A Pork Taco That Will Make You Re-Think Your Taco Philosophy : Grilled Pork Belly Tacos

Grilled Pork Belly Taco

Pork Belly is a delicious and underrated cut of pork. Americans are used to pork bellies primarily in the form of bacon. Everyone loves it, so why mess with a good thing? But what if I told you that your bacon could become the main component of your dish? Pork bellies are widely used in Asian cuisine and they are now starting to hit the mainstream food world. Howard County, MD has a very large Korean community. Consequently, I’ve been lucky enough to experience some great Korean food.

If you go to a Korean BBQ place, a fail safe is always the spicy pork belly dish. It’s my favorite, it has a sweet, garlicky, salty flavor to go along with a spicy flavor that isn’t so overpowering you can’t eat it. I’ve had this at cookouts, too, and it never fails to impress me. If you are in Maryland I would recommend Shin Chon or Honey Pig in Howard County.

Where can I get sliced pork belly?

You can get it in just about any Asian supermarket. It’s widely available. You can also get whole pork belly there. If you have access to a real butcher, you can probably ask them for some also. I’m sure that would be the best quality. Whole Foods sells pork belly also.

Why are you making a taco?

I’m making a taco because sometimes having rice with an Asian dish can make it slightly heavier. Also, I feel like the flour tortilla of a taco won’t overpower the main component of the dish. Instead it will help serve as a tasty vessel for your pork express (who doesn’t love flowery pork writing?).

Do I have to grill the pork bellies?

No, but I think grilling them adds a really nice smokey flavor to the meat. You have to be careful since the high fat content of the pork bellies will cause the flames to flame up. You’ll want to cook them on the cooler side of your grill to avoid the flames as best as you can. Also, because of the sugar in your marinade you want to prevent the burning of the sugar on your meat as best you can. Some will occur, but if you are not careful you will just taste burnt sugar and that’s no fun for anyone.

Recipe – Grilled Pork Belly Taco

Ingredients

Marinade

My Korean-American friends swear by making the Spicy Korean BBQ Sauce a part of your marinade. And I’m no expert on Korean food, so I listen to the experts.

If you don’t want to use that sauce (it has some unhealthy ingredients) You can try this as well to replicate it. Which I did today.

1/2 Asian Pear Shredded

1 Tbsp. of Red Chilli Paste

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1  Head of Garlic Crushed

1/4 Cup Rice Wine

2 Tbsp. Shredded Ginger

2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce

Taco

2 Packages of Sliced Pork Belly

Flour Tortillas

1/2 Cup Red Cabbage

Taco Sauce

1 Tbsp.  Mayo

1 Tsp. Soy Sauce

1 Tsp. Sugar

Method

Mix together your marinade ingredients, put your pork belly in a plastic Ziploc or bowl and add your marinade. Put in the refrigerator and let this marinate for 2-3 hours.

If you are using the store bought sauce. Do the same thing, put the pork belly in the Ziploc or bowl and add the sauce.

Mix your red cabbage and your taco sauce together, to make a slaw. Save to add onto your taco.

Set up your grill, make sure the heat is nice and hot. I used my cast iron on the grill to avoid burning my pork bellies, you can put it directly on the grill as well. I did both. I found that actually using a hybrid of both is the best method.

I like to start the pork bellies on the cast iron skillet and then I move them over to the grill side to get some nice grill marks on the meat. By cooking it in the cast iron a lot of the grease goes in there rather than into your fire. That grease creates lots of flames which can burn your meat. This method worked great.

Grease your tortillas with some olive oil and heat up on a hot pan so they puff up. Be sure to not burn them.

Plate your tacos and enjoy!

Enjoy!

[nutrition-label id=722]