Pulled Pork Tacos
Grandparents are the best! Thank goodness for the days when I’m totally overwhelmed and they come to pick Kenya up and take him on an outing. It’s been quite a while since my dad hung out with a 3 1/2 year old, but he’s really stepped up to the plate and surprised me with his love and time playing with his grandson. There have been adventures going to see trains, the zoo and even to the golf course (I think I know who has more fun on that outing). What always accompanies these little jaunts is a meal or two. Quite often when Kenya comes home he’ll have in his hand a half eaten cheese sandwich on the most dreaded, whitest bread I’ve ever seen. There have been trips to the car wash where I’ve later found a pack of half-eaten chewing gum or a 16 ounce bag of sugar coated gum drops (I let out a little squeal of terror when I discovered those). When Kenya came home 2 weeks ago holding a pulled pork taco, I looked at my dad as if he had two heads. “Really dad, you got a 3 year old a pulled pork taco”? I figured there was no way that Kenya would ever want something like that, but my dad had reassured me that this was Kenya’s doing, he had ordered it on his own (oh yeah, blame the kid)! To my amazement though, Kenya sat down at our table and chowed the entire thing in no time flat. He even asked if we could go get another one!
This all leads me to my obsession with recreating the pulled pork from our local taco stand (which is amazing, by the way). What do they put in it to make it taste so good? I finally realized it isn’t the ingredients so much as it’s the WAY they cook their pork. Soft, tender, juicy, it must take hours to get that “fall off the bone” texture. I don’t know whether they use a crock pot, a slow cooker or just a cast iron pan in the oven, but I do know that I’ve now made this dish several times over the past two weeks (I use a slow cooker) and I can’t keep the leftovers around long enough to enjoy them for myself they disappear so fast. The best part is there is next to no work for me except to enjoy my family and the final results!
Thank you to all the grandparents in our lives that are not only nurturing and caring for our precious little ones, but hopefully turning them on to foods and adventures that we may not always have the time to ourselves.
Pulled Pork Tacos (Serves 6-8)
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Salt
1 3 1/2-4 Lb Pork Shoulder, rinsed and cleaned
1 16 oz Jar Mild Salsa (I used Pace Chunky Salsa)
1 Pkg. Tortillas, corn or flour tortillas
Condiments: Salsa, Big Kid Guacamole, cilantro, diced onion, shredded cheese, sour cream
1. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix.
2. Place the pork shoulder in the crock pot (slow cooker) and rub all over with the seasoning mixture.
3. Pour the jar of salsa around the pork shoulder.
4. Cook on low heat for 8-12 hours.
5. Remove the pork to a plate and using 2 forks, shred the into bite size pieces (I like to remove the visible pieces of fat).
6. Pour a scoop or two of the juices into the pork and stir to combine (If you want to remove the excess fat from the juice you will use, pour it into a cup and refrigerate it until the fat solidifies and can be easily scooped out. Only the juices will remain).
7. Place the pork into the tortillas.
8. Serve with desired accompaniments.
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Tags: big kid guacamole, chili, cooking for kids, crock pot recipes, cumin, easy crock pot recipes, easy slow cooker recipes, family recipes, guacamole, healthy meat recipes, meat, meat recipes for babies, meat recipes for kids, mixican recipes, oregano, paprika, pork, pork recipes, pork shoulder, pulled pork recipes, pulled pork taco recipes, pulled pork tacos, recipes for kids, recips for a crowd, salsa, salsa recipes, salt, slow cooker recipes, summer recipes, taco recipes, tacos, tortillas
I LIKE YOUR WEBSITE VERY MUCH CAN I MAKE THEM WITH BEEF?
Thank you, thank you! Totally delicious and very easy for my little one to eat. I never would have thought to throw pork shoulder in a crock pot like this. Weelicious hasn’t let me down yet! x
Do you think that it would be okay to use just the pork and make a mixture similar to a tuna sandwich, with the pork, mayo, pickles, boiled eggs? I can’t eat tuna but miss the tuna sandwiches that I used to have and was trying to find a way to recreate it without using fish.
You can use the pork any way you want.
Rio Hamasaki has her legs pulled back…
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I don’t have a slow cooker- do you think I could cook it in the oven? Any ideas on time/temperature?
I haven’t tested the pork in an oven, I would cut it in half and put it in the oven at 300 for 8-10 hours covered or until it starts to fall apart. I have not tested it and it also depends on the oven so if I were you, I would check on the meat every hour or so. Sorry, if this doesn’t help. If you test it, let me know how they come out.
I made this for supper tonight. It was wonderful! And all day my house smelled so good! My husband and I kept talking about if it tasted half as good as it smelled, it was going to be great! It tasted just as good as it smelled, and was easy to prepare.
I make a similar recipe and use pork tenderloin, which is very lean. It was a recommendation and i was surprised that such a lean cut could make pulled pork that was so juicy. The recipe I was given uses a can of green enchilada sauce which is a cousin to salsa. Thank you to weelicious for all of the tasty menu ideas!
Love it. Except the salsa. I really hate that brand. It tastes horrible. I make my home made salsa.
Sounds good. I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I use a pressure cooker instead? How much time roughly will I need to cook it in a pressure cooker?
I think you would be better off roasting a 5-7 lb in a 300 degree oven for about 6-7 hours. It will come out much better
would this work for brisket? i bought some birsket from our farmer’s market and would like to make some tacos out of it.
Sure! how many pounds is it? For a 5 1/2 Lb brisket it is set for 10 hours on low.
It was a 2.65lbs beef brisket. I already made it last night. I combined your recipe w/ one I found online but made it in the over for 3 hrs on 325. I was craving brisket tacos yesterday and I knew it would take all day in the crock pot so I decided to use the oven. I added our fave BBQ sauce. It was a bit rubbery (which is why I steer clear from beef), so I will try the crock pot method next time!!
The longer you cook it the more tender it gets, I would have cooked it on low about 250 for 12 hours in the oven – or even 300 for 8-10 hours. That way it would pull apart and be nice and soft. Let me know about the crock pot method!