Tacos with slow-roasted pork collar and Mexican mole sauce
These Mexican-style slow-roast pork tacos are topped with a rich chocolatey mole sauce and garnished with fresh coriander, lettuce and tomatoes.
Ingredients
For the pork
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1 heaped tsp dried chilli powder
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú lard, to spread over the joint
- 1kg/2lb 4oz pork collar
- 500ml/18fl oz pork or vegetable stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mole sauce
- 2 dried chipotle chillies
- 1 dried ancho chilli
- 1 dried guajillo chilli
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 3 tomatillos
- 30g/1oz peanuts
- ½ tbsp cumin seeds
- ½ tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 3 allspice berries
- 3 cloves
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú raisins, soaked in warm water and drained
- 2–3 flour tortillas, torn
- 250ml/9fl oz chicken stock
- 60–80²µ/2¼–2¾´Ç³ú dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 lime, juice only
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- 12 small corn tortillas, toasted
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 2 Little Gem lettuces, shredded
- 1 beef tomato, sliced
- 1 green chilli, sliced
- 3 limes, cut into wedges, for squeezing
Method
For the pork, mix together the fennel seeds, garlic, lemon juice, chilli, oregano and lard in a bowl. Use this to spread over the pork collar, then leave to marinate for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.
When you're ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Season the pork well with salt and pepper and transfer to a roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Pour the stock into the tin and cover with kitchen foil tightly. Roast for a further 4 hours until soft and tender. Rest the meat for 30 minutes before shredding and serving.
To make the mole sauce, dry-fry the dried chillies in a frying pan for 1 minute. Remove the chillies from the pan into a small bowl and soak them in a little hot water; keep the chilli water. Return the frying pan to a high heat and dry-fry the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomatillos, peanuts and spices until blistered and scorched. Transfer the tomato mixture to a blender or food processor and add the raisins, soaked chillies, chilli water, tortillas and enough stock to blitz to a smooth purée. Pour into a saucepan and add the chocolate, sugar and lime juice. Stir together over a low heat until the chocolate and sugar have melted into the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until warmed through.
To serve, spoon some mole sauce over a corn tortilla, add the meat and top with the garnishes and a squeeze of lime. Repeat with the remaining tacos and serve immediately.