Engineered Cooking

1. Bring guajillo chiles, chiles de árbol, and 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 30 minutes to let chiles soften.

2. Place pork in a large bowl. Purée chiles and soaking liquid, garlic, vinegar, sugar, chipotles in adobo, 3 oz. salt, pineapple, and onion in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour over pork, stirring to coat thoroughly. Cover and chill 3–12 hours.

3. While the pork is marinating make the pickled red onions. Place the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt into a small sauce pan. Heat the mixture until the sugar and salt have completely dissolved.

4. Cut the red onion in half, then thinly slice and place into a mason jar. Pour the mixture in the sauce pan (from step 3) into the mason jar until it reaches the top. Let cool at room temperature and then transfer to the refrigerator.

5. After making the pickled red onions, move onto the salsa verde. For the salsa verde place the tomatillos, garlic, and chiles in a medium stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatillos change from bright green to pale green and are soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes.

6. With a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos, garlic, and one of the chiles to a blender or food processor. Add the onion, cilantro, and salt. Purée until smooth.

7. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Pour the salsa into the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8. If using a gas grill or grill pan, prepare for medium-high heat; if using a charcoal grill, prepare for two zones of heat, medium-high and low. Grill remaining pineapple over medium-high heat, turning once, until charred, 6–8 minutes. Finely chop pineapple and combine with habanero chiles, mint, lime juice, and remaining onion in a small bowl. Season with salt, cover, and chill until ready to use.

9. If using gas grill or grill pan, reduce heat to low; if using charcoal grill, use low-zone heat. Remove pork from marinade and grill until marinade on pork has dried and begins to caramelize and char, about 12 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let pork rest 10 minutes.

10. Grill tortillas until soft and beginning to char, about 30 seconds per side. Slice pork against the grain into ¼" strips. Top each tortilla with a few pieces of pork and some grilled pineapple, onion, cilantro, and pickled red onion. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.