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 crema—basically, everything we crave on taco night and then some.
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
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 remaining onion. Core, deseed, and dice poblano into ½-inch pieces. Roughly chop cilantro. Dice tomato.
• In a medium bowl, combine sliced onion, vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, salt (we used ½ tsp), 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 (1/3 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, a bit of onion pickling liquid to taste (start with ¼ tsp and add more if desired), 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.
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