Long version of the pulled pork tacos (the long winded dummies guide for poor cooks like me):
I modified this from a recipe off of Reddit, I was basically trying to recreate the tacos a nearby restaurant and ended up with a close match. I’ve successfully made these with chicken and pork, they could easily be made with beef for a brisket based taco. The actual style here is mimicking Mexican carnitas only I am shredding the meat before serving. Since the cooking method is slow cooking (crock pot), it’s basically braising the meat, breaking it down so that it pulls easily and is also both tender and moist.
Ingredients -
Meat prep and cooking:
4-5 lb Whole pork shoulder blade cut (sometimes called a Boston Roast)
1 small can (7oz) of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 medium jar of salsa, any will do
1 medium white or yellow onion (not sweet)
2-3 Serrano chili peppers (3 if small and thin, 2 if decently sized, these are your recipe “heat” mark, add more if you want it hot)
1 New Mexico chili pepper (substitute: Jalapeno)
1/2 cup fresh cut cilantro
2 limes cut into 1/8 wedges
Fajita seasoning
Adobo seasoning
Mexican “complete” seasoning (Badia or Lisy brand - contains salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, onion)
Kosher Salt
Coarse ground black pepper
Tortillas:
1 large pack of small corn tortillas (I think the standard size is 6")
Chipotle aioli:
1 cup mayo
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2 minced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon lime juice (just squeeze 1 lime slice if you have already cut your limes)
1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (add last, to heat up to the temp and taste you like, save it from the can above)
1 teaspoon + of your favorite hot sauce
2 dashes of salt
3 dashes of coarse ground black pepper
<stir everything in a small container that can be sealed and stored in the fridge after use>
Initial cooking:
• Cut up 1/2 of the onion into medium sized pieces and layer the bottom of a crock pot.
• Dice the other peppers and add to the onions. Be sure and remove the stem and core from the chiles, seeds are optional but will add a small amount of extra heat.
• Get one tablespoon containing a chipotle pepper and some sauce out of the can and set aside. Then add the rest of the can into the bottom of the crock pot.
• Add a few shakes of the different dry seasonings. I don’t measure the seasonings but I apply them liberally after each layer in the crock pot.
• Trim the pork from the shoulder bone and cut into strips about 1 inch wide. Length and shape doesn’t matter, you’re just trying to cut up the bulk so it will cook evenly and break down faster.
• Layer the pork into the crock pot over the onion/chipotle mix until they are covered.
• After each layer, liberally apply seasonings from the mix, then re-layer with more meat.
• As you approach the top of the crock pot, pour the can of salsa on top and down the sides, leaving a little room at the top to prevent simmering over during cooking.
• Again add seasonings and throw in 2-3 sprigs of the fresh cilantro.
• Cook on high heat setting for about 4-5 hours or low setting for 6-8 hours. If Possible, stir in the middle of the cook time to ensure the top pieces don’t dry out. You can test for how done the meat is by attempting to shred it with forks, the meat should shred effortlessly.
• Open the crock pot and ladle out about 1/2 of the liquid left into a container you can store in the refrigerator. This can be used to add some liquid back later once the meat dries, or to form a sauce if wanted.
• Shred the meat apart with 2 forks. As you do this, turn things over in the pot to ensure the onions and chiles mix throughout and also get shredded if not small enough.
During the final part of the cook time, do the following:
• Prepare the chipotle aioli as noted above.
• Dice up the remaining 1/2 onion into very small pieces, put into a small container.
• Cut up some of the fresh cilantro. Optionally leave in a cup with water and pull off leaves as needed to use per taco.
• Slice the limes into wedges, again place into a container.
• Heat up a skillet (preferably cast iron) to medium-high heat.
• Put a few drops of oil onto the skillet.
• Put a corn tortilla into the skillet and spin it to distribute the oil onto the surface.
• Cook each tortilla 4-5 seconds per side (just warmed) to 8-10 seconds per side (lightly browned but not stiff) per your preference.
• If the tortillas start to stick, drop a few more drops of oil on, spin a tortilla to redistribute, and continue.
Create each taco with a row of meat in the middle, a few pieces of diced onion, a drizzled bit of the aioli, and a few cilantro leaves. This will make a ton of taco meat, easily 3-6 family meals. You can use extra meat for quesadillas, sandwiches, salad topping, etc.
You can cover, seal, and freeze it for storage. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and nuke up a small bowl of it for each meal you need it. Store the aioli, onions, tortillas, and limes in their own containers, and the cilantro in a cup of water somewhere in the kitchen.
Prep time for initial cooking: 30 minutes or so, 6 hours slow cook, 30 minutes before first serving. Prep time for leftovers, a minute or less.
