Beyond Burritos: Cochinita Pibil Tacos- Once Campeon!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Cochinita Pibil Tacos- Once Campeon!

I lived in Manizales, Colombia for four years where I became a fan of Once Caldas. Last night my team won its third championship in fifty years. Though I missed out on the celebration, there was a miniature celebration in my mouth thanks to Jaquie's amazing tacos.

What better food to eat while watching your hometown soccer team win the championship of a lifetime than cochinita pibil tacos, currently my favorite food.

I first tried cochinita pibil when Jaquie brought some back frozen from Texas. She won't disclose the recipe but here's one from the food network.

First you need pork loin. After browsing every meat section of every supermarket we've visited in the past three years, we finally found pork loin. Good Luck for those who live in NYC.

The pork is roasted in the oven, shredded and cooked with achiote, orange juice and pineapple juice. The pork is then topped with habanero pepper (very spicy) and lime juice marinated onions and served on warm corn tortillas. These tacos are a wonderful delicacy. The first bite reveals the pork with it's acidic fruity essence. The onions deliver a limey spicy sting that dances with the pork to produce a joyous Mmmm.

To neutralize the heat and because avocados are just so freaking good, Jaquie mixed together some pico de gallo with avocado. My fifth and sixth tacos had this as a topping because i'm not as brave as Jaquie when it comes to habaneros.

To wash down all the great food, the beers we picked up were Mexican Tecate and Colombian Aguila to honor the tacos and my team. Five beers and Six tacos later, I was still yelling... ONCE CALDAS CAMPEON!!!