Tomato Tomatoe

pulled Pork tacos

Tacos are one of my favorite things to make and eat. There are so many variations of tacos from fish, to chicken to pork, the possibilities are endless! When I used to live in Toronto years ago, I always loved going out for tacos and trying new taco combinations. At home I would typically make fish tacos because this was what I was familiar with, and they are very easy to make.

Recently I found myself craving pork tacos. Unfortunately, there aren’t many good Mexican or taco restaurants in my area. I found myself scrolling endlessly on social media trying to find an easy and delicious pulled pork taco recipe. I found one that looked simple enough to make but it did require some time. I wrote a grocery list, put on my shoes and headed over to my local Hispanic grocery store to source out ingredients. This recipe doesn’t require too many ingredients, the main components are of course the dried peppers and pork butt. When I make this recipe I like to buy a fairly large piece of pork so then I will have lots of leftovers. What I love about this recipe is that it makes a large quantity of pulled pork. Once the pork is finished cooking in the oven, I like to spoon out the extra sauce (there is a ton!) and put it into a liter container and freeze it. Because this recipe makes such an excess of sauce, I like freezing it and using it later on in the month when I want an easy dinner. The sauce has layers of flavor and spice and I like adding it to chicken thighs or any meat I may have in my freezer.

This pork taco recipe is really easy to make and it makes a huge batch. There’s always a lot of leftovers which I love! The pork takes roughly 3-4 hours to cook in the oven but it’s so worth it. After the pork is finished cooking in the oven it falls apart and is so tender it melts in your mouth. I’ve fallen in love with this recipe. It’s packed with layers of flavor! Your family will love this recipe.

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pulled pork tacos

Ingredients

• 4 lb bone in pork butt
• 4 dried ancho chilis
• 3 dried chili de Arbo
• 1 chipotle pepper
• 2 white onions (one for roasting and one for sautéing)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1-2 tomatoes
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 cups cilantro + extra for garnishing
• 4 cups beef stock
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Neutral oil for searing the pork

Additional Ingredients

• tortilla shells
• avocado
• cotija cheese
• lime

Directions

1. Place the dried peppers in a pot and cover with boiling water. Let these soak for an hour while you prepare the pork.
2. Slice the tomato and onion in half and add to a baking sheet. Remove the seeds from the pepper and slice into large quarters. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables have slightly caramelized.
3. Pat the pork dry with a paper towel and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium heat and add a few drizzles of avocado oil or any neutral oil. Once the pan is hot, add the pork and sear on all sides until golden brown. Once all sides have been seared, remove from the pot and set aside.
4. Add 1 diced onion to the Dutch oven and sauté for a few minutes until the onions become translucent. Add garlic, cumin and coriander. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add 1/2 cup white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook for a few minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Add 4 cups beef stock.
5. Remove the dried peppers from the water and as best as you can, remove the seeds and skin (it’s ok if you can’t remove everything). Add the peppers to the blender along with the roasted vegetables and the beef stock mixture. Blend until smooth.
6. Add the pork back to the Dutch oven and pour the sauce over top. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven at 350° F for 3-4 hours until the pork is tender and easily pulls apart.
7. Remove the pork from the oven. If there is an excess of sauce, remove some and set aside in a bowl. Shred the pork using two forks and mix in the sauce that’s in the pan. If you need more sauce, add more from the sauce that was removed.
8. Assemble the tacos by adding sliced avocado, pork, cotija cheese, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Notes

1. The pulled pork freezes well and if there is an excess of meat left, I recommend freezing it.
2. If you are unable to find all of the dried peppers, you can substitute with 1/2 a can of chili in adobo. These can typically be found in any grocery store.