Dinner: Crispy Pork Belly Tacos with Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

One 2-pound piece of meaty pork belly
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup melted lard or shortening
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
2 morita chiles or dried chipotle chiles
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Instructions

Braise the pork belly Preheat the oven to 250 °. In a large ovenproof saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Cover, transfer to the oven and braise the pork until very tender, about 3 hours. Transfer the pork to a plate to cool slightly; discard the braising liquid.
Make the pico de gallo In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the salt. Season with salt and mix well.
Make the tacos In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the canola oil. Add the pork belly, skin side down, and weigh it down with another heavy skillet. Cook over moderately low heat until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pork, skin side up, to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Slice across the grain 1/4 inch thick, then halve the slices crosswise. Top each tortilla with a few pieces of pork belly and a little pico de gallo and serve warm.

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