Pulled Pork Tacos are loaded with incredible flavor and are easy to make using your slow cooker or Crock-Pot®. The best part about this recipe is that it only requires a few minutes of prep, and then the slow cooker does all the work without any more effort on your part.
3poundspork shoulder or Boston butt roastboneless, see notes
½cupapple cider vinegar
½cupwater
¼cupchicken broth can substitute water
¼cuplight brown sugar
1tablespoonDijon mustard
1tablespoonWorcestershire sauce
1tablespoonchili powder
1.5teaspoondried thyme
1large onionchopped
3clovesgarlicminced
12flour tortillas6-8 inch
2avocadossliced
Coleslaw
16oz shredded coleslaw16 oz bag
4tablespoonsrice wine vinegar
2tablespoonslime juice
1tablespooncanola or vegetable oil
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar
Instructions
Brown the pork roast on all sides in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Combine the apple cider vinegar, chicken broth or water, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, dried thyme, chopped onion, and minced garlic in a medium-size bowl. Mix well.
Place the roast into the slow cooker and pour the apple cider vinegar mixture over the roast. Cover and cook on high for five to six hours or on low for ten to twelve hours, or until the pork is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
When the pork is done, remove it from the slow cooker and let it cool a bit. Use two forks to shred it. Make sure to remove any fat or connective tissue and discard it.
Carefully pour the hot cooking liquid into a blender and process until liquefied. Or, you can use an immersion blender to liquefy all ingredients. Strain this liquid and remove any fat by using a fat separator cup. If you don't have one, simply let the liquid sit and cool slightly, and the fat will rise to the top. Then, use a spoon to skim off as much fat as possible.
Add the shredded pork back to the slow cooker and pour the liquid over it. Heat on high until the pork is hot and the liquid is absorbed by the pork. This will take from 30 to 45 minutes.
To make the slaw dressing, combine the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, canola oil, and sugar in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the packaged coleslaw and toss to combine.
Right before you are ready to serve the tacos, heat the tortillas in the microwave or oven. To heat in the microwave, place four tortillas between two damp paper towels and heat for 30-45 seconds or until they are warm. To heat in the oven, wrap them in aluminum foil and heat for ten minutes at 350 degrees.
To make the tacos, add a few tablespoons of pulled pork to the tortillas, top with the coleslaw, and sliced avocados, and any other of your favorite taco toppings and serve immediately.
Notes
Leftover pulled pork can be frozen to be used later, or covered and stored in the refrigerator tightly covered for 3-4 days or frozen up to one year.I used flour tortillas in this recipe, but if you prefer corn tortillas, by all means, use them. These days the terms Crock-Pot® and slow cookers are used interchangeably. Crock Pot® is a popular brand of slow cookers and both have a ceramic pot insert with heating elements in the sides and bottom. Newer models of slow cookers cook much faster than the older models so watch your roast carefully and make adjustments to the cooking time if needed. A three-pound pork roast will yield approximately six servings. This means if you have a two-person household, a three-pound pork roast should give you enough pork for the tacos, plus leftovers. If you have a larger family, you will need to increase the size of the roast proportionally. Leftovers are a beautiful thing. I always err on the side of buying a much larger roast than we need so that I will have plenty of leftovers. Here are just a few ideas for dishes you can make with the pork leftovers.
Mexican Pork Stew - A quick and easy stew recipe that you can have on the table in less than 15 minutes.
Sliders - Grab some slider rolls (I like Martin's 24 Party Potato Rolls), and barbecue sauce. That's it! You can use whatever kind of barbecue sauce you like.
Enchiladas - Substitute the pulled pork for the chicken in this recipe for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas and voila, you have a winning dinner combo!
Burritos - Use your leftover pork to make delicious burritos by adding some taco seasoning, along with rice, corn or black beans and cheese to a flour tortilla. Wrap it all up burrito-style, and you have the making of a delicious dinner.
Fried Rice - Fried rice is my favorite vehicle for leftover pork or chicken. Check out this Fried Rice recipe by Recipe Tin and add in whatever leftovers you have, for a meal that is better than take-out.
Buffalo Pork Twice-Baked Buffalo Potatoes- Bake your potatoes and top them with a mixture of leftover pulled pork instead of chicken, ranch or blue cheese dressing, and buffalo sauce for an easy light dinner.
Quesadillas - Along with fried rice, quesadillas are another favorite dish that is perfect for utilizing leftovers. Check out my Shrimp Quesadillas with Bacon recipe and swap out the shrimp for your leftover pulled pork.
Barbecue Pork Mac and Cheese - Add a cup of leftover pulled pork and one half a cup of barbecue sauce to my recipe for Southern Baked Mac and Cheese, and you have a meal the entire family will love.