Being the adventurous eater that I am, I will try anything from Trader’s once. I know nothing about Cuban food. I’ve never had Pork Masitas before. But, your faithful Trader Joe’s club member will eat this stuff so you don’t have too!
From the website, it looks really interesting: “Trader Joe’s Pork Masitas is our version of Masitas de Puerco, a staple in Cuban kitchens. We begin with chunks of pork that are marinated in a blend of lime, orange, garlic and cilantro, then cooked slowly to maximize both the marriage of the bright flavors and the fall-apart-tender-potential of the meat. As it would be in a Cuban home or restaurant, our Pork Masitas is served with congri – a savory combo of black beans, rice and spices – and a hearty helping of sweet plantains, without which any Cuban-style meal would be incomplete.”
OK, this sound really good. Let’s see if it translates into something you can actually eat! I prepared per the microwave instructions took it out and it smelled pretty good! Opened it up and of course it doesn’t look too much like the the picture on the package, kind of but not so yummy looking. I had to try that pork! I love slow cooked pork! Unfortunately, my first piece of pork was like chewing on a tire and almost no flavor! I had to add a bunch of salt to give any interesting flaovrs. OK, some of the pieces were more tender, but a lot of them were tough! Then the on to the plantains. I don’t eat many plantains, but I’ve had my share and I usually like them. Oh boy, way too sweet for me. I didn’t know plantains got that sweet. More like an overripe banana! Good flavors, but too sweet. The only really good thing about this dish was the rice and beans. It was actually pretty good! I choked it down because I was hungry, but I’ll never buy this again.
I think this dish will be off the shelf at Trader Joe’s in a matter of a couple of weeks. I wouldn’t waste my dollars on it. There are much better dishes in the frozen and fridge section to spend your money on. The pork was pretty bland and many pieces were not falling apart as I expected. Plantains too sweet, but some people may like that. Since I’ve never had an authentic Pork Masitas dish, I can only assume that this isn’t that close.
I give this dish 5 bells! Don’t waste your time.
Gosh, I can’t help but wonder if you didn’t just get a bad batch?
Or possibly it might come out more tender if you undercooked it a bit, relative to the recommended nuking time and/or power setting?
I wouldn’t sat it’s the very best TJ’s meal for my taste — especially given the price. But it’s definitely in my top-10, and I’m giving it 8 bells, if it will take my vote.