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tacos Arabes Puebla with a salad and potato wedges
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5 from 4 votes

Tacos Arabes Puebla (Arab Tacos)

Delicious pork tacos, marinated in a combination of Mexican and Lebanese ingredients and served in pita bread with a tasty chipotle crema on the side.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Marinating Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 35 minutes
Course: Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican, Middle Eastern
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 704kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless pork spare ribs (may use pork chops for a healthier option)

Marinade

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup orange juice (or 1 large orange, juiced)
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 5 cloves garlic (crushed)
  • teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper
  • teaspoon Shawarma seasoning (seasoning recipe)
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Chipotle Crema

  • ½ cup plain yogurt
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon shawarma seasoning
  • 2 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) (or more/less to taste)

Instructions

  • Slice partially frozen pork into very thin slices, going against the grain, if possible. Next, slice one large onion into rings. Set the pork and onion aside while you work on the marinade.

Marinade

  • Whisk marinade ingredients into a measuring cup.
  • Layer the marinade, onion, and pork into a glass dish or plastic bag.
  • Massage the marinade into the pork and allow the pork to marinate for 2 or more hours in the refrigerator.

Chipotle Crema

  • Meanwhile, add the chipotle crema ingredients to a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth.
  • Add the sauce to a squeeze bottle using a funnel.

How to Cook the Tacos Arabes

  • Once the Tacos Arabes meat is marinated, cook the meat in batches in a hot cast-iron pan until it is cooked through and has crispy edges. This should take approximately 3 minutes per batch.
  • If you are lucky enough to own a rotating spit on your grill, you can stack the meat on the spit and cook it on the grill until charred on the outside and cooked all the way through.
  • Yet another option is to stack the marinated meat onto a few skewers that are anchored on the top and bottom with one large onion, sliced in half. 
  • Stand the spit on a foil-lined pan and bake in the oven at 350-degrees F for 45 minutes, broiling for a few minutes at the end.

How to Serve Tacos Arabes

  • Slice the cooked pork into thin strips. Serve Tacos Arabes with pita bread or flatbread, accompanied by Marinated Sumac Onions, or diced onion, salad, and some chipotle crema on the side.

Notes

Nutrition Information is based on pita bread and pork without the fixings.
  • To slice the pork into thin slices, make sure it's semi-frozen. This makes slicing the meat a lot easier.
  • If you need to, you can use lime juice instead of orange juice in the marinade. Just add a tablespoon of brown sugar to add some sweetness to the marinade.
  • Shawarma Seasoning can be purchased on Amazon or any Middle Eastern market if you don't want to make your own.
  • If you want to serve cheese with your Tacos Arabes, I suggest using Feta or Queso Fresco.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 1398mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g