Pulled Pork Tacos

The best things come to those who wait. This phrase couldn’t be truer when describing this wonderful Pulled Pork Tacos recipe. Achieving a flavorsome and super-tender Pulled Pork requires patience, as this dish will take about 7 hours of cooking all up from start to finish. The reward, however, is epic. The most amazing tasting Pulled Pork you have ever eaten. Simply perfect for loading up in a Tortilla and topping it with a classic combination of Cilantro, Onions, and Pineapple. It’s a fantastic family meal to enjoy for a hearty dinner

For best results when making this dish we recommend using a Slow Cooker

Slow Cookers are wonderful inventions, as they take all the hard work out of cooking. Simply add a bunch of ingredients into the pot, set the timer and leave it alone. You don’t need to do anything once the slow cooker has started. Just let those flavors develop in the pot and the meat become beautifully tender and delicious

Because there is so little hands-on required when making these Pulled Pork Tacos in the slow cooker, you can easily prepare this dish for a weeknight meal. Simply throw the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and go about your day. When it’s time to eat, your house will be filled with the most amazing aromas as the dish will be ready

There’s nothing better than coming home from a day at work knowing that you’ve set your slow cooker in the morning. Not only are those amazing smells filling your house, but the knowledge that you’re minutes away from enjoying an amazing tasting meal that you’ve cooked yourself (with very little effort) is so appealing!

There are loads of different slow cookers you can use, and they’ll all work well for this dish. You can use the classic Crock Pot which so many households have tucked away! We used an Instant Pot, which is a very popular tool for slow cooking

You can make Pulled Pork Tacos without a Slow Cooker as well!

If you don’t have a slow cooker, that’s ok. You can still make this dish on the stovetop! Simply follow our recipe below, but instead of leaving the pot for 6 hours, we recommend checking on it and stirring every hour. This is mainly to prevent the Pork from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. So, it would be better to make this dish on the stovetop when you are going to be home to check on it throughout the day (perfect for a Sunday cook up!)

The secret ingredient to amazing Pulled Pork is Cola

It may seem like an odd choice, but the classic way to prepare Pulled Pork is by adding Cola to the braising liquid along with Lemon, Lime, and Orange Juice. The Cola brings a brilliant sweetness to the dish, and helps in breaking down the Pork, allowing it to become super tender

You don’t need to be too fussy about brands to choose when it comes to adding Cola. It’s going to taste the same whether you use Coke, Pepsi, or any other brand. So just use what you’ve got available. We need about a cup for this dish, so if you’re not big soda drinkers then just buying one can will more than suffice

In addition to the Cola, Orange Juice is added to the braising liquid. OJ adds a lovely flavor and subtle sweetness to the dish. You can taste the impact of Orange Juice in the final result, and it is a must-include ingredient in your Pulled Pork Tacos

After 6 hours, the Pork will be beautifully tender and so tasty. Perfect for stuffing into a Taco!

Once the Pork has slow cooked for 6 hours there’s a few final steps

After the 6 hours of slow cooking in our wonderful braising liquid the Pork is going to be so tender and ready to be pulled apart. This step is easy, and kinda fun! Carefully remove the Pork from the slow cooker and place it in a large bowl

Then you simply need to shred it apart. The Pork will be so tender that it’ll naturally start to break apart. What you want is to follow the natural fibrous strands of the Pork and tear along them. You’ll begin to form beautiful, long strands of wonderfully flavored Pulled Pork

The best way to do this is to use two forks. The Pork is going to be insanely hot, so do not try to do this with your hands! Simply place two forks into the part of the Pork you want to pull apart, and then slowly pull the forks away from each other. Repeat this process until you’ve got a big bowl filled with Pulled Pork!

For added flavor, I recommend pouring the braising liquid into a saucepan and reducing it on the stovetop over high heat. What this process does is removes more excess water from the liquid, resulting in a more concentrated flavor

Dip a big taco-sized portion of Pork straight into the sauce you’ve now created and it’s ready to be added to your Tacos! You can avoid this step if you want, but I find it adds so much more flavor to the Pork. Sure, it may get a bit messy and juicy, but that’s the whole point!

Building your Pulled Pork Tacos

You can add whatever ingredients you like to finish off your Pulled Pork Tacos. For our recipe we’ve opted for a classic combination of Pineapple, White Onions, and Cilantro. This combination of flavors doesn’t overpower the Pork, instead compliments it

The Pineapple pairs well with the natural sweetness of the Cola and Oranges that we added to the slow cooker, and in our opinion is a must-have when making Pork Tacos. You can use canned Pineapples. Just squeeze the excess juice out of them and cut them into pieces so they’re easy to enjoy on a Taco

The White Onion adds a beautiful texture and freshness to the dish. It’s not an overpowering Onion, so the flavor is subtle. I find the Onion helps to contrast the sweetness of the dish, making for a more balanced meal

Finally, you just have to have Cilantro on a classic Pulled Pork Taco. This is a very common ingredient in Mexican Carnitas Tacos, and a welcome addition to our Tacos. The Cilantro also adds a beautiful color to the dish, making it stand out

You can use Corn of Flour Tortillas, whichever you prefer!

Some purists will say you can only use Corn Tortillas when making authentic Tacos. In our opinion it should only come down to personal preference. If you enjoy Flour Tortillas then we’re not going to stop you!

In fact, we used Flour Tortillas for this dish. I love charring them over an open flame (either a grill or simply on the flame on your stovetop), as this gives them a beautiful charred, barbeque flavor!

I recommend serving all the components of this dish in individual bowls on the table. That way, people can make their own tacos and add as little or as much of each ingredient as they desire. This is also good if you include hot sauce in the dish. Some people may not want their Tacos extra spicy, so giving everyone the option of adding each ingredient is the way to go!

Pulled Pork Tacos Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lb. Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
• 1 Yellow Onion, quartered
• ½ cup of Lime Juice
• ½ cup of Lemon Juice
• 1 cup of Orange Juice
• 1 cup of Cola
  
  

Taco Topping Ingredients

• A pile of Taco Tortillas (Corn or Flour)
• 1 cup of Pineapple, cut into small chunks
• ½ White Onion, finely diced
• ½ cup of Cilantro, roughly chopped
  
  

Pork Dry Rub Ingredients

• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 2 tsp. Salt
  
  

Equipment needed: Slow Cooker

Instructions

1. Mix the Dry Rub ingredients together in a small bowl, then liberally apply to the Pork and set aside
2. Set your slow cooker to sauté and add the Yellow Onion. Cook for 20 minutes, ensuring each side becomes slightly charred
3. Add the Pork along with Orange Juice, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, and Cola. Set to ‘slow cook’ for 6 hours and cover
4. After 6 hours remove the Pork and place in a large bowl. Shred into strands using two forks
5. Pour the braising liquid into a saucepan and cook over high heat for 30 minutes to reduce and intensify the flavor
6. Dip the Pulled Pork into the liquid before adding to your Tacos. Top the Tacos with Pineapple, finely diced White Onion and Cilantro
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can make this dish using a regular heavy-bottomed pot. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring every hour or so
• We recommend serving all ingredients separately and eating the meal family style. This way people can build their own Tacos
• Try charring your Tortillas over the open flame on the stovetop for 15 seconds on each side to add a lovely char to them
  
  

We know you’re going to love the deep, rich flavors of this amazing Pulled Pork Tacos recipe. It’s well worth the investment in time and you’ll have loads of Pulled Pork to enjoy

Wrapping a load of delicious ingredients into a Tortilla is one of the best ways to enjoy food in our opinion. Here are a few of our favorite Taco recipes that you can enjoy:

• Duck Tacos with Mango Salsa
• Grilled Steak and Onion Tacos
• Spicy Chicken Tacos
• Flat Iron Steak Tacos
  
  

Happy Cooking!