Jerk pork tacos with corn and pineapple salsa
Slow-cooked, tender pulled pork is served with a spicy salsa for a flavour-packed dinner.
Ingredients
For the jerk marinade
- 8 tsp allspice berries, toasted
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken into shards and toasted
- 2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
- 4 tsp thyme leaves
- 8 spring onions, roughly chopped
- ½–1 Scotch bonnet chilli, seeds removed
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp grated nutmeg
- ½ thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 6 tbsp demerara sugar
- 2 limes, juice only
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 4 tsp vegetable oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the jerk pork
- jerk marinade (see above), 2 tbsp reserved
- 4 tbsp tomato purée
- 1.5kg-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 8oz pork shoulder, skinless and boneless, slashed a few times with a sharp knife
- 2 oranges, juice only
- 2 tbsp very dark maple syrup
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pickled onion
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ Scotch bonnet chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- 3 limes, juice only
- pinch salt
For the jerk aïoli
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 115ml/3¾fl oz olive oil
- 1 heaped tbsp jerk marinade (see above)
- 1 lemon, juice only
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salsa
- 2 corncobs
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 spring onions, trimmed
- ½ red pepper, finely diced
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú pineapple, chopped
- pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp finely snipped fresh chives
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley leaves
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Method
To make the marinade, place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until it forms a fairly smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the jerk pork, mix all but 2 heaped tablespoons of the jerk marinade and the tomato purée in a small bowl. Massage into the pork and, if possible, leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. Set aside the remaining 2 tablespoons of the marinade.
When ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2. Place the pork in a deep baking dish, pour in the orange juice and cover with kitchen foil, ensuring that it is sealed at the edges of the dish but tents over and does not touch the pork. Roast for 5–7 hours, until the meat is falling apart. Check now and again to make sure the dish has not dried out and top up with orange juice if needed.
Increase the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Remove the foil, brush the pork with the maple syrup and continue to cook for another 30 minutes, until crispy and sticky. Remove any fatty bits of meat, then use a fork to pull the pork apart. Mix in another tablespoon of the jerk marinade and season with salt and pepper. Reserve the remaining marinade.
To make the pickled onion, place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and leave to infuse.
To make the jerk aïoli, mix the egg yolk, mustard and garlic together in a bowl. Very gradually whisk in the oil, making sure each drop is fully incorporated before adding more. Add the jerk marinade and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
To make the salsa, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Rub the corncobs with the rapeseed oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place the corn on the griddle pan and cook for 7 minutes, turning regularly to ensure that the charring is even. Place the corncobs in a bowl and cover for 5 minutes to allow the corn to tenderise.
Meanwhile, place the spring onions on the hot griddle pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until charred, turning half way through. Finely chop the charred spring onion and add to a serving bowl, along with the red pepper and pineapple.
Stand the corncobs on their ends and, using a knife, carefully slice down the ear to carve the kernels away. Add the kernels to the pepper mixture. Separate any connected kernels then add the cayenne pepper, olive oil and lime juice and mix well. Scatter over the herbs and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, heat the tortillas in a hot dry frying pan until warm and darkened spots appear on both sides. Add some of the jerk pork (any leftover pork can be used in another recipe) to each tortilla. Add the salsa, drizzle generously with the aïoli and top with the pickled onion, micro coriander sprigs and toasted peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.
