Tacos Al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa

A very sad thing happened this weekend. My refrigerator stopped working. It started with the ice-maker not quite working as it should and before I knew it, all the food in my freezer (including a stockpile of pork tenderloin) had thawed. My parents were in town this weekend and I had planned to use some of the pork for this recipe, but I then found myself sending them home with a pound of loin for themselves since one can only eat so much pork in one week (and believe me, I test that theory on a regular basis). So fortunately I was able to fix this dish before things went downhill in my kitchen. I served the tacos with an avocado salad.

Tacos Al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa (makes 8-10 tacos)

Ingredients:

Pork:

• 1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 TB chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray

Salsa:

• 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 TB thinly sliced red onion
• 3 TB fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced

Remaining ingredients:

• 10  (6-inch) corn tortillas

Directions:

To prepare pork, preheat the grill to high heat.

Mince chipotle chile. Combine chipotle and oil in a small bowl; rub evenly over pork. Combine oregano and the next 4 ingredients (through black pepper). Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over pork, and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 145°. This may take longer depending on the thickness of your meat (that's what she said). Remove pork from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Coarsely chop pork; keep warm.

To prepare salsa, place pineapple on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill for 5 minutes on each side. Coarsely chop pineapple, and place in a medium bowl. Add cilantro and next 4 ingredients (through jalapeño); toss to combine.

Warm the tortillas according to package directions. Place 2 tortillas on each of 4 plates, and divide pork evenly among tortillas. Top each taco with about 3 tablespoons salsa.