Pork belly tacos are easy to make and are deliciously different from other tacos.
Let me begin by saying that I live in Austin, TX and tacos are huge here. Therefore, I eat a LOT of tacos. Pork belly tacos are great because they are so different every other taco that I have ever had. It’s like really delicious seasoned thick cut bacon that melts in your mouth. That makes sense because pork belly is what is used to make bacon. One pork belly goes a long way and can easily make 100 tacos. But if you don’t need that many tacos, cut the pork belly in half and make homemade smoked bacon out the other half. A link to that recipe is down below.
Prepare the Pork Belly
A pork belly does not need to be trimmed. In fact, the fat cap is essential to pork belly tacos. Score the fatty side of the pork belly with a knife, about 1/4″ deep in a crosshatch pattern 1″ apart.
Rub a tablespoon of kosher salt onto the fat and turn the pork belly over. Rub another tablespoon of kosher salt on the other side. Place the pork belly in a non-reactive pan (like glass), and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Important: Do NOT use foil. The salt will eat right though the foil and will leave disgusting blotches of corroded aluminum goo all over your pork belly. I know this because I have made this mistake, more than once.
The next day, preheat the oven to 325°. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up a bit.
Mix Up the Annotto Paste
This step is where a lot of flavor comes from. Grind the garlic, annotto paste, oregano and lime juice in a molcajete or food processor. Add more lime juice as necessary to form a paste. Place the pork belly in a large pan, preferably on a roasting rack. Rub the paste onto both side of the pork belly.
Bake the Pork Belly
Position the pork belly fat side up in the roasting pan. Add the minced onion and peppers to the pan, partially on top of the pork belly. Sprinkle cumin over the pork belly.
Cover with a piece of parchment paper and bake for four hours.
After four hours, remove the pork belly from the oven, allow it to cool, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. This step is important to help to the pork belly set before slicing.
Make Some Pork Belly Tacos
The next day, slice 1/4″ strips from the pork belly and cut each strip in half.
Pan fry the cut strips in a pan with olive oil until slightly crispy (about 10 minutes). Turn the pork belly slices over three times.
Heat canola oil in a large pot to 350°. Cook thin yellow corn tortillas in the hot oil (using taco tongs) until done (about 30-45 seconds).
Load crisp pork belly into the shells and add your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Great Side Dishes to Serve With Pork Belly Tacos
- Smoked Charro Beans
- Kicked Up Refried Beans
- Carnitas Empanadas
- Texas Style Creamed Corn with Poblano Peppers
Here is the Link to Homemade Smoked Bacon
Watch How to Make Pork Belly Tacos on YouTube
Pork Belly Tacos
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp kosher salt divided
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 lbs pork belly
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3.5 oz annotto paste
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 2 jalapeno peppers sliced
- 2 serrano peppers sliced (optional)
- 1/4 orange juice
- 12 oz braising liquid water or your favorite braising liquid
- 2 tbs Canola oil
Instructions
- Score the fatty side of the pork belly with a knife, about 1/4" deep in a crosshatch pattern 1" apart.
- Rub 1 tbs kosher salt onto the fat and turn over. Rub 1 tbs of kosher salt on the other side. Place in a non-reactive pan (like glass), cover with plastic wrap (NOT FOIL) and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 325°. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and allow to warm up a bit. Grind the garlic, annotto paste, oregano and lime juice in a molcajete or food processor. Add more lime juice as necessary to form a paste. Place the pork belly in a large pan, preferably on a roasting rack. Rub the paste onto both side of the pork belly.
- Position the pork belly fat side up. Add minced onion, peppers to the pan, partially on top of the pork belly. Sprinkle cumin over the pork belly. Cover with a piece of parchment paper or cover the pan with aluminum foil. IMPORTANT: Do not let the foil come in contact with the pork belly. The salt will corrode the aluminum and make a mess on the pork belly. Cook for 4 hours. Allow to cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, slice 1/4" strips from the pork belly and cut each strip in half.
- Pan fry the cut strips in a fry pan with olive oil until slightly crispy (about 10 minutes). Turn three times.
- Heat canola oil in a large pot to 350°. Cook thin yellow corn tortillas in the hot oil (using taco tongs) until done (about 30-45 seconds).
- Load crisp pork belly into the shells and add your favorite toppings. Enjoy!