Puesto has been one of my favorite San Diego restaurants since their opening at the Headquarters. I heard about their Next Top Taco contest through San Diego Magazine. They're asking fans to submit their top taco recipe to have it added as one of Puesto's Taco of the Month menu items. This just sounded like too much fun to resist. I knew I needed to come up with a taco that would have amazing flavor, ingredients and have restaurant quality. I came up with this fun Pickled Pear Carnitas Tacos With Jalapeño Crema for the contest and had to share it here too!

Finalists of the contest will be invited to prepare their tacos at a panel showdown. The winners taco will be on the Puesto menu for a month, receive an ultimate Puesto Party for 15, tickets to the San Diego Magazine Best of Party and bragging rights of course. This sounds like So. Much. Fun! I hope I make it to the finalists and win this thing!

As for the taco, I came up with this idea after recently learning how to pickle. I knew I wanted to use carnitas since it is a protein we cook at our house all the time. I wanted to add a unique element with a fun twist so I thought it would be fun to pickle pears with some red onions. The color is soooo pretty and the flavor packs a huge punch.

The carnitas was cooked in the Instant Pot with about 5 tomatillos chopped up. This was the quickest and most flavorful way I've ever made carnitas. I usually use a jar of tomatillo salsa but I wanted to try making this with fresh ingredients. I thought the flavor turned out much better. I added some salt, pepper, garlic and chicken stock to bring it all together.

The Jalapeño Lime Crema also really helped bring in a bunch of flavor. Once the carnitas are cooked, the pear and onions are pickled and the crema is made, you can compile the tacos. I like to heat up corn tortillas on the stove to give it a little char. Then I topped each taco with carnitas, avocado, pickled pear & onion, jalapeño lime creama, cotija cheese and cilantro.

I have eaten these for my last three meals and loved it every time! I can't wait to make these for my family on our next Sunday Funday adventure. But first! We have Easter coming this weekend and ill be making some sort of tasty veggie to bring to the meal. I hope you like this recipe for Pickled Pear Carnitas Tacos With Jalapeño Crema! Enjoy! - Bri

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Pickled Pear Carnitas Taco With Jalapeno Crema

Yield: 8 Servings

Enjoy these award winning tacos! The Pickled Pear Carnitas Tacos with Jalapeno Crema were the taco of the month at the popular Puesto restaurant after Bri entered to win the "Next Top Taco" contest!

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Ingredients

• All Ingredients
• 1 Medium Size Pork Roast
• 5 Tomatillos, quartered
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon of garlic
• 1 Jalapeño
• 2 Cups of chicken or beef broth
• 1 Lime
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Cup of Sour Cream
• 2 Cups of White Vinegar
• 4 Tablespoons of Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of Salt
• ½ Tablespoon of Peppercorns
• 1 Pear
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Package of Corn Tortillas
• 1 Package of Cotija Cheese
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro
• Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Carnitas

1. Medium Size Pork Roast, sliced into chunks
2. 5 Tomatillos, quartered
3. 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
4. Salt & Pepper
5. 1 Tablespoon of garlic
6. ¼ Jalapeños sliced
7. 2 Cups of chicken or beef broth
8. Saute pork roast with salt & pepper in pressure cooker on olive oil for 2 minutes per side
9. Top with Tomatillos, jalapeño, garlic and broth
10. Cook for 55 minutes in the pressure cooker.
11. Remove meat and shred.
12. Return the meat to the pressure cooker for 10 more minutes to combine with the tomatillos.

Jalapeno Crema

1. ½ Jalapeno, finely chopped
2. ½ squeeze of lime
3. 1 Teaspoon of Salt
4. 1 Cup of Sour Cream
5. Mix & Serve

Pickled Pear & Onions

1. 2 Cups of White Vinegar
2. 4 Tablespoons of Sugar
3. 2 Tablespoons of Salt
4. ½ Tablespoon of Peppercorns
5. ¼ Jalapeno Sliced
6. 1 Pear, sliced Thin
7. 1 Red Onion, Sliced Thin
8. Add Jalapeño, Pears and Red Onions to a ball Jar
9. Boil Vinegar with salt, sugar and peppercorns until combined
10. Pour vinegar mixture over the sliced Jalapeño, Pears and Red Onions in the ball jar
    

Pickled Pear Carnitas Tacos with Jalapeño Crema

1. Heat up corn tortillas on the stove
2. Top each tortilla with carnitas, sliced avocado, Pickled Pear, & Red Onion
3. Sprinkle Cotija Cheese and Chopped Cilantro on Top
4. Finish with Jalapeño Crema and serve!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 359Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 2738mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 17g

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