For the ultimate Wahaca feast, you can now recreate our famous pork pibil tacos at home. This iconic dish has been on our menu since day one and is one of Thomasina Miers favourite Mexican street food recipes. It takes a little time, so a perfect recipe for a slow day at home (as if you were doing anything else right now?) and needs a few ingredients that may need some searching at the back of your spice rack. Or check out coolchile.co.uk for online deliveries.
Time: 3 ½ – 4 hours + overnight marinating
Ingredients
Serves 5 (and great for freezing)
For the marinade:
1tsp allspice berries
2tsp ground cumin seeds
½tsp cloves
1tsp peppercorns
100g achiote paste
3tbsp cider vinegar
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
large bunch of fresh oregano or 1tsp dried oregano
3 fresh bay leaves
2tbsp sea salt
3tbsp olive oil
juice of 6 oranges (about 450ml)
For the pork:
1.5kg neck of pork, cut into a few large pieces
1 habañero or Scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
25g butter
Method
To make the marinade, warm the spices in a dry frying pan for a few minutes then grind to a fine powder. Place in a blender with the achiote paste, vinegar, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and olive oil and pulse to start breaking up the achiote. Slowly pour in the orange juice with the motor running to get a smooth paste. Pour about a third of the marinade over the pork, ensuring it is thoroughly coated. Refrigerate overnight. Freeze the remaining marinade or keep it fresh for a week in the fridge (and try it with something else, like barbecued chicken).
When you’re ready to cook., preheat oven to 130C/266F/gas 1. Transfer the pork and its marinade to a large casserole dish and add chopped chilli and butter. Bring to a simmer, cover with foil and a tight-fitting lid and cook slowly for 3-4 hours until the pork is soft and falling apart. Serve chunks of pork in deep bowls with rice or steamed potatoes, lots of sauce and piles of pink pickled onions on top.
