I saw this recipe for a practical, at-home cochinita pibil on Cook’s Country and had to make it. Traditionally this meal is made by slow roasting a pig wrapped in banana leaves in a pit outdoors. Since most of us don’t have any of those things, the geniuses at Cook’s Country came up with a recipe that can actually be made by any home chef. All you need in the following ingredients and a dutch oven.
Recipe: Cook’s Country Citrus-Braised Pork Tacos (original recipe here (log in may be required so here’s another recipe link); Cook’s Country video segment on the recipe can be viewed here)
One 2.5-3 lb. boneless pork butt roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup tomato paste
1.5 cups water
1 cup orange juice (or 1/4 cup frozen OJ concentrate)
3 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1.5 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
5 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
Extras & Toppings:
Tortillas
Pickled onions
Pepper jack cheese
Pineapple
Limes
Sour cream
Salsa
Any other tacos topping you like!
Start by prepping all of the veggies and the meat.
In your dutch oven heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they soften and start to turn brown. Next add the garlic and spices, and cook together for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook together for 4-5 minutes, until the tomato paste starts to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add all of the liquids and the pork. Stir to thoroughly combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, carefully place the whole dutch oven – uncovered – in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
When the pork is done, it will be perfectly browned and the sauce will be reduced by about half. You can shred up the pork with a potato masher or two forks. I like to leave in chunks though; it’s so tender, it’s going to fall apart no matter what.
Prepare your tortillas and toppings! We like pepper jack cheese, pickled onions, pineapple, and lime on these tacos but you do you.
Aren’t they pretty? Well the taste is unreal. One of my favorite recipes of all time, for sure. I can’t wait to make this again ASAP!
Domestocrat 
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