Johnny Hernandez’s carne asado (pork tacos)

Johnny Hernandez may be the busiest man in San Antonio, Texas. Chef, restaurateur, arts patron, and philanthropist, he presides over an empire that includes 11 restaurants, a stone-ground tortilla factory, and yes, a fleet of La Gloria Margarita trucks. His mission is simple: promote the authentic Mexican cuisine of his Nuevo Leon and Michuacan forebears. Like most Mexican-Americans, Johnny grew up eating carne asados at family Sunday cookouts. Pork marinated in adobo (dried chilli paste), grilled over a hot fire, and served in tacos – it’s Mexican comfort food at its best.

Johnny Hernandez’s carne asado (pork tacos). Credit: Planet BBQ

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 boneless center-cut pork shoulder (about 900g / 2 lb total), sliced across the grain into 5-6mm / ¼ inch steaks

Adobo

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• Coarse salt
• 1½ tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 2 pequin chiles (optional)
• 1-2 guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then skinned (scrape off the flesh with a knife)
• 1-2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
• Juice of ½-1 lime
• Juice of ½ orange

For serving

• 8 fresh corn tortillas
• Fresh pico de gallo
• Sliced avocado
• Diced white onion
• Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
• Lime wedges

Soaking time: 20 minutes

Instructions

1. Make the adobo: Preferably using a molcajete (Mexican lava stone mortar and pestle), begin by crushing half the garlic cloves with a sprinkle of salt. Add the remaining garlic cloves and continue to mash. Add the pequins, if using (they are hot!), as well as the guajillo and ancho chiles. Thin the adobo with the lime and orange juices.
2. Lay the pork slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Paint them with the adobo on both sides and season with salt and pepper.
3. Set up your grill for direct grilling and heat to high. Brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the pork in a single layer on the grate and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until sizzling and browned. Remove from the grill and let the meat rest on a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan.
4. Warm the tortillas on the grill grate for 15 seconds or so; do not toast.
5. Slice the steaks crosswise into strips. To serve, pile the meat on a warm tortilla and top with any or all of the condiments suggested above.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.