There is nothing quite like a taco to satisfy hunger. Tacos are one of the easiest Mexican foods everyone can prepare, and making an authentic meal from them is just as easy. Basically all one needs is the filling, some corn tortillas, a little chopped cilantro, finely chopped onions, lime or lemon slices, and your favorite salsa to give them an additional boost of flavour and spice. Simple enough, right?
Tacos are a meal I love to cook because it takes minimal effort and time to prepare, perfect for the busy days of summer. Another wonderful benefit of taco nights is that leftovers can easily be transformed into an authentic Mexican taco feast. I’ll give you some pointers for turning leftovers into tacos another time, for now we’ll be working with fresh meat.
For this taco night I used pork but chicken or turkey may also be used. I was craving tacos al pastor but didn’t have all the peppers and ingredients needed, so instead I created these. Also I was really craving a spicy meal so I opted for the chile de arbol, quite a spicy pepper. To give the meat more flavour I also added a ancho chile which gave a wonderful taste. Overall the tacos weren’t super spicy but spicy enough and quite satisfying.
Here is what the chiles I used look like and also where they can be purchased.
And now for the recipe
- 700 gms boneless pork cut into bite-size pieces, excess fat removed
- 1 dried chile Ancho
- 5 dried chiles de arbol
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 medium onion, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, optional
- olive oil or vegetable oil of choice
- corn tortillas
- finely chopped onion
- chopped cilantro
- lime or lemon wedges
- your favorite salsa
- Place pork pieces in a glass bowl and set aside. Bring a small pot of water to boil, add the dried chiles, tomato, garlic and onion and simmer over low heat. Allow the chiles to rehydrate before removing, the onion and tomato will take longer. After it has softened, remove the skin from the tomato. Place the soften onion, garlic, tomato and chiles in a blender. Add a little salt, the vinegar and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Pour the chile marinade over the pork, stir until well combined and refrigerate overnight or for at least 30 minutes.
- While the meat is marinading chop up the toppings. The next day, or after 30 minutes, heat some oil and cook marinated pork until cooked through. Serve with corn tortillas, finely chopped onion and cilantro, lime or lemon wedges and your favorite salsa.
-- Instead of pork, chicken or turkey may be used.
-- Chiles de arbol are very spicy, make milder by cutting down and adding another chile ancho -- which is very mild.
-- The sauce marinade tastes wonderful and it can also be used for other cooking purposes.
If you’d like to make it a complete feast serve with my Mexican green beans recipe and wash it down with an agua fresca.
Delicioso to the last bite!
For dessert we had this golden watermelon. When I saw it at the green grocers I was so intrigued to see a melon that look exactly like watermelon on the outside, and on the inside it was yellow instead of red. I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted exactly like the red variety.
Happy Tuesday amigos, I hope you make it a taco night tonight.
Tacos taste so good and yours look fabulous! A wonderful summer dish.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks so much Rosa!
I could pick one right off the screen..Super photos.
Thanks Monique!
OH, that looks wonderful!
Thank you Arthur!
Is there anything better than a taco–of any type? These look divine!
I think not, but I could be biased. Thanks Victoria:)
Chicken tacos would be so good, love your clicks.
Thanks Ash, chicken would be a great variation.
All I can think right now is… I want that for dinner now!! You plate tacos beautifully…. I still have trouble making them look pretty on a plate.
I wish I could send you a few for your dinner. Thanks Ramona!:)
I couldn’t agree more. I love a good taco and these look and sound HEAVENLY. Now to go to the store so I can create these at home! Thank you for sharing!!
Glad you agree, Monet. Enjoy your tacos.:)
Tacos are one of my favorite foods, love them! Your photos look beautiful :)
Glad to hear it, Ann. Thanks so much!:)
G’day and drool-worthy Nancy, true!
Love Mexican chilis and your photos (as always) are STUNNING too!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks so much Joanne!
These tacos look mouth-watering, I love the flavors in your marinade!
Thank you Laura!
Oh goodie goodie! Another recipe with chile de arbol! Diaz Farms sent me 8 ounces so I have A LOT! I love the spicy marinade for the pork and all of your toppings, in fact I’m thinking that the paste I posted this week could be used in place of the dried peppers, speeding up the process even more. The flavors in this taco already have my mouth watering. Thanks for these great tacos!
Wow, that’s a lot of chilis! Yes I thin your chili paste would be wonderful for tacos. Enjoy and thanks, MJ!:)
Funny, I just made braised ancho chicken (intended for tacos, but ended up on top of a salad) today. Your tacos look much better though! :)
Yummy, your salad sounds great. Thanks Susan!:)
spicy tacos with such a punch from the chile…excellent, scrumptious to the core :-)
Thanks so much Kumar!
Gorgeous tacos! Pinning it to my boards. And what a lovely dessert: golden melon!
Thanks so much Julia, I saw your pin too — much appreciated.:)
I love me some tacos and these look so amazingly good!
Glad to hear it Deanna, and thank you:)
Hi Nancy, I never get tired of tacos and these look delicious! The chilis provide such great heat and flavor. Great post!
We are the same Bill. Thanks!:)
Tacos are one of my favorite foods ever and I love the two types of peppers you used. I always thought your photos were amazing, but that one with you holding the taco, oh yeah. I’m slowly fighting back from my chaotic summer. I’m ready to start spending more time in the kitchen and tacos are up there at the top of the list. Hope you still have good weather there and that you are enjoying your summer.
Hugs,
-Gina-
p.s. Your little star thing wouldn’t let me check five for some reason. This is totally five star.
I think it would be difficult to find someone that doesn’t like tacos. Thanks so much my sweet amiga.:) I’m glad you’re starting to make your way back from the chaos. Sorry about the star thingy, and thanks. Hugs back!:)
Hi Nancy, I love your tacos, it look extremely good. Thank you for sharing your awesome recipe. Excellent pictures. :)
Have a nice day.
Hi Amelia! Thanks so much and you too have a great day.:)
I love tacos! Any filling, hard shell or soft (though given my preference, soft, please). Nice flavor in these (although is it possible to have a taco that doesn’t have nice flavor? But these look exceptional). Good stuff – thanks.
Thanks John, hope you enjoy some tacos soon.
Dinner to dessert, yours looks like perfection. I’m so very intrigued by the golden watermelon now and I’m loooving your spiced pork, fabulous treatment!!!
Thanks, I hope you can find it. Though it tastes the same it was a fun food to eat.
I am so hungry now Nancy-)) Love spicy food! Golden watermelons are the best, I planted them in my garden this year, will see-))
Hugs,
Yelena
I’m glad you love spicy food, Yelena. Can’t wait to see your homegrown watermelons. Thanks, hugs back:)
I love all the herbage you used!
Thanks!:)
I know that tacos are a meal but for me they look like a small cute sandwiches :)
They are like sandwiches, thanks Marta.:)
Nancy… I love your Mexican recipes. This will definitely be one I want to make . Well golden watermelon thats new to me. It looks like a cross between watermelon and another fruit???. What do you think?
Thanks, Tania and I hope you do try them sometime. The watermelon was also new to me. But I’m not sure if it is a cross, the name at the shop was watermelon and it did taste just like regular red varieties. I’m not sure.
It’s a beautiful dish
Thank you!
Nancy, these tacos look delicious! I love the marinade…so flavorful!
Awesome pictures…
Hope you are having a fun week :D
Thanks so much, Juliana. Have a great weekend:)
You could put Taco Bell out of business! I’ve had yellow watermelon and it is great.
Lol! It seems to be rare from what I’ve gathered in the comments.
I’ve been really loving Mexican food lately but haven’t cooked it much at home. Thanks for sharing these amazing looking tacos.
My husband sent me a link for these tacos and the are marinating as we speak! The marinade tasted great, can’t wait for him to get home so we can chow down!
Cheers!