I have some leftover cooked pork loin that I want to transform into tacos; I have a slaw dressed with lime cilantro sauce for the tacos.
Suggestions on transforming the cooked pork loin into taco form? Chop up, sautee with onions and perhaps some cumin and something with a little kick? Any other ideas?
Bruce
I’d be concerned that the loin will dry out. I’d consider throwing this into the mix for a kick, but also to provide some liquid — just puree them and they should be good to go.
Just that. Chop it up into small bits, don’t go heavy on seasoning maybe some oregano, crisp up in a hot pan, use your salsa of choice and fresh cilantro for the seasoning after it’s on a tortilla.
Probably will but you can work with that. As Brian wrote above, crisp it up carnitas-style in a pan with some citrus (orange/lime juice), oregano & cumin. The slaw sounds like a nice topping for it.
Can you braise an already cooked loin? personally I would rather have the pulled/shredded pork than chopped pieces… I might try cooking it down in a flavorful liquid- then once it does resemble carnitas, you can still crisp it up, if you want.
I’ll add my vote to those saying cook small, crisp pieces. I’m fine with crispy, even if technically somewhat dry, meat on tacos because there’s typically plenty of moisture from slaw, hot sauce, etc. I care more about the textural element provided by crisping in a hot pan (I use cast iron) than I do about meat being moist. I find that too often pulled, braised sorts of meat meld with the texture of the tortilla.
We sauté onions prior to adding the meat and season with dried chipotle powder and Mexican oregano with the leftover pork loin. Juice a lime at flame out in the pan.
Ended up doing a braise. Was concerned that because the pork loin is so lean it would dry out too much if fried up carnitas style (would do that with pork shoulder).
Sauteed onions & garlic and then added some canned chopped tomatoes. Then S&P, cumin, oregano, chipotle powder, and a bit of cayenne. Near the end added a splash of
red wine vinegard for some acidity.
Put on a tortilla and then topped with cilantro lime slaw. Could have added some pico or salsa, and crumbled queso.
Bruce
I often use leftovers and will loosen up with chicken/vegetable stock. Will add appropriate aromatics like herbs, jalapeno, umami (dried shitake, parmaesan rind, fish/soy sauce). Anoit with fresh herbs on top. Sometimes the leftover is better than the original meal. Mike
Though I have never tried making tacos from leftover pork loin… If you have enough, pork fried rice is my favorite usage.