Jen and the Giant Peach, Part 2: Pork Tacos and a Pet Peeve

The peach madness continued unabated in our house. The second-best dish of Peach Week (yes, they went that fast) was the pork tacos with peach salsa. While it seemed a bit of a shame to waste something so delicious on a salsa where it would be covered up with other flavors, I was wrong; I found myself wishing I’d made (more) extra to scoop up with chips the next day.

The real winner here is the spice rub: it’s going into my regular rotation as the perfect blend of spicy and whatever goes well with spicy that isn’t sweet. It made for some excellent tacos in which the meat was just as much a star as everything else, which is really saying something given the accessories these were sporting.

Using this even though Mark Harmon isn't very nice

This is another recipe I got from Pam (I really need to remember to ask her where these all came from…), and I’d like to find the authors and give them a friendly smack upside the head. What is the deal with putting ingredients in the wrong order? If you’re following the instructions, you read from top to bottom and work your way through the ingredient list. For some daft reason, they saw fit to put all sorts of things in all sorts of places – the yogurt after the tortillas when you’re clearly using them with the avocados, for instance, and spices split in half and scattered willy-nilly throughout the list. This is the only thing I’ve ever seen that’s more annoying than “Combine XYZ and next 6 ingredients” as the first instruction – like I want to be doing math (counting is math) while I cook!

For your considerably more convenience that I experienced, I’ve put the ingredients in the ACTUAL order in which you use them. I know you're not intimidated by how many ingredients there are, because you know by now that (1) I wouldn't do this unless it was worth it and (2) if it was a big bother, I would have warned you already and (3) I don't do hard things in the summer. 

Pork Chops with Peach Salsa with all the ingredients in a sensible, correct order

4 thin pork chops, or a few thick ones cut in half, or whatever combination of pork you come up with, as long as it's thin and flat enough to grill quickly

1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp coriander
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp allspice
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided 
 
1 avocado, diced
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
5 Tbsp lime juice, divided 
 
3 peaches, diced
½ shallot, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp sugar
 
Enough tortillas for the number of people you're feeding

 Combine the spices in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and rub this mixture over the pork chops. Start the grill.  

Blend the avocado, yogurt or sour cream, and 4 tablespoons lime juice together (use the food processor for optimal creaminess)(the yogurt would probably add a nice little tang but you know damn well I used the sour cream).

Combine the peaches, shallot, cilantro, sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small bowl.

Grill the pork chops. Let them rest a couple of minutes, then slice into strips. Serve on the tortillas with the avocado cream and salsa. The salsa is great on chips the next day, should you happen to make extra. I forget what we repurposed the leftover avocado cream for, but it was delicious and not at all brown and scary like leftover avocado usually is. The pork is delicious eaten straight from the fridge in a fit of late-night protein craving.