the pork between two pieces of plastic to a 1/4-inch thickness.
  5. Transfer to a platter.
  6. In a blender, combine the toasted chilies, vinegar, oregano, 2 tablespoons of oil, salt, and pepper, and puree to form a paste.
  7. Rub the paste on both sides of the pork.
  8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  9. Preheat grill or ridged grill pan.
  10. Brush grill grates with a little oil to prevent meat from sticking.
  11. Scrape off excess chili paste from pork and grill for 2 minutes per side.
  12. Remove to cutting board and let rest for 2 minutes.
  13. Slice into 1/4-inch pieces.
  14. Heat a large dry skillet over a medium flame.
  15. Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side, until toasty and pliable.
  16. To make the tacos, stack 2 warm tortillas, lay about 4 ounces of pork down the center, and sprinkle with some onion and cilantro.
  17. Drizzle 1 1/2 teaspoons of salsa on top of each taco and garnish with lime wedges.
  18. Note: Guajillo chili is the dried form of the fresh mirasol chili.
  19. Can be found at Latin markets.
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