Salsa Verde Pork Tacos

Salsa verde spices up ground pork in these gluten free tacos. Spread the corn tortillas with a layer of refried beans for extra protein & fiber, and finish with your favorite toppings!

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Photo credit Emily Bir

This post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council, so it's odd that I'm going to start off talkin' turkey, but bear with me. Have you ever had a small interaction, a seemingly insignificant moment, that stuck with you, burrowed in, and changed your outlook on life? Allow me to share one such moment in my life.

A few summers ago I had the opportunity to assist The Foodbank with the quadrennial Hunger in America study. This involved going to many member agencies--the food pantries throughout Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties who receive food from The Foodbank and get it into their clients' hands. I met the folks distributing food and interviewed folks receiving food throughout the Miami Valley. It was at one of these pantries that I experiences a tiny shift of my axis that has stayed with me.                        It was a hot, muggy August day and the food pantry had a surplus of whole turkeys in their freezer. As the clients were leaving, after they'd gotten their normal allotment of food, they were offered a frozen turkey. Some folks took a turkey, but the majority did not. I overheard one client say, "now what would I do with a turkey in August?"    Mind. Blown.    My assumptions--that folks have access to an oven to roast a turkey, or access to the rest of the kitchen infrastructure needed to fully utilize a 20 pound uncooked bird [check the Bed Bath & Beyond circular in November if you don't know what I mean], or the skills to know how to cook the bird--were challenged. Free food doesn't help anyone if you can't transform it into ready to eat meals.

Photo credit Emily Bir

This is why I'm delighted to spread the word about the Ohio Pork Council's recent donation. Ohio farmers have donated 17,400 pounds of pork to feed needy Ohio families. The Foodbank in Dayton received 3 tons of pork, enough to make 30,000 of the 87,000 total meals donated in the Pork Power program this month. That's huge and I want to shout it from this rooftop.

A pound of ground pork is a convenient source of protein. It can be cooked on a grill, stovetop, hot plate, or even a microwave. After the holidays donations to the food banks are down so an influx of healthy and useful products like pork is much appreciated. Providing wholesome meals to Ohio families is a thoughtful and compassionate endeavor, and I'm glad to draw attention to the efforts of Ohio farmers and the Ohio Pork Council.

The next food occasion on my personal radar is Cinco De Quatro Mayo so my mind is naturally turning in a fiesta direction. I'm checking the basement stash of home-canned salsa [no need to ration--yet] and craving more guacamole than usual. When the Ohio Pork Council asked me to share a recipe using ground pork, I immediately started thinking pork tacos. I didn't want to just substitute a pound of ground pork for a pound of ground beef or turkey and use my usual jar of taco seasoning.

Like with my Pork, Corn & Zucchini Enchiladas, I really enjoy the combination of pork and salsa verde, so I decided to make Salsa Verde Pork Tacos. My spouse prefers to eat with a knife and fork, not his hands, so I also made this recipe in tostada form. Choose your method, and play with the toppings your family prefers. Just like with my Pickled Pork and White Bean Sliders, I opted to add a layer of refried beans to boost the protein and fiber of these tacos and tostadas. If you're not in a spicy mood, may I suggest making Pork and Leek Dumplings with ground pork instead?

For more recipes using salsa verde, please see my Tomatillo Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Salsa Verde Pork Tacos (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 Tablespoon cornmeal
• ¾ teaspoon salt (I use kosher) plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper plus more to taste
• 1½ cups salsa verde (my home canned salsa verde recipe is here)
• 8 corn tortillas (cooked according to package directions)
• 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
• Optional toppings: shredded cheese, avocado chunks, sour cream, more salsa verde

Instructions

1. Preheat a large (10") skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Sauté pork for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until no pink remains. My pork was very lean and I did not need to drain the skillet.
2. Sprinkle cornmeal, salt, and pepper on top. Pour salsa verde over spices. Stir well. Bring to a simmer, then turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes until sauce is thickened.
3. Taste and see if you'd like a bit more salt or pepper.
4. Cook the tortillas (I'm liking uncooked corn tortillas these days) and keep warm in a kitchen towel. Prepare your optional toppings.
5. To serve, spread a thin layer of refried beans on a warm tortilla. 
6. Spoon 2 to 3 Tablespoons of pork mixture onto tortilla. Top with your favorite toppings.

Disclosure: this post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council. I bought the pork used in this recipe from Jean Mattis of KJB Farms at the 2nd Street Market (I grew most of the vegetables for the salsa verde, and bought the rest of the ingredients at the commissary, DLM, and Kroger). I've been paid for my time to create & photograph this recipe as well as write this post. Thank you!