Pork pineapple tacos

Nothing says summer like barbecued pork tacos and a fresh salsa made with sweet pineapples and juicy tomatoes.

Credit: Bondi Harvest

• serves

  8

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

You can leave out the curing part of the recipe to save time, if you prefer, though it does add great flavour.

 

Ingredients

• 2 kg (4 lb /8 oz) piece pork belly, rind removed
• 24 soft corn tortillas, warmed

Curing mix

• 290 g (10 oz/1 cup) sea salt
• 220 g (8 oz/1 cup) sugar
• 2 lemon myrtle leaves
• 1 lemon, finely zested
• 1 orange, finely zested
• 1 lime, finely zested
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp fennel seeds

Mojo marinade 

• ½ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2 oranges, juiced 
• 3 limes, juiced
• ½ cup mint leaves, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/ ½ cup) olive oil

Salsa

• 1 pineapple, kept whole but skin removed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum (pepper), diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 avocados, diced
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup mint leaves

Curing time: 12 hours

Marinating time: 12 hours

Resting time: 20 minutes

Instructions

For the curing mix, combine all the ingredients in a shallow non-metallic dish. Add the pork belly and massage with the curing mix until it’s completely covered. Place in the fridge for 12 hours. 

Wash under cold water to remove the curing mix then return the pork to the cleaned dish. For the marinade, mix the coriander, citrus juices, mint, garlic, cumin, chilli and olive oil and pour over the pork. Refrigerate for another 12 hours. 

Preheat the BBQ grill plate to medium heat. Take the pork from the marinade and pat dry with paper towel. Place onto the BBQ and cook for 50–60 minutes, turning and moving every 5 minutes to create an even caramelised crust.

When the pork begins to flake and fall apart remove from the BBQ. Wrap it in foil and then a damp clean tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving. For the salsa, place the whole pineapple onto the BBQ and cook for 20 minutes, constantly moving and turning until soft and caramelised on all sides. Cool slightly then dice into 1cm (½ inch) cubes. 

Mix the pineapple, garlic, chilli, capsicum, onion, avocado, tomato and mint together. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the tortillas. Serve the pork and salsa wrapped in the warm tortillas.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

You can leave out the curing part of the recipe to save time, if you prefer, though it does add great flavour.