Smoked Pork Belly Tacos

Get in my belly. My pork belly.

Pork belly is magical. Smoked pork belly is magicaller. Smoked pork belly tacos are the magicallest. Costco is a good place to get pork belly when we’re not in a pandemic. Currently we are in a pandemic so, uh, do your best. They’re not widely available at grocery stores, but any butcher should be able to hook you up.

For the smoker -

• 2 lbs pork belly

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ancho chili powder

For the slow cooker -

• 3 dried guajillo peppers

• 3 dried ancho chili peppers

• 2 chipotles in adobo

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 tsp mexican oregeno

• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 15oz can chicken broth

For the tacos -

• guacamole verde -

• black bean puree - 1 can black beans (drained), 1 garlic clove, 1/2 tsp cumin, a touch of water

• chipotle crema -

• cilantro

Season the pork belly with the salt, pepper, cumin, and ancho chili powder. Set the smoker to 225 and smoke it, fat side up. Smoke the belly until it reaches an internal temp of 180. If you keep it in until it hits 200 or so it will be fall apart tender. Perhaps too tender to keep in one piece. You could do it that way and just shred the pork, but then you basically just have pulled pork. Pulled pork is awesome, but we want to keep some texture to this so it has a tad more chew. 180-185 will still be quite tender, you could go a few degrees higher, and just be very careful when you pull it out. When you get the belly out in one piece let it rest for about 20 minutes, then throw it into the fridge for several hours or overnight. What this does is it allows the meat to congeal and make it easier to slice instead of just falling apart when you slice it.

Meanwhile, prepare the black bean puree. Take the beans, garlic, cumin, and water and blend them. Put in enough water so it’s got a nice creamy consistency that you can spread easily. This would also be a good time to make the guacamole and the chipotle crema.

Take the pork out of the fridge when it’s ready. Slice it into bite sized pieces. Heat up a pan, and get it hot. Place the pork slices on the pan and sear them on both sides. Now heat up some tortillas and build the tacos. Start with a schmear or drizzle of the black bean puree. Then add the pork, the guacamole, chipotle crema, and the cilantro. If you like throw some raw white onion on as well. If your not a big black bean person you can leave it out. It’s great either way.

Eat. If you’re a beer drinker pair it with a saison or Belgian blonde. If you have neither pair it with whatever beer you have. If you don’t drink beer that’s a shame.