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Jerk BBQ Ground Pork Smash Tacos
Jerk BBQ Ground Pork brings bold Caribbean heat to these delicious, flavor packed tacos. Finish with a smoky-sweet BBQ glaze and fresh toppings, they deliver the perfect balance of crunch, heat, and savory richness in every bite.
20 min 
Prep 10 min 
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 tbsp garlic paste (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
- 1 tbsp ginger paste (or 2 tsp ground ginger)
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp jerk seasoning paste (or dry jerk seasoning)
- 3 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tbsp neutral oil for cooking
- 12 small corn tortillas
- CILANTRO-LIME RICE
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 2¼ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- CHARRED STREET CORN SALSA
- 3 ears sweet corn, husked
- ¼ medium red onion, finely diced (approx. ½ cup)
- 2 jalapeño peppers, de-seeded as desired and finely diced (approx. ½ cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 large, juicy limes, juiced (4–5 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- heaping ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- heaping ½ teaspoon chile lime seasoning such as Tajíin
- heaping ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 tbsp garlic paste (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
- 1 tbsp ginger paste (or 2 tsp ground ginger)
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp jerk seasoning paste (or dry jerk seasoning)
- 3 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tbsp neutral oil for cooking
- 12 small corn tortillas
- CILANTRO-LIME RICE
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 2¼ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- CHARRED STREET CORN SALSA
- 3 ears sweet corn, husked
- ¼ medium red onion, finely diced (approx. ½ cup)
- 2 jalapeño peppers, de-seeded as desired and finely diced (approx. ½ cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 large, juicy limes, juiced (4–5 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- heaping ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- heaping ½ teaspoon chile lime seasoning such as Tajíin
- heaping ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
In a large bowl, combine ground pork, garlic, ginger paste, scallions, soy sauce, jerk seasoning and BBQ sauce. Mix well. Form into 12 meatballs, 1.5 inches each.
Place tortillas on a clean work surface; place a meatball in the center of each tortilla. Working one at a time, cover each meatball with a piece of plastic wrap or folded parchment paper and flatten out with the palm of your hand until the meat almost reaches the edges of the tortilla. TIP: Feel free to reuse the plastic wrap as you go!
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium heat. Working in batches, carefully add meat-topped tortillas, meat sides down, to pan. Cook until pork is browned and almost cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until tortillas are toasted and pork is cooked through, 30-60 seconds more. Cook ground pork to an internal temperature of 160°F.
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding another drizzle of oil to pan between batches.
Char the sweet corn: Place the sweet corn directly over a gas burner, then light to a medium-high flame. Cook 2 minutes per side or until charred as desired. Transfer to a cutting board and carefully slice the kernels off the cob. (No gas stove? Use an outdoor grill, grill pan, or broil the corn in the oven.)
Top finished smash tacos with crema, green scallions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Serve with cilantro-lime rice and corn salsa.
For the Rice: Start rice by bringing water and salt to boil, add rice, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with fork and stir in lime juice, cilantro, and butter.
For the corn: Mix the corn salsa: Add all listed ingredients to a large bowl (corn kernels – garlic powder). Gently stir to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired—depending on the size of your ears of corn, you may need a little extra salt or lime juice.
Serve: Transfer the corn salsa to a serving dish.