Cocina los Jarritos!

I'm planning on doing some cabrito tacos next week and decided I'd have some for lunch today to serve as a jumping off point, since I haven't had them in a long time I wanted to see what other people were doing when it came to putting goat meat on tortillas, so I swung by Perico's 290 at Mangum, only to find that the promised I was told about the menu not changing when they changed their name from Arandas were actually vicious lies, so no cabrito was to be had.

With a heavy heart I ventured out into the wilds, indecisive about where to eat. I considered having some pupusas at La Playita at 3406 Mangum, but decided to wait on going back there until I could take some company with me. In the end, I decided to try Cocina los Jarritos, which had recently opened in the NW Mall's food court.

Frankly, I did not have much hope for any food coming out of a food court that wasn't prepared by the good folks at Chik fil'A, but I figured it was worth trying out if only for the sake of the coworker who had first mentioned this new source for tacos and had solicited my opinion.

I decided to try their al pastor tacos to see if they lived up to or exceeded my own version, as well as some rice and beans. The tacos were very reasonably priced at $ 1.35 per, and the rice and beans were each $ 1.00 for a 4 oz. serving. I was offered the option of having my tacos dressed with either lettuce and tomato or cilantro and onion, and of course I went with the cilantro and onion because that is how I roll.

I was really impressed with the rice and beans. I think it's safe to say that the beans were some of the most flavorful refried beans I've ever gotten from a taco joint. They had a rich, deep flavor that was quite remarkable. The rice was just fine stirred up into my beans, just as I've eaten them since I was about four years old.

The tacos were not a complete disappointment, I suppose; unlike so many other "al pastor" tacos I've been served over the years, these actually had pineapple in them! (I'm of the opinion that al pastor tacos served without pineapple are not al pastor tacos at all.) Unfortunately, practically everything else about them was a let-down. As you can see in the picture below, the meat was cooked in a very bright red chili sauce, but unfortunately that chili sauce had strong, distracting bitter notes and was overly greasy.

The sample of fajita meat the man at the counter handed me as I walked up to order was quite good. In retrospect, I probably should have ordered fajita tacos instead. I don't understand why it's so hard to get good tacos al pastor around here, but I suppose that I should be thankful. It was eating another al pastor taco just like like these that finally prompted me to learn to make my own and to make them properly.

The available red sauce had a good, smoky flavor but also had quite a bit of unexpected sweetness. I guess they must have put sugar in it. It would have been excellent if not for that. Their green sauce was a smooth, creamy green variety that I am not a huge fan of.

I guess, in the end, I really can't recommend Cocina los Jarrito's tacos al pastor, but their fajita tacos might be worth a try, especially with another side of those rice and beans.

Does anyone know who else is offering up cabrito near the 610/290 interchange?

Tacos al Pastor!

The first tacos I ever ate in my life were prepared by my mother using a pound of ground beef and a package of McCormick's taco seasoning mix. These were served on crispy taco shells with refried beans, lettuce, cheese, and diced tomato. A jar of mild Pace picante sauce was available for the daring! Taco Bell will sell you an inferior version of this right now for around, as I recall, sixty cents.

Now, I'm still a fan of this style of taco. I mean, not only did I grow up eating them, they're also objectively delicious. I make this style of taco a few times a year when I'm feeling particularly lazy, but when I'm really in the mood to exert myself, I'll whip up some tacos al pastor.

To hear Wikipedia tell it, al pastor tacos were invented in Mexico City and were derived from the shawarma brought over by Lebanese immigrants. Like shawarma, proper al pastor tacos are cooked on a vertical rotisserie or trompo, but unfortunately I don't own one so please bear with me if I take some liberties.

To turn a 2.5 pound Boston butt roast into delicious al pastor tacos, I start with about ten or fifteen guajillo chiles, which you should be able to get at most Houston area supermarkets. I remove the seeds from them, chop them up, and simmer them in about a cup and a half of water and a tablespoon of vinegar. After about ten or twenty minutes (I'm horrible with time) they will absorb most of the liquid and plump up nicely:



The next step is to toss in some garlic, salt, and pepper and then whack it with a stick blender to make a thick marinade:



The marinade is then mixed with the pork, which is diced into ~.5 inch chunks:



Afterwards, you can let it sit overnight or however long you want to, but according to the good folks at America's Test Kitchen, marinating doesn't actually work very well, so if you're really hungry go ahead and throw some of the sauced-up pork in a hot pan and toss in some pineapple chunks and about 2 tablespoons or so of pineapple juice and cook through:



When the pineapple juice has pretty much cooked down to nothing, transfer the meat and pineapple chunks to a tortilla and top with cheese. I suggest queso fresco. Place the taco on a cookie sheet or pie tin or what-have-you and broil it until the cheese is melty. Next, garnish with cilantro, onion, and tomatillo salsa. Serve with lime wedges on the side and enjoy!





Here's the formal recipe. Please note that I hardly ever work from recipes when I'm cooking so if the measurements are a little off I'm sorry. I'll take careful notes the next time I prepare this and update the post if necessary, but if you're not completely clueless in the kitchen you should be able to pull these off even if I'm a little low or high on the amount of water to use, etc.

Tacos al Pastor

2.5 lbs Boston butt pork roast, cut into little chunks
10-15 guajillo chiles, de-seeded and rough chopped
1.5 c. water
1 tbsp. white vinegar
6 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
corn or flour tortillas
cilantro, chopped
white onion, fine dice
limes, cut into wedges
1 can (18 oz?) pineapple chunks in juice
cheese (queso fresco or your choice)
your favorite salsa

Place the chiles in a sauce pan with the water and vinegar. Cover and simmer for 10-20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Add the garlic and blend with a stick blender to form a thick marinade/sauce. Combine the meat and marinade and mix well so that the meat is covered evenly and allow to refrigerate overnight*.

To prepare, place 1 cup of meat/sauce mixture in a saute pan and add 1/4 cup of pineapple chunks and 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Saute until pork is cooked through and pineapple juice is reduced and thickened well.

Transfer the meat and pineapple mixture to tortillas and top with cheese. Broil until cheese is melted, then top with cilantro, onion, and salsa. Serve with lime wedges on the side, one wedge per taco.

* This step is optional.