Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos

posted in on, Thursday, May 13, 2010

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I realize that I am shamefully late to call this a Cinco de Mayo post, and if I were organized I would've posted it like two weeks ago. But this is actually what we ate on the 5th of May so you'll just have to go with it. To be honest Cinco de Mayo is not something we really celebrate here in the UK...whilst I was seeing all of my American friends post their wild Cinco antics on facebook, the holiday sorta slipped by unnoticed here. Jamie and I raised a Corona or two with friends, and in the spirit of being forthcoming, we only decided on pulled pork tacos because the picnic we had planned was rained out. And it just so happened to be the 5th of May.

For our wedding Jamie and I had a hog roast for the 2nd round of evening grub and well lets just say that by the time the hog was served the bar had been well and truly seen to, and mostly everyone was too drunk to eat. So the day after the wedding we took home 2 pork shoulders to freeze, score! All of our friends and family were around the day following the wedding and since it was the first day of the football season we put on a huge feast, well, my Mom put on a huge feast because I couldn't actually focus on anything other than the fact that I had just got MARRIED. That day we had pulled pork sandwiches...and in the weeks following the wedding we had the best pulled pork tacos from the leftover pork shoulder so this food reminds me of my wedding and for that I will never ever tire of eating it. I guess you could say, I could eat it til' the pigs come home. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

We received a slow cooker as one of our wedding gifts and it is the BOMB culinary appliance. I love it. Jamie does a lot of the "regular" meat cooking in the house, he grills the steak, he makes the hamburgers, he does the roast dinner. But me? I use the slow cooker. I love a few minutes of calculated preparation and with the six or more hours of cooking time I can do things like nap, bake cupcakes, read magazines, wash hair, paint toenails, do facials, re-organize my shoes, do some online shopping, or even some real shopping. I think I've made my point anyway. If you don't have one, get a slow cooker. Your fingernails will thank you.

As for this pork recipe, it is actually one of the easiest and most satisfying things to put on the table and here's why:

1. It takes less than 10 minutes of prep.

2. The slow cooker does all of the work and the final result tastes like you've slaved away for days.

3. You can easily adapt it to what you've got in your cupboards.

4. It's a cheap way to feed your friends.

5. Everybody loves tacos. And everybody loves finger food.

6. No more than 10 MINUTES prep. Get it?

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos

These tacos are a slightly different take on the traditional carnitas, but I would say they are equally as good, either way if you prefer a more traditional taste you can easily leave out the ketchup, vinegar, and jelly and go for a more purely pork flavour. Equally, if you like it hot then add more chilli, if you don't then don't! Make it your way.

For the pork:
4 lb. pork shoulder
1/2 cup / 120ml ketchup
4 Tablespoons jalapeno pepper jelly (I used the tabasco brand, but if you can't find it, then just throw in 1-2 chopped fresh jalapenos and 3 Tablespoons brown sugar)
1/3 cup / 80ml cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons 70% cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons jalapeno juice (I use the stuff from the jar of jalapenos we ALWAYS have in our fridge)
1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 large onion

To serve:
corn tortillas
red onion
cilantro / coriander
sour cream
slices of lime
salsa
guacamole

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, salt, and garlic granules. Rub over the pork and let sit whilst you get on with the other stuff. In the basin of the slow cooker, combine the ketchup, jalapeno jelly, cider vinegar, cocoa powder, jalapeno juice and chipotle. Chop the onion into large pieces (I do mine in 8ths), and lay in the bottom of the slow cooker. Once the pork has had 5-10 minutes to mingle with the rub, put the pork into the slow cooker on top of the onions. Spoon some of the juicy mixture onto the top of the pork. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

When fully cooked, take the pork out of the slow cooker and remove the layer of fat. Strain the sauce into a bowl to remove any lumps of meat or onion and set aside. Shred the pork with two forks. Spoon over the leftover sauce until the meat is coated but not sloppy (unless you like a lot of sauce, then knock yourself out).

Serve with warmed corn tortillas, condiments, and beer.

Makes enough for 4-6 people to have 2 tacos each depending on piggishness.