The other weekend I had the pleasure of attending an Old Montreal getaway along with Karen of Tiny Bites , Mijune Follow Me Foodie , Jody of Mommy Moment , Jeannette Everyone Likes Sandwiches and of Tanis Redneck Mommy that was put on by Van Houtte . The weekend was filled with LOTS of good coffee and tasty food including a 14 course meal with a coffee theme at Saint-Urbain. All of the coffee inspire food got me to thinking that I do not use coffee as an ingredient when cooking nearly often enough. The timing could not have been better as I was just itching to make some coffee rubbed pork belly tacos that were inspired by a sandwich that made an appearance at the first Toronto Underground Market .
Pork belly is another ingredient that I do not use nearly often enough which is really a shame as it is so good and pretty inexpensive! It is a fattier cut of meat but when you slowly roast it a lot of that fat renders out and it helps to ensure that the meat is still nice and moist and tender and just full of flavour. For the coffee rubbed pork belly I went with a rub that focused in the coffee and then I built up some of the Mexican flavours with a few kinds of chilie powders, some cumin, coriander and oregano. I made sure to get my pork belly with the skin still on and I roasted at a high temperature for the first little while to ensure that the skin got all nice and crispy and turned into crackling.
I rounded the tacos out with a grilled pineapple salsa , pickled red onions and some queso freso. I figured that the sweet and tangy pineapple salsa and along with the pikled red onions would help balance out the richness of the pork belly and I always like to add cheese in some form to my tacos! I have to say that the coffee flavoured, super tender pork with its crispy crackling paired really well with the pineapple salsa and pickled red onions to create a truly magical flavour combination! Every time that I have used coffee as an ingredient in a recipe I have been pleased with it and I will definitely have to use it more often!
If you are interested: Old Montreal Get Away Photo Gallery 
Coffee Rubbed Roasted Pork Belly Tacos
Roasted pork belly is so moist, tender and full of flavour and that crispy layer of crackling is just amazing. Rub the pork belly up with some Mexican spices and you have the perfect filling for some really mean tacos!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground coffee
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon chili de arbol powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
- 1 teaspoon coriander, toasted and ground
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 2-3 pound pork belly, boneless, skin patted dry and scored
- 12 small corn tortillas
- 2 cups grilled pineapple salsa
- 1 cup Mexican pickled red onions
- 1/2 cup queso fresco (or feta)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
directions
- Mix the coffee, chili powders, paprika, cumin, coriander, brown sugar, oregano, salt and pepper and rub it all over the pork.
- Place the pork into an roasting pan and roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven for 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F/180C and roast for another hour.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Slice, assemble tacos and enjoy.
thatpoegirl says
November 15, 2011 at 3:48 amI have always been a fan of coffee in my cooking. It adds a wonderful surprise flavor to meats. Pork belly has a much different flavor from other meats – and I hadn't thought of this combination.
I will be trying this recipe before too long…thank you for sharing!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
November 15, 2011 at 7:08 amScrumptious and so colorful!
Cheers,
Rosa
Chiara "Kika" Assi says
November 15, 2011 at 10:51 amPork belly is sooooo good. I wish I could have one of your tacos right about now, I'm really hungry!
Joanne says
November 15, 2011 at 11:23 amCoffee makes for such an excellent rub for meat! Paired with the brown sugar I bet the bitterness and sweetness play off each other so well!
vanillasugarblog says
November 15, 2011 at 1:33 pmwow! coffee and pork belly. yeah i'd say that definitely works.
Dining Alone says
November 15, 2011 at 3:29 pmI have never cooked pork belly, it seemed intimidating. This doesn't look that difficult.
Anonymous says
November 16, 2011 at 1:29 am14 course meal with coffee theme.. I could feel my teeth gritting! this pork belly is amazing! coffee with it is just a miraculous combination. Can't wait to have a try at it!