Sunday, November 15, 2015

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Al Pastor with Avocado Crema

I am an avid watcher of the Food Network show, The Kitchen.  I watched one last week and Jeff Mauro made this delicious Pork Loin and when I found one in my freezer, I decided to make Grilled Pork Tenderloin Al Pastor with Avocado Crema.

It was a little hard to find the Achiote Paste, but my local Tienda carried it.  The flavor of the meat was delicious, for sure it will be a part of my rotation.



1 cup pineapple juice
One 1-ounce package achiote paste
4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic
Kosher salt
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 pounds each, trimmed of silver skin
Neutral oil, for oiling the grill grates and drizzling
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into 1-inch rounds
Freshly ground black pepper
Avocado Crema, recipe follows
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Avocado Crema:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup Mexican cream or sour cream
1 avocado, chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Add the pineapple juice, achiote paste, chipotles, garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a food processor and puree until uniform. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the marinade for glazing. Put the remaining marinade and the pork in a resealable plastic bag and marinate for 2 hours in the fridge, rotating if necessary halfway through.

Heat a grill to high heat; clean and oil the grill grates.

Thread the onion rounds on the skewers, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the onions, developing a deep char on each side, about 10 minutes per side. Set aside to cool.

Lightly season the tenderloins once more, then grill on all 4 sides, frequently basting with the reserved marinade, until golden brown and the internal temperature registers 145 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, tent loosely with foil and rest for 5 minutes.

Mince the cooled onions and season again. Slice the pork and serve with a dollop of Avocado Crema and garnished with chopped cilantro and charred onions.

Avocado Crema:

For the avocado crema: Put the cilantro, Mexican cream, avocado and lime zest and juice in a food processor and run until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap pressed on top until serving, to keep the avocado from browning.

1 comment:

Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) said...

Achiote Paste is readily available here in Denver and I'm so glad you found it. Google for some recipes so you can use it more, it's delicious. And I love this pork recipe. Thanks for sharing - pinned.

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