Tacos de Poc Chuc

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy meat mallet or the flat side of a chef's knife
• •Charcoal or wood grill (cast iron comal as a last resort)
• •Cast iron comal for charring vegetables and warming tortillas
• •Molcajete or blender for the chiltomate
• •Tongs for the grill

Instructions

1. 1

   Butterfly the pork

   Lay each piece of pork between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound lightly with the flat side of a heavy knife or a meat mallet until each slice is about a quarter inch thick. Thin and even. The poc chuc cooks fast over hot fire, and uneven slices will be raw in the middle and dry at the edges. This is a quick-grill dish, not a slow-roast dish. The thinness is the technique.

   Ask your butcher for pierna de cerdo cut into thin steaks if you can. The leg is leaner and takes the marinade beautifully. Shoulder works, but trim the heaviest fat caps before pounding.
2. 2

   Make the marinade

   In a bowl, combine the cup of naranja agria juice with the crushed garlic, oregano yucateco, ground allspice, black pepper, and salt. Whisk together. The naranja agria is the soul of this marinade. It is not orange juice and it is not lime juice. It is the bitter orange that grows in Yucatecan patios, and its perfume is what makes poc chuc taste like poc chuc. If you cannot find it, the orange-lime-vinegar mix gets you close, but tell yourself the truth: it is a compromise, not an upgrade.

3. 3

   Marinate the pork

   Lay the pounded pork in a shallow dish or a heavy zip-top bag. Pour the marinade over the meat and turn each piece so it is fully bathed. Refrigerate for at least four hours, and up to overnight. Less than four hours and the naranja agria has not done its work. More than twelve and the acid starts to break down the proteins past the point you want. Four to eight hours is the window the Yucatecan cooks I trust hold to.

4. 4

   Cure the pickled red onion

   While the pork marinates, place the sliced red onion in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the slices, let them sit for 30 seconds, then drain. This blanching takes the raw bite off without cooking the onion. Return to the bowl and add the half cup of naranja agria, salt, and oregano. Toss well and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour. The onions will turn bright magenta. This is the cebolla morada en escabeche that goes on top of every taco in Mérida.

   The pickled onion keeps in the refrigerator for two weeks and gets better after the first day. Make a double batch. You will use it on cochinita, on panuchos, on salbutes, on eggs.
5. 5

   Make the chiltomate

   Heat a dry comal over medium-high. Char the tomatoes, white onion halves, garlic cloves, and the whole habanero on the comal, turning often. The tomato skins should blister and blacken in patches. The onion should be marked dark on the cut sides. The habanero should be marked but not collapsed. About eight to ten minutes total. Pull each item off as it is ready. Peel the garlic. Pull the stem off the habanero. Transfer everything to a molcajete or a blender and grind or pulse to a chunky salsa with the salt. This is chiltomate. Tomato and chile and char. That is all. Yucatecan salsas do not need ten ingredients.

6. 6

   Build the fire

   Light a charcoal grill or a wood fire and let it burn down to glowing embers with a fine layer of white ash. You want a hot fire, not a flaming one. Poc chuc literally means slow-burned charcoal in Maya, and the dish takes its name from the technique. The pork should kiss the embers and char in seconds, not roast slowly over indirect heat. If you must use gas, set it as hot as it will go. If you can cook over wood, do.

7. 7

   Grill the poc chuc

   Lift the pork slices out of the marinade and let the excess drip off. Brush each piece lightly with the melted manteca de cerdo. Lay the slices directly on the hot grate. They should hiss and sear instantly. Grill for about 90 seconds per side. The edges should char and curl. The meat should still be juicy at the center. Total cooking time per slice is two to three minutes. If you cook poc chuc longer than that, you have made a different, sadder dish. La manteca es el sabor and the char is the technique.

8. 8

   Rest and slice

   Move the grilled pork to a wooden cutting board and let it rest for three minutes. Then slice across the grain into thin strips. Pour any juices that have pooled on the cutting board back over the meat. Those juices are not garbage. They are the dressing.

9. 9

   Warm the tortillas

   On the same hot comal you used for the chiltomate, warm the corn tortillas in batches. Twenty seconds per side. They should puff slightly and pick up a few brown spots. Wrap them in a clean cotton servilleta as they come off the comal so they steam each other warm and pliable. Use hand-pressed corn tortillas. Flour tortillas have no place at this table.

10. 10

    Build the tacos at the table

    Set the sliced poc chuc, the chiltomate, the pickled red onion, the sliced habanero, the lime wedges, and the cilantro out at the table in small dishes. Each person builds their own taco: a warm tortilla, a few strips of pork, a spoonful of chiltomate, a tangle of pickled onion, and habanero if they dare. Squeeze of lime at the end. Eat immediately. Poc chuc waits for nobody. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Naranja agria is the dish. If you live somewhere with a Mexican or Caribbean market, ask for it by name. The Cubans call it naranja agria too and use it in their mojo. If you cannot find it fresh, look for bottled naranja agria from Yucatán in the international aisle. The orange-lime-vinegar substitute is a compromise, not an upgrade. Tell yourself the truth.
• •Oregano yucateco is not the same as the Mexican oregano you find on the central plateau. It is more floral and more sharp. If you can find it at a Yucatecan market or specialty store, use it. If not, regular Mexican oregano works, but it is another step away from the real thing.
• •Do not skip the cebolla morada. The pickled red onion is not a garnish, it is half the dish. It cuts the richness of the charred pork and ties everything to the Peninsula's flavor signature.
• •If you cannot grill over wood or charcoal, get your cast iron pan or comal as hot as your kitchen will allow before the pork touches it. The char is the whole point. A lukewarm pan steams the meat and you have made nothing.

Advance Preparation

• •The pickled red onion can be made up to two weeks ahead and lives in the refrigerator. It gets better after the first day.
• •The chiltomate can be made one day ahead and refrigerated, but the flavor is brightest within a few hours of charring the tomatoes.
• •The pork marinates for at least four hours and up to overnight. Plan the morning for the marinade and the evening for the fire.
• •Once cooked, poc chuc does not keep. It is a hot-off-the-fire dish. Cook only what you will eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)