Tacos Árabes (Mexican Pork Tacos with Chipotle Salsa and Yogurt Sauce)

mexican-tacosarabes Tacos árabes were the original tacos made in Puebla by a wave of Middle Eastern immigrants (they came mostly from Lebanon and Iraq after World War I) who knew how to roast meat on the vertical spits used for shawarma. The meat may have started out as lamb, common in the Middle East, though that’s so far in the past that no one can corroborate it. Tacos árabes, all will tell you, are made from pork layered with onions plus Mediterranean herbs and spices, spit-roasted, shaved off and served on pan árabe (a thin version of pita) with jocoque (a fermented dairy product that’s somewhere between thick buttermilk and yogurt). It wasn’t until later that tacos árabes morphed into the now-ubiquitous, now-crazy-popular tacos al pastor, herbs and spices replaced by red-chile adobo and pita replaced by corn tortillas. Puebla offers them with the city’s iconic chipotle salsa.

Tacos árabes are, as the name suggests, "Arab" tacos and they come from the city of Puebla in Mexico. It's hard to get a crystal-clear explanation of their origins, but the basic story is that Middle Eastern immigrants* arrived in Puebla sometime around or shortly after the First World War and brought with them the shawarma-making tradition of serving thinly sliced, spit-roasted marinated lamb in pita bread.

It didn't take long, in a country already enamored of wrapping meats and other savouries in a soft corn tortilla, for the taco and the shawarma traditions to collide. The lamb quickly became pork and the classic Middle Eastern yogurt sauces were joined (and then, often, replaced by) spicy Mexican chipotle sauce. The marinade for the meat, meanwhile, remained fairly similar to the Levantine original, heavy with cumin, oregano and onions. It's hard to say whether the taco was shawarma-fied, or whether the shawarma was taco-fied - that's perhaps an existential question with no real answer - but no matter how you see it, one thing is clear: Tacos árabes would not have come into existence without both the taco and the shawarma existing first.

Pork:
2 lbs blade-end loin or sirloin pork roast, boneless (~ 1 kg)
½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. 1 lime, freshly juiced (30 mL)
1½ tsp. ground cumin (6 g)
1½ tsp. ground dried oregano, preferably Mexican (6 g)
2 tsp. sea salt (8 g)
8 oz (½ lb) sliced bacon (225 g)

Chipotle Salsa:
1 (7 oz) can chipotle chiles, in adobo sauce (200 g)
1 medium clove garlic
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar (10 mL)
1 tsp. ground dried oregano, preferably Mexican (4 g)
⅛ tsp. ground cumin (0. 5 g)
water, as needed
sea salt

Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup full-fat yogurt (240 mL)
1 Tbsp. 1 lemon or lime, freshly squeezed (15 mL)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (15 mL)
2 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, minced (6 g)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

To Serve:
8 rounds pita bread, warmed
lime wedges

For the Pork:
Using a very sharp chef's knife or slicing knife, slice pork as thinly as possible. If necessary, place meat in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm it up. Split the sides of a heavy-duty zipper-lock bag. Place one slice of meat inside bag and pound with the bottom of a heavy 8" skillet or a meat pounder until less than ¼" thick. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining meat.

Add onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano and salt to pork and toss with hands until every piece of meat is evenly coated in marinade.

Line the bottom of a disposable aluminum loaf pan with bacon. Add a layer of thin-sliced marinated pork. Continue with alternating layers of marinated pork and bacon until all the meat is used up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 36.

To Cook Indoors:
Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Uncover aluminum loaf pan and place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and cook until meat is completely tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 180°F (82°C), 2-3 hours (it will render lots of fat). Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

To Cook Outdoors:
Light half a chimney of charcoal and allow to preheat until coals are mostly covered in gray ash. Spread out under one half of coal grate and place cooking grate on top. Alternatively, set one set of burners on a gas grill to low and leave the remaining burners off. Unwrap aluminum loaf pan and place directly over cooler side of grill, placing a drip pan underneath if desired. Cover grill and cook until loaf registers 180°F in the center, about 3 hours, adding more coals to grill or adjusting burners as necessary to maintain an air temperature of around 275°F for the duration of cooking. Remove from grill, allow to cool slightly, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

For the Chipotle Salsa:
In a blender, combine chipotles and their sauce, garlic, vinegar, oregano and cumin. Add 1 cup water and blend at high speed until a smooth purée forms; add more water as necessary, 1 Tbsp. at a time, to reach a thick yet pourable consistency. Season with salt. Chipotle salsa can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

For the Yogurt Sauce:
In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, lemon or lime juice, olive oil, parsley and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Yogurt sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

To Serve:
Remove cooked meat from aluminum loaf pan, scraping off any fat or jellied juices from its sides; reserve rendered fat and juices. Using a sharp chef's knife or slicing knife, slice meat as thinly as possible to create fine shavings of meat and fat.

Transfer meat and 1 Tbsp. of fat to a large cast iron or nonstick skillet. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat crisps and browns in spots. Add any reserved juices and toss to combine, allowing juices to cook until reduced to a moist glaze. Transfer meat to a warmed serving bowl.

Serve warmed meat right away with warmed pita bread, lime wedges, chipotle salsa and yogurt sauce.

The exact number of pita rounds you'll need will depend on the size of the pita bread itself. This recipe is scaled for smaller (approximately 6") rounds. If your pita is thick and puffy, you may want to split each pita through the middle to create two thinner rounds for easier rolling around the filling.

Cook's Notes:

Thinly slicing and pounding the pork ensures that it's thin enough, without the need for a meat slicer.
Layering the pork with smoky bacon in a loaf pan simulates the flavour of charcoal-roasted meat on a spit.
A two-stage cooking process guarantees pork that's flavourful and juicy, with crispy browned spots.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving: Calories: 575 | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 42g | Protein: 43g