I don't know why pork tacos wouldn't be savory, I just think it sounds nice. What really makes these tacos amazing is the salsa I invented, but I thought the rest of the taco was worth mentioning as well. I like to buy pork shoulders because they are very inexpensive and best made in the crock pot, one of my favorite appliances. This requires a little planning ahead, but the outcome is well worth it.
In to the crock pot put the following ingredients:
pork shoulder
enough beef broth to cover or almost cover the meat
quite a bit of:
salt
cumin
red pepper flakes
garlic powder
onion powder
ground coriander
dried oregano
Turn on the pot and go to work, or stay home and enjoy the smell of simmering meat all day.
When it comes time for dinner, heat the oven to about 375. Place 2 corn tortillas in a tinfoil pouch sealed on all ends (2 tortillas per person) and put in the oven to warm for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Make the salsa, which I'm naming Anna's Amazing Salsa (because it is really, really amazing):
Chop the following into small pieces (think salsa sized):
Red apple (Fuji, Gala or Honey Crisp would all be nice)
Tomato
Orange Bell Pepper (red, green or yellow would all work)
One Scallion
some Jalapeno
a pinch of salt
some lemon and lime juice
Toss together and try not to eat it all with tortilla chips before dinner.
To assemble the tacos, remove the tortillas from their pouches and top with some shredded pork, salsa and a little bit of sour cream. You can also add avocado or cheese or lettuce...whatever you like.
These tacos are great with a side of beans and rice.
Pork Tenderloin is one of the easiest meats to make. It's all about the marinade and cooking it to the perfect medium-rare temperature. Here is my go to recipe for pork tenderloin.
Place the tenderloin in a large zip lock bag with the following (as usual I don't measure anything):
soy sauce,
a little peanut oil,
fresh or dried ginger powder,
fresh or dried garlic powder,
onion powder,
as much Sriracha sauce as you like
Place this in the fridge all day so the marinade can really get in the pork. You can even do this a day or two ahead of time. If you're like me, you'll get the pork ready and then not want pork for dinner, so you leave it for the next night....then that next night rolls around and you still don't want pork but you force yourself to make it anyway. It's so delicious that you can't believe you ate pizza the night before, what were you thinking?!
Preheat oven to 425.
Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray. I have no idea if this is really a broiler pan or not, but it's the kind of deep dish pan with a rack that sits on top with holes in it. You put the pork tenderloin on this rack. Be sure to spray the rack when it's in place on the pan so that the bottom of the pan gets sprayed as well. Because the juices from the pork drip down onto this pan while cooking, they can easily burn on the bottom and you'll have a hell of a time scraping this junk off...so if you hit it with a little cooking spray, it makes your life a lot easier. Aaaaaanyway.... remove the pork from the marinade and place it on the rack while the oven is heating up. When ready, stick it in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. This is a great time to start some rice pilaf because they take about the same amount of time to cook. After 25 minutes, check the temperature with a thermometer. The temp should be about 135 - 140. I believe the correct temp for pork is 145 but in my opinion that is too done. Remove the pork (if ready) from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Let rest for at least 5 minutes! Don't even think about touching this pork before 5 minutes. Then slice into about 1/2 inch thick slices at a slight angle (for looks) and you should have perfect, juicy pork tenderloin.
I always like to serve this with rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables. I've been adding a dash of toasted sesame seeds to my veggies right before they are done cooking, it adds that extra little something that makes them better in some way.
I read somewhere that you should cook salmon at a lower temperature for a longer period of time because it helps to melt the fats, distributing them throughout the fish and creating a tender, juicy, delicious dinner. So I tried this, and it worked.
Preheat oven to 375.
Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Coat both sides (skin side and non-skin side) of a salmon fillet with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cajun seasoning if you have it. I have no idea what is in this cajun seasoning my dad whipped up, but I use it on everything to give just a little kick.
Place the salmon in the baking dish, skin side down. Top with a few dollops of butter and stick it in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until opaque. Be careful with this opaque business though. If you buy salmon that has been farm raised, it is going to be much more pink that wild salmon, because they put pink stuff in it to make it look..well...pink. So when you cook it it's going to retain that pink color, instead of wild salmon that becomes less pink when cooked because you can see the fat melt throughout the fish and it becomes opaque. I learned this lesson the hard way and totally over cooked some salmon one time that I didn't know was farm raised. Just to be on the safe side, and if you want to eat better salmon (or anything) buy the wild stuff. It's a little more expensive, but you want to put good stuff in your body, so buck up and pay for it.
When it's done I like to transfer the salmon to a cutting board and use a spatula to remove the skin before putting it on plates. Just insert the spatula between the skin and flesh and slide it right on through, it's really easy when the fish is cooked. It's a nightmare to remove the skin before the salmon is cooked.
Enjoy with a nice salad or sauteed veggies.
