Cochinita Pork Pibil, X Ni Pek and Sour Orange Tacos
With tender pork flavoured with citrus and topped with bright pink pickled onions, these juicy, flavourful tacos from Breddos Tacos are a must for any taco party.
From the book
TACOS: Over 50 Recipes that Bring All the Flavour and Fun
50 must-try tacos recipes from the creators of Breddos Tacos.
From tortillas, salsas, marinades and cremas to umami-rich proteins and fillings.
For fans of Mexican street food, keen to explore the region's vibrant and varied dishes.
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Introduction
Ingredients
| 1 kg (2lb 4oz) | boneless neck end pork shoulder, brined overnight in 10% salt-water brine (optional; see step 1 ) |
| sea salt | |
| 500ml (18fl oz/2 cups) | sour orange juice, or half normal orange juice and half grapefruit juice |
| 200g (7oz/scant 1 cup) | achiote paste |
| 10 | garlic cloves |
| 100g (3½oz/½ cup) | guajillo chillies, deseeded, deveined, and soaked in warm water for 10 minutes |
| 2 | cloves, toasted and crushed in a pestle and mortar |
| 1 small | white onion, roughly chopped |
| 1 large | defrosted banana leaf (optional) |
| 12 | corn tortillas |
| For the x ni pek salsa: | |
|---|---|
| 3 | red onions |
| 5 | tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice |
| 1 tbsp | grapefruit juice |
| juice of 4 limes | |
| ½ habanero, deseeded, deveined and finely chopped | |
| To serve: | |
| chopped coriander (cilantro), to garnish | |
| lime, quartered |
Method
If you’re brining the pork, first create a 10% salt water brine by dissolving 100g (3½oz/½ cup) of salt per 1 litre (1¾ pints/4 cups) of water as needed to cover the pork. Submerge the pork and brine overnight. Alternatively, if you don’t have time, simply rub the meat with sea salt and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Place the orange juice, achiote paste, garlic, guajillo, cloves and onion in a blender and blitz to a paste. Rub the paste over the pork and leave to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (300°F/ Gas 2). Wrap the pork in the banana leaf or some baking (parchment) paper. Place in a deep casserole dish and cover with foil twice to ensure no steam escapes. Cover with a lid and cook for around 2½–3 hours, or until meltingly tender. Remove the banana leaf or parchment and shred the pork, then gently stir together with all of the cooking juices.
While the pork is cooking, make the x ni pek salsa. Very finely slice the onions and soak them in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Drain the onions and put in a bowl. Pour over the orange, grapefruit and lime juices and add the chilli. Leave the onions to ‘cook’ in the citric acid for about an hour. They’re ready when they turn a vivid pink colour.
Toast the tortillas in a dry pan, then scoop a little of the pork pibil into the centre of each one and garnish with the x ni pek, and finally some chopped coriander and lime wedges.
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