Pork Carnitas Tacos
with Pickled Onion & Monterey Jack Cheese
At our local taqueria, a carnitas taco (or 5) is one of our go-to orders. After all, who can resist the rich flavor and tender texture of slow-roasted pork? Tonight, we’re creating a quick version with ground pork that uses carnitas-style seasonings: chili powder, garlic, and cumin, plus tomato paste for umami-packed richness and poblano pepper for smoky notes. It’s all stuffed into steamy tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, pickled onion, tomato, and chipotle-lime crema—basically, everything we crave on taco night and then some.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
Ingredients
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1 unit
Poblano Pepper
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Roma Tomato
1 unit
Lime
5 teaspoon
White Wine Vinegar
10 ounce
Ground Pork
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1.5 ounce
Tomato Paste
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains Milk)
1 teaspoon
Chipotle Powder
6 unit
Flour Tortillas
(Contains Soy, Wheat)
¼ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains Milk)
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon
Sugar
2 teaspoon
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Instructions
Wash and dry all produce. Halve and peel onion; very thinly slice one half and finely chop other half. Core, deseed, and dice poblano into ½-inch pieces. Roughly chop cilantro. Dice tomato. Halve lime; cut one half into wedges.
In a medium bowl, combine sliced onion, vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, salt (we used ½ tsp kosher salt), and 1 TBSP water. Stir until sugar and salt are mostly dissolved. Set aside, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Heat another drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add poblano and chopped onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 3-4 minutes. Return pork to pan along with Southwest Spice, stock concentrate, half the tomato paste (all for 4 servings), and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4). Cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, until mixture is thickened and saucy, 1-2 minutes more.
While filling cooks, in a small bowl, combine sour cream, juice from lime half to taste, and a pinch of chipotle powder (add more to taste if you like things spicy). Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave until warm and pliable, 30 seconds.
Divide tortillas between plates; fill with pork filling, tomato, Monterey Jack, cilantro, pickled onion (draining first), and crema. (TIP: Alternatively, you can put everything in individual serving bowls and let everyone assemble their own tacos.) Serve with lime wedges on the side.
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