Slow Cooker Pulled-Pork Tacos

I'd been wanting to make this recipe for a while so I thought it was a perfect dish to make for Cinco de Mayo...and in the face of the swine flu. It also helped that this was simple to put together. Throw everything in the crock-pot and it's pretty much done when you get home. Since I've been working overtime for the past week or so this helped me get a Cinco de Mayo dinner on the table without a lot of fuss.

This made a LOT of pulled-pork. Way more than our measly five tacos that we ate contained. So if you have recipes to pass on that call for pulled pork in a spicy sauce, please let me know.  This also made a lot of sauce which would go great over rice, but didn't really work well with the tacos. We had to drain and squeeze out the excess liquid to use the pork in the tacos. You probably want to not put so much pork in each taco as it can possibly be a bit full to actually roll and get to your mouth. Of course a small detail like that never stops Mr. L and I.

We also used a combo of spicy and mild salsa in the dish and as a side. You could always make it less spicy using mild salsa or kick up the heat by adding a spicier salsa version. If you remember to pick up some avocados for Cinco de Mayo, guacamole or just slices of avocado would also work great in this dish. I had a couple of slices and when added to one of the tacos it made a great addition.

This recipe came from the February 2009 issue of Real Simple Magazine.

SLOW COOKER PULLED-PORK TACOS

2 cups store-bought salsa, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Kosher Salt
1 Two and a half pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro springs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

In a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and extra salsa.

Note: I used Hersey's Cocoa Powder. I used a combination of fresh Mild Salsa and Spicy Salsa from the deli section at the grocers.

Note: I cooked the pork on the low setting of the crock pot for about 9 hours. Didn't seem to cause any problems cooking it that long.

Note: There really was a lot of sauce and it made the pork too wet to use in the tacos. We put some of the pork mixture on a plate and pressed most of the liquid out. I actually put a little of the liquid back on but the salsa and sour cream that's added would have made it okay, i.e. not dry.

Comments

[Sara]

I love to use my slow cooker to make pulled pork. I definitely want to try this version!

[grace]

yes please! it's funny, the thing that excites me most is the liberal use of cocoa powder--i'll bet that adds a dimension of flavor like nothing else!

[Mrs. L]

Sara - I actually have never made pulled pork so it was nice to start with this quick and easy version.

Grace - The cocoa powder really did give it a nice flavor. It was a great addition I think.

[Chef Barbie]

these look so tasty! i love carnitas!

[Jude]

Was not expecting the cocoa powder there. Interesting recipe!
With 9 hours of slow cooking, that's gonna be a hell of a pulled pork taco.

[Mrs. L]

Chef Barbie - I may have to make more carnitas this summer, we should have a party!

Jude - I was worried that cooking it several hours over the recommended time would harm it but I think I probably had closer to a 3 pound roast so it worked out.

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