Destination
Puerto Vallarta
The story
Poc chuc is what a Yucatecan grill cook makes on a Saturday afternoon: butterflied pork loin cut thin as an escalope, drenched in Seville-orange juice with garlic and oregano, then grilled hard over charcoal until the outside is scorched and the citrus has caramelised into a dark crust. It's cut into strips or diced, then folded into warm corn tortillas with a spoonful of refried black beans, a mound of pickled red onion and a splash of chile habanero salsa. The name is Yucatec Maya — "poc" (to grill) and "chuc" (charcoal or ember) — and it's such a foundational Mayan dish that Diana Kennedy included it in her seminal 1972 book without translation.
Method
Combine the marinade ingredients in a wide dish. Add the pork escalopes and turn to coat. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to 4 hours in the fridge). Do not marinate longer — the citrus will start to cook the pork.
Combine all pickled-onion ingredients in a bowl and squeeze the onion. Leave 30 minutes to soften and turn pink.
Warm the lard in a pan over medium heat. Cook the onion 4 minutes until soft; add garlic, epazote and salt. Tip in the beans and 100ml of their liquid. Mash to a smooth-thick paste, adding more liquid if needed. Keep warm.
Heat a charcoal grill until the coals are white-ashy, or a heavy cast-iron ridged pan on the highest heat you have. The surface must be smoking.
Lift the pork from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Grill 90 seconds on the first side (until dark charred stripes appear), then flip and grill 60 seconds on the second side. The pork should be cooked through but still juicy — total time is under 3 minutes. Rest on a board 3 minutes.
Slice each escalope into strips 1cm thick, or roughly chop into 1cm dice. Toss the chopped pork with any juices from the resting board and a pinch more salt.
Warm each tortilla on a hot dry pan 20 seconds per side. Stack in a tea towel to keep warm.
Smear a spoonful of black beans down the middle of each warm tortilla. Top with a small pile of chopped poc chuc, a fistful of pickled onion, a few drops of habanero salsa, coriander and (if using) a slice of avocado. Serve with lime wedges. Eat immediately, folding the tortilla around the filling.
Tips
- Pound the pork thin. 5mm is the target. A thicker escalope needs longer on the grill and dries out before the outside chars. Use the flat side of a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan.
- Grill hot, grill fast. Poc chuc is a 2-minute pork dish. Cook it slow and you get a dry, sad chop. The Yucatecan cook wants dark char stripes and a still-juicy centre.
- Rest before chopping. Even 3 minutes off the heat helps the juices redistribute. Chop straight from the pan and half your marinade ends up on the board.
- Refried beans, not black-bean soup. The beans should hold their shape on a tortilla, not run. If your first batch is too wet, keep cooking to reduce.
- Poc chuc in the Yucatán is a plate, not a taco. The traditional presentation is the whole grilled pork chop with sides. The taco version — chopped and folded into a tortilla — is the modern street-food adaptation. Both are correct.
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